The head of the agency that regulates safety in Maryland nursing homes and hospitals will step down effective June 27, weeks after a lawsuit revealed significant delays in inspections and complaint investigations.
Tricia Ney joined the Maryland Department of Health's Office of Healthcare Quality in 2008 and served as its executive director since 2014. The health department did not provide a reason for her resignation in a news release Thursday afternoon. Ney also declined to comment in the release.
“We are committed to finding a highly qualified health care quality professional to lead this important department,” Health Minister Laura Herrera Scott said in a statement announcing Ney's resignation and the national search for his successor.
The Department of Health said OHCQ's mission is to protect the health and safety of Marylanders and ensure public confidence in the health care and community service delivery system. OHCQ is responsible for issuing licenses for certain health care facilities and programs in Maryland, such as nursing homes and assisted living programs.
“Marylanders expect regulated health care providers to deliver quality care to patients, especially our most vulnerable patients,” Herrera Scott added.
Public trust in the health department has declined recently, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, as long emergency room wait times, a spike in adverse events reported by Maryland hospitals and ongoing concerns about safety in nursing homes have led activists to call for the state to take action.
The state agency said it expects the selection of a new OHCQ director-general to take several months. Until the post is filled, Deputy Commissioner for Public Health Services Nilesh Kalyanaraman will serve as acting director-general.
The lawsuit, filed in May, accused OHCQ of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to inspect facilities and address a backlog of complaints about substandard and even unsafe conditions. According to federal data, Maryland has the second-highest rate of annual inspection delays in the nation, behind Kentucky. Recertification surveys for more than 80 percent of the state's nursing homes are more than 17 months late, and the state has not inspected 104 nursing homes in more than four years. The lawsuit alleges that these delays have led to violations of residents' rights and, in some cases, serious injuries.
“The Office of Healthcare Quality has a lot of work to do,” Kalyanaraman said in a statement announcing the leadership changes. “Since the pandemic began, health care services across the country have struggled, plagued by staffing shortages and other challenges. We will hire an executive who can build trust and uphold Maryland's rigorous health care quality standards.”
