Governor Glenn Youngkin hosted an event at the Patrick Henry Building to highlight progress made under Executive Order 52, which focuses on improving oversight of Virginia’s nursing homes. The event recognized state employees for their efforts in rebuilding systems that serve seniors in nearly 300 facilities across the state.
Since Executive Order 52 was signed in August 2025, the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Licensure and Certification (OLC) has implemented changes aimed at strengthening its capacity and modernizing how complaints are handled. These changes include increased hiring, filling key leadership roles, and launching a new regional office in Northern Virginia to improve responsiveness.
According to Governor Youngkin, “Virginia families deserve confidence that when a loved one lives in a nursing home, they are safe, respected, and cared for with dignity. Today we celebrate real progress. We strengthened staffing, modernized systems that had fallen behind, and increased transparency so families have clearer information and greater trust in oversight and accountability.”
Secretary of Health and Human Resources Janet V. Kelly stated, “Families place profound trust in our long-term care system, and that trust must be earned. These accomplishments reflect the sustained work to rebuild the systems that support oversight and accountability. The changes now in place create a stronger, more reliable foundation for continued improvement.”
Joanna Heiskill from the Nursing Home Oversight and Accountability Advisory Board added, “The Advisory Board was created to keep residents and families at the center of this work. The voices of nursing facility residents and family members must be a priority in this process toward change.”
Since July 2025, there have been significant improvements in recruitment for OLC positions: over 2,300 applications were submitted; MFI vacancies decreased from 28 to 11 by December; overall hiring timelines dropped from over 90 days to about 58 days; and retention rates improved as well.
The Department also launched a digital Complaint Portal allowing residents, families, staff, or advocates to submit concerns online while maintaining other submission options such as phone or mail. This portal helps track complaints efficiently by generating reference numbers automatically and allows better data analysis by facility type or region.
State Health Commissioner Karen Shelton commented: “Protecting the health and safety of nursing home residents is a core responsibility. These reforms strengthen how we carry out that responsibility by improving oversight capacity and ensuring residents and families have clearer access to information and a more reliable way to raise concerns.”
R. Christopher Lindsay of the Virginia Department of Health said: “As we rebuilt this office, we focused on fixing the systems and hiring the right leaders and staff to prioritize how concerns are identified and resolved. By strengthening staffing and supervision, and modernizing complaint intake, we have built a foundation to ensure that safe and high-quality care is provided in Virginia’s nursing homes.”
Inspection operations have also expanded with additional supervisory roles enabling OLC teams to conduct more thorough inspections statewide. Increased transparency measures now direct the public via OLC’s website to federal quality data on facilities’ inspection histories.
Governor Youngkin formed an advisory board composed of providers, clinicians, advocates, stakeholders—and it is expected to release further recommendations soon.
For additional details or filing complaints regarding nursing home care in Virginia visit vdh.virginia.gov/licensure-and-certification.
