Grassley Continues to Pursue Fixes to Problem of Social Media Posts Involving Nursing Home Residents
Press Release
Sen. Chuck Grassley continues to pursue solutions to the problem of social media posts of nursing home residents by nursing home workers, most recently writing a follow-up letter to Snapchat and receiving a response. The news outlet ProPublica has documented 44 incidents across the country since 2012 in which nursing home workers posted photos of nursing home residents on social media. Three of the incidents were in Iowa -- in Johnston, Ames and Hubbard. A TV station in Wisconsin detailed the incidents in that state.
"By all accounts, the vast majority of nursing home workers do their jobs well with respect for the people in their care," Grassley said. "Still, there are occasional disturbing incidents. It's hard to understand the mindset of someone who would post a humiliating photo of an elderly person. We have to consider every means of fixing this problem, including involvement from the nursing home industry, the social media companies, and prosecutors. The good news is we're raising awareness that the problem exists and those in a position to prevent the problem are for the most part taking action."
Grassley became involved in the issue after the ProPublica coverage raised it to his attention. Since he became involved, the leading nursing home industry association responded to his letter and put out detailed guidance to its members about the social media abuse problem. The inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services alerted 50 State Medicaid Fraud Control Units to be increasingly aware of the problem and investigate allegations accordingly. The Justice Department expressed concern, noting that protecting seniors from abuse is one of its highest priorities. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat also expressed concern.
Grassley continues to follow up. In its latest response to Grassley, Snapchat said that it is technically unfeasible to routinely monitor user posts for problematic content. Also, it's unclear how many users Snapchat has terminated for problematic content.
Source