More Information Available on Nursing Homes
Posted by
Dan FrithApril 27, 2008 6:03 AMKnowledge is power and sometimes it is the difference between being cared for or being neglected and abused. What am I talking about? Nursing homes of course and which ones are good and which ones are bad. Unfortunately, the consumers of nursing home care rarely know which is which until it is too late.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to add to its consumer site (Nursing Home Compare) the identities of so-called Special Focus Facilities -- nursing homes that rank in the worst 5% to 10% for inspection results in a given state. These homes are selected for increased investigations and oversight by regulators. The list, which was made public earlier but not integrated in the searchable database, includes around 130 facilities, out of approximately 16,000 nursing homes in the U.S. How many of these bad facilities are in your state?
The important measures to look at in the Nursing Home Compare site are information on pain management, the prevalence of pressure sores, and the use of physical restraints. There are a number of other sites on the Internet which provide helpful information on nursing homes including:
MemberoftheFamily.net, maintained by a small company based in Severna Park, Md. The site, which is free, offers color-coded ratings based on the federal nursing-home data.
HealthGrades.com, offered by Health Grades Inc., charges for its reports. Though the reports' quality findings are based on the same inspection data as the federal site, their information goes back longer and is summarized in an easy-to-understand form.
BE INFORMED ABOUT YOUR NURSING HOMES!