This was the topic of discussion on a radio show last week in Iowa. In the great state of Iowa funeral homes are inspected yearly but care facilities are only inspected every 2.5 years. Of course many are baffled by this.
One person wrote this:
Let me see if I have this right. If you are dead, the facility providing you care warrants an inspection every year. Yet if you are elderly or disabled and still breathing, the residential care facility where you live only has to be inspected every 21/2 years.
A funeral director who wished to remain anonymous wrote this to the radio station:
“We are one of the most regulated businesses in the U.S. Iowa requires that I be dual licensed, serve a year of internship, then pay a fee to take an exam. We are inspected every year.”
“We have to be re-certified every two years, with 12 hours of continuing education each year. Sometimes we have to travel hundreds of miles to attend classes, which are expensive. And if you are the sole director in your firm, it is quite a hassle to take time off from a 24/7 job and find a licensed person to cover for you.
“Very little is new in my profession. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve learned anything new in 25 years. Oh, did I mention that we must carry malpractice insurance?”
