Committee Passes Bill to Improve Oral Health

Last year, a resident of a Western Kentucky nursing home contracted a potentially life-threatening gum infection because the staff never realized the person wore dentures and hadn't removed them for six months, according to a state citation. Some officials said the incident is reflective of a long standing problem in many nursing homes: The staff tends to ignore the oral health of residents. But a House Health and Welfare committee on Thursday unanimously passed a bill that would require the state to implement a program to find a solution.