90 percent of nursing homes cited for violations
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WASHINGTON -- More than 90 percent of U.S. nursing homes in each of the past three years were cited for violating federal standards, according to a government report.
For-profit facilities had a higher percentage of violations than other nursing homes, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department inspector general said in the report yesterday.
Medicare, the U.S. health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, is trying to increase the quality of care, posting on its Web site the names of facilities that fare poorly in state inspections. The government also plans to use star ratings, similar to rankings of hotels.
"In 2007, 94 percent of for-profit nursing homes surveyed were cited for deficiencies, compared to 88 percent of not-for- profit and 91 percent of government nursing homes," Inspector General Daniel Levinson said in the report.
The most common violations, cited for 28 percent to 36 percent of nursing homes, related to improper storage and distribution of food, accident hazards and lack of services necessary for residents' mental and physical well-being, the report said.
Medicare is strengthening safety requirements and inspecting nursing homes more frequently to improve quality, Jeff Nelligan, the agency's spokesman, said in an e-mail response to questions. "The addition of stronger inspections and enforcement of quality-of-care requirements means that more of the serious deficiencies are being identified, even though many nursing homes also made improvements in their care."
About 1.5 million people live in 16,000 nursing facilities in the United States. To be reimbursed by Medicare and Medicaid, the government health program for the poor, the homes must be certified as meeting certain federal standards.
The survey process is too subjective to determine how well nursing homes are performing, Susan Feeney, a spokeswoman for the American Health Care Association, a Washington advocacy group for 9,000 nursing homes, said in a phone interview yesterday. Violations cited may relate to the "mail being delivered, things that have nothing to do with the quality of care," she said.
First Published September 30, 2008 2:35 am
