Encouraging Health

Poorly performing facilities from 33 states put on notice

Fifty-four nursing homes are being told by the government that they’re among the worst in their states in an effort to goad them into improving patient care.

Lawmakers and advocacy groups have been pushing the Bush administration to make it easier for consumers to identify poorly performing nursing homes. They complain that too many facilities get cited for serious deficiencies but don’t make adequate improvement, or do so only temporarily.

The administration agreed, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will list the homes on its Web site Thursday.

“Very, very poor quality nursing homes do not deserve to be left untouched or unnoticed,� said Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. “This is not to be punitive. That’s not our goal. Our goal is to see to it that the people in these nursing homes get better quality care or that they get the opportunity to move somewhere else.�

The homes in question are among more than 120 designated as a “special focus facility.� CMS began using the designation about a decade ago to identify homes that merit more oversight. For these homes, states conduct inspections at six month intervals rather than annually.

The homes on the list got not only the special focus designation, but also registered a lack of improvement in a subsequent survey.

The nursing homes to be cited come from 33 states and the District of Columbia, according to a list obtained by The Associated Press. There are about 16,400 nursing homes nationwide.

Under a microscope
Nursing home administrators have concerns that homes showing significant improvements will still show up on the Medicare Web site. They said it takes time for inspection results to make their way through the bureaucracy. Still, administrators support the concept of greater disclosure, said Bruce Yarwood, president and chief executive officer of the American Health Care Association, the trade association for nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

“Every time you go under a microscope like that, especially in our profession, you want to get out from under that microscope,� Yarwood said. “There will be a heck of a lot of effort not to stay there.�

Complete list HERE

If you’re taking care of your parents, and stressed, try making a list of things to do. my Mother was in Nursing Homes the last ten years of her life. The last one robbed her blind!

I didn’t mend taking her home-cooked meals or just spending time with her.

Bad Nursing Homes

Bad Nursing Homes