Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 3, 1990 TAG: 9003032849
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short
"It would cost a fortune," said Sen. Virgil Goode, D-Rocky Mount. "If we have to have a sprinkler system, we may not have a hospital."
The House of Delegates has agreed to exempt a nursing home unit within R.J. Reynolds Memorial Hospital from a bill requiring fire suppression systems in all licensed nursing homes in the state.
But the bill's sponsor, Sen. Stanley Walker, D-Norfolk, said there could be no exemptions when it comes to safety of elderly patients.
"You're talking about lives here," said Walker, who added that five fires at nursing homes and adult facilities in Virginia claimed more than a dozen lives last year.
Walker said the 46 nursing homes that do not have sprinkler systems could elect to pay for them through Medicaid reimbursements.
"There's no question it will be a [financial] hardship, but it . . . has to be done."
Goode said federal reimbursements would not help R.J. Reynolds Hospital foot the initial cost of upgrading its water system as well as fitting its nursing units with sprinklers.
"If you're broke and out of business, getting it [the reimbursements] back from Medicaid is not going to help you," Goode said.
The Senate, voting 24-16 against an exemption for R.J. Reynolds, sent the bill back to the House of Delegates. If the House insists on the exemption, a six-member House-Senate committee will try to resolve the issue.
by CNB