WHAT HEELS!: Schools For Home Health Care Aides Sold Bogus Certifications
Capping an investigation into "certification mills" by New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, operators of two state-licensed schools for home health aides pleaded guilty to selling state certifications to people who were never trained. Under state law, home health aides must complete 75 hours of classroom training and 16 hours of practical training with a registered nurse. Laurette Escarment, 60, of On Time Home Care Agency, and Mary Smalls, 75, of Smalls Training and Counseling School, pled guilty to providing students with answers to the licensing exam for a fee of $300 or $400. Cuomo had previously obtained convictions of 10 people who had illegally billed Medicaid for work as home health aides using the fake certificates
Some 80,000 New Yorkers, receive home health care through Medicaid, reports The New York Times. Between 1998 and 2006 Medicaid spending on home health care nearly doubled, to $1.3 billion. No central registry of certified home health aides exists, so state officials do not know how are working in NY. The Times adds, "It was not known whether anyone was harmed by receiving care from the improperly trained health aides."
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