One of Gov. Rick Scott's first moves when he took office was to oust Brian Lee, a strong advocate for nursing-home patients who for seven years had headed the office of the Long-Term-Care Ombudsman. That was a big mistake, the Orlando Sentineleditorial board says. Another was Scott's choice to replace Lee -- a favorite of the industry, Harold Crochet.
Now Crochet is out, after falling under a cloud (still unspecified), and the deputy director has retired. So the hundreds of volunteers in the program are leaderless.
The Sentinel urges Scott to appoint a strong consumer advocate to give voice to the 150,000 voiceless nursing-home patients in the state.