Feeding assistants causing legal trouble for HHS.(Front Page)(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

A Washington state ombudsman program and long term care residents' coalition have filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), alleging the agency violated the federal Nursing Home Reform Law by allowing use of improperly trained feeding assistants to provide care to nursing home residents.

Filed in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington by the Washington State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program and the Resident Councils of Washington (RCW), the suit seeks to prevent HHS from allowing facilities to use assistants with as few as eight hours of training instead of the 75 hours minimum required by the …