Bill > HB945

This bill requires the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) to notify and consult with the local health department of the county where a nursing home is located within 24 hours of initiating an investigation into a complaint alleging actual harm to a resident, and to coordinate with them on the investigation as much as possible, though local health departments are not required to take on the MDH's oversight responsibilities. Additionally, the bill establishes the Health Care Quality Improvement Initiative, tasked with identifying strategies to enhance the quality, affordability, and accessibility of care in nursing homes and assisted living programs, and creates a task force composed of various state officials, legislators, and health care representatives to study issues such as workforce recruitment and retention, staff training, oversight of smaller assisted living programs, and post-acute care, with the goal of developing recommendations to improve these services and reporting their findings to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1, 2027, and December 1, 2028.