Louisiana Audit Finds Delays in Healthcare Abuse Reporting

BATON ROUGE, La. (KPEL News) — A new state audit is raising concerns about how the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) manages its oversight of healthcare workers who have been accused of abuse or neglect.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor released a report showing serious delays and a lack of clear rules when it comes to placing Certified Nurse Aides (CNAs) and Direct Service Workers (DSWs) on what’s known as the "adverse actions list." This list is designed to flag individuals who shouldn’t be working with vulnerable patients due to past misconduct.

What's the problem?

According to the report, the LDH doesn’t have clear criteria for deciding which incidents should result in someone being added to the list. That means two similar cases could be handled very differently, depending on who’s reviewing them.

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On top of that, the process is taking way too long. The audit found that it took over a year on average—390 days for CNAs and 375 days for DSWs—for someone to be officially added to the list after a report was made. During that time, many of those workers were still on the job.

In some cases, individuals who had been placed on the list were still found working in settings where they shouldn’t have been—clearly slipping through the cracks.

What needs to change?

Auditors made several recommendations to fix the problem:

• Set clear, consistent rules for when someone should be added to the list.
• Speed up the process so flagged workers aren’t allowed to continue working unchecked.
• Improve follow-up and enforcement to make sure people on the list aren’t employed where they shouldn’t be.

LDH responded to the report and says it plans to make improvements.

Why it matters

These lists exist to protect some of the most vulnerable people in Louisiana—patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and other care facilities. The delays and lack of oversight outlined in this audit raise serious concerns about whether the current system is doing enough to keep them safe.

📄 Read the full audit report here.