New Federal Rating System for Nursing Homes

3/16/09 Posted in News  |  0 Comments

When checking into a facility to care for our loved ones, we want the best. Now, with a new 5-star rating system recently released by Medicare, we may have more insight into facilities and their level of care, at the click of a button.

The new site can be used to look over ratings based on quality of care for over 16,000 nursing homes across the U.S. The ratings are based on several thousand inspection records, complaint investigations, and quality measures. Some of the factors affecting the ratings are the ratios of registered nurses and nurse aides to residents and ten quality measurements including the percentage of patients in restraints, those with bed or pressure soars, and who have moderate to severe pain. The Medicare rating does rate centers for rehabilitation care. Most of the data the ratings are based on was gathered in 2008.

Based on the data gathered, 27 percent of the nation’s for-profit homes were only one-star, compared to 13 percent of those not-for-profit. Nineteen percent of non-profit facilities received Five Star ratings, while only 9 percent of for-profit facilities received the highest rating. The data is very interesting, but it really doesn’t matter if it is for-profit or not, facilities that rated the worst, poor care is not acceptable. Charlene Herrington, professor emeritus of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco and member of Medicare’s technical advisory committee for the ratings, said studies show “a lot of the for-profit homes have low staffing, and it shows up in their quality.” A previously released article discussing America’s nursing homes also helps to highlight some of the short falls of nursing home care.

In November, the American Health Care Association, a group that includes for-profit homes asked Congress to postpone the release of the ratings, saying the data was “flawed,” while nursing home groups welcome the efforts to spotlight those facilities needing work and those excelling.  The head of the American Association of Homes and Services for Aging, which represent non-profit homes, Larry Minnix, says the ratings are a good idea, though they often reflect subjective data. He said, “Our goal is that you should not have to worry that your mother is in a good place.

Many of us probably cringe at the thought of our loved ones being cared for in a nursing home because of the bad wrap many receive, but sometimes there is no other option. You can now know a little more about the facilities through the website launched by the federal government that will reflect data gathered from inspections gathered four times a year. While the website isn’t the only tool that should be used to select a facility for our loved ones, it is a great tool to assist us in the selection process.

Information provided by HealthNews.com.