Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has signed two wide-ranging bills that deal with the state’s elder care sector.
Public Act 24-39, An Act Supporting Connecticut Seniors and the Improvement of Nursing and Home-Based Care, and Public Act 24-141, An Act Promoting Nursing Home Resident Quality of Life, were both celebrated by Lamont, lawmakers and advocates at Seabury in Bloomfield on Tuesday.
“Ten days ago, Annie and I became grandparents for the first time,” Lamont said. “So I feel I'm particularly very pro-grandparent today.”
The bills, which include 36 legislative pieces, prohibit nursing homes from putting more than 2 residents in a room (effective July 2026), increase agency oversight and require more staff training.
“This allows us to reward good actors, and that's what this does in terms of reimbursement rates,” Lamont said. “And on the other side of public health, we have DSS, taking a good hard look at those places that maybe need a little special attention to make sure that they're held accountable as well.”
The laws come after growing complaints about the quality of care in the state’s nursing homes.
The state’s Health Department has a backlog of more than 2,000 nursing home complaints. Officials say the new laws, coupled with new funding, will help clear those.
“As we have worked to address the complaints over the past few years, we learned that we simply didn't have the necessary tools that would allow us to take actions that were responsive to the issues that we saw, and that appropriately held the decision-makers accountable for the care they delivered to our most vulnerable populations,” said Lorraine Cullen, DPH branch chief for health care quality. “With this legislation, we will have the enforcement tools needed to protect the health care quality and safety of our state residents.”
