by James C. Sherlock

I will continue to pursue the public health crisis that is Virginia’s worst nursing homes.  

I am quite aware that my articles on that subject are sometimes difficult to follow because I provide so much detail and data.  I am attempting to make a case to Virginia officials to act on this information. Such an effort is ineffective without such detail because much of the data are from federal databases perhaps unfamiliar to many.  

I often refer to the federal Social Security Act Sec. 1819 because it directs all states what their nursing facility laws and regulations must at a minimum specify.

But for casual readers, I offer a Rosetta stone. Virginia’s Regulations for the Licensure of Nursing Facilities has a decent glossary of terms as well as offering what the title promises.  

In general, Virginia nursing home regulations expand little on what the federal law requires. The definitions of terms comes first. I have added a table of contents with links to find whatever else readers may find helpful.