An Idaho Department of Health and Welfare audit of Boise-based A Caring Hand, conducted following a patient death, shows the agency lacked sufficient employee training policies and procedures.
The patient, who had Huntington’s disease and was receiving in-home care, died after sustaining burns during his caregiver’s watch. The employee was charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult and will be tried in April.
A spokeswoman for the department pointed out that it does not have legal disciplinary power over home healthcare providers. The Idaho Administrative Code, however, does allow the department to suspend or limit Medicaid payments to a service provider or terminate a provider’s agreement with Medicaid.
The department can limit enrollment with the provider, but only until the provider corrects deficiencies.
