More than 100 long-term care facilities in Connecticut have been fined a total of $19,000 to date for failure to report their compliance with Gov. Ned Lamont’s (D) executive order 13F that gave long-term care facilities until Sept. 28 to report compliance the state;s vaccine mandate. Fines for non-reporters, as the Connecticut Department of Public Health categorizes them, face stiff penalties that accumulate daily.
Long-term care facilities subject to the executive order include nursing homes, assisted living services agencies, managed residential communities, residential care homes, chronic disease hospitals, and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities, according to the health department.
“The fact that facilities have failed to report their compliance with EO 13F is unacceptable,” Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani, M.D., said in a statement.
Fifty-nine of the state’s 643 long-term care facilities submitted documentation after the deadline, while 101 (16%) facilities have failed to report altogether as of Nov. 12. Last month, the health department issued a total of $221,000 in civil penalties to 26 of the 59 facilities in the late reporter category. The non-reporters are being fined up to $5,000 for each day they remain non-compliant. The health department said it has issued about $19 million total in fines since Nov. 12 to long-term care facilities that have not submitted the required documentation.
“With the holidays and colder weather approaching, we expect cases of COVID-19 to rise in the community, which increases the chances that COVID-19 cases will rise in long-term care settings. These vaccine mandates are in place to protect not only the patients and residents in long-term care but to ensure the health and safety of staff and their families and co-workers,” Juthani said.
