Call us today: 1-888-LAW-3010
www.EndElderAbuse.com
I share these stories not to scare you, but rather to remind you of why it is so critically important to ensure that your loved ones are being cared for by responsible, well-paid nursing home staffers. The simple fact is, the nursing home industry is built on a very dangerous business model in which nursing home operators try to squeeze out bigger and bigger profits by cutting staff and paying substandard wages. Low wages means you cannot attract top quality employees, which means patient safety is placed at risk
This Chicago Tribune article illustrates the consequence of the "profits over patients" business model:
A 24-year-old nursing assistant on duty when an 89-year-old Alzheimer's disease patient wandered out of a nursing home and froze to death in February was released from the DuPage County Jail after pleading guilty Monday to criminal neglect. Heidi Leon accepted a plea agreement that placed her on 30 months of probation and sentenced her to 180 days in jail.
Leon had been charged in connection with the death of Sarah Wentworth, who was found about 5 a.m. Feb. 5 outside The Arbor of Itasca. About 2 a.m., with the temperature hovering around zero, she had left the home through a door, triggering an alarm when she opened it.A ssistant DuPage County State's Atty. Mary Cronin said Leon, the on-duty nursing assistant, responded by turning the alarm off and returning to a lounge to watch the television show "Dog the Bounty Hunter" without checking on any residents. Cronin said the evidence showed that the barefoot Wentworth fell about 85 feet from the door and tried to crawl back about 14 feet, before her body gave out. The coroner's report said she died of hypothermia.
A daughter of the vicitm told Judge Peter Dockery that "we entrusted our mother to the Arbor staff, but she was left alone to die alone in the cold. Her will to survive was overcome by the bitter cold, and she suffered a lonely and painful death."
Leon pleaded guilty to criminal neglect of a long-term care-facility resident and obstruction of justice for originally telling police she had made a resident check after the door alarm sounded. The Wentworth family has filed a civil suit against the facility, claiming neglect.
Need to speak with an attorney about a case of nursing home abuse or neglect?
Call us today: 1-888-LAW-3010
www.EndElderAbuse.com
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Two Nursing Homes Fined for Patient Deaths
The sad reality of these tragic stories is that the fines levied likely will have little if any effect on how these nursing homes do business. In the cruel calculus of the nursing home industry, it costs less to pay a $100,000 fine than it does to increase staffing to levels sufficient to provide adequate care. If a loved one has been injured or killed due to a nursing home's negligence, call now to speak to one of our attorneys for free at 1-888-LAW-3010.
The L.A. Times reports:
California officials have fined two nursing homes in Los Angeles for providing care so inadequate that it led to the deaths of two patients.
In one case, a woman died from dehydration. In the other, staff failed to provide CPR to a man suffering a heart attack because they mistakenly believed he was under orders not to be resuscitated.
Alamitos West Health Care Center in Los Alamitos was fined $100,000, and state officials levied an $80,000 fine on the Huntington Valley Healthcare Center in Huntington Beach.
At Alamitos West, the California Department of Public Health found that the nursing home failed to give an 82-year-old woman sufficient fluids, causing her to suffer dehydration and acute kidney failure.
On Dec. 19, the woman's condition had deteriorated so much that she was transferred to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, dehydration and an "altered mental status."
The patient died six days later, on Christmas Day.
The woman was admitted to the nursing home in late November. A doctor ordered that the patient's fluid intake and urine output be monitored during every shift.
But a registered dietitian at the nursing home could not prove to state officials that nurses had ensured that the patient was drinking enough fluids every day; in some cases, review of the patient's intake and output of fluids was blank or illegible.
At Huntington Valley Healthcare Center, the nursing home's administrator told state officials that on March 2 a registered nurse supervisor did not call 911 as a patient was dying "because she thought the patient had orders" not to be resuscitated. In fact, the patient's medical record included an advance directive form from a family member on which was marked the option, "I DO WANT C.P.R." in an emergency situation.
Nursing personnel who were present at the time of the patient's death were no longer employed by the time state officials investigated.
State officials said that at one point, a licensed vocational nurse called to inform a family member that the patient had died. According to the state, the nurse told the family member that the patient was dead and that paramedics were not called because the facility had orders not to resuscitate the patient.
The family member told the nurse to hang up and call 911.
By the time paramedics arrived, they found the patient in bed with no heartbeat. He was covered with a sheet with no signs that CPR had been initiated.
The L.A. Times reports:
California officials have fined two nursing homes in Los Angeles for providing care so inadequate that it led to the deaths of two patients.
In one case, a woman died from dehydration. In the other, staff failed to provide CPR to a man suffering a heart attack because they mistakenly believed he was under orders not to be resuscitated.
Alamitos West Health Care Center in Los Alamitos was fined $100,000, and state officials levied an $80,000 fine on the Huntington Valley Healthcare Center in Huntington Beach.
At Alamitos West, the California Department of Public Health found that the nursing home failed to give an 82-year-old woman sufficient fluids, causing her to suffer dehydration and acute kidney failure.
On Dec. 19, the woman's condition had deteriorated so much that she was transferred to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, dehydration and an "altered mental status."
The patient died six days later, on Christmas Day.
The woman was admitted to the nursing home in late November. A doctor ordered that the patient's fluid intake and urine output be monitored during every shift.
But a registered dietitian at the nursing home could not prove to state officials that nurses had ensured that the patient was drinking enough fluids every day; in some cases, review of the patient's intake and output of fluids was blank or illegible.
At Huntington Valley Healthcare Center, the nursing home's administrator told state officials that on March 2 a registered nurse supervisor did not call 911 as a patient was dying "because she thought the patient had orders" not to be resuscitated. In fact, the patient's medical record included an advance directive form from a family member on which was marked the option, "I DO WANT C.P.R." in an emergency situation.
Nursing personnel who were present at the time of the patient's death were no longer employed by the time state officials investigated.
State officials said that at one point, a licensed vocational nurse called to inform a family member that the patient had died. According to the state, the nurse told the family member that the patient was dead and that paramedics were not called because the facility had orders not to resuscitate the patient.
The family member told the nurse to hang up and call 911.
By the time paramedics arrived, they found the patient in bed with no heartbeat. He was covered with a sheet with no signs that CPR had been initiated.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Mentally Ill Patient Rapes Elderly Nursing Home Resident
In my post dated March 22, 2009, I discussed a dangerous trend in America's nursing homes in which young, mentally ill individuals are mixed in with frail, elderly residents in order to maximize the nursing homes profits. Brutal attacks on the defenseless elderly residents at the hands of the mental patients are often the result.
Sadly, my blogpost foreshadowed a Chicago Tribune article printed yesterday that reported the rape of an elderly resident at the hands of a younger mental patient:
A 69-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by a 21-year-old mentally ill resident at a nursing home in Elgin, Illinois. Maplewood Care's administrator tried to cover up a brutal rape by calling it consensual sex, and encouraged employees to lie about it to cover it up.
It is also example of how mixing frail elderly residents and younger mentally ill tenants in nursing homes can lead to violence if facilities do not monitor potentially dangerous residents.
Christopher Shelton, 21, had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with aggression when he was admitted to the nursing home in November. The state report showed he had told the nursing home staff in December that he was sexually frustrated, but the facility failed to monitor him more closely. The state and federal governments fined the nursing home $44,400 for violations related to the incident.
The victim's family was not told the nursing home had admitted young adult residents with a history of violent and aggressive criminal behaviors. Shelton, a convicted felon and a former resident of the Elgin facility, was readmitted to the home without a proper review of his criminal history. If the home had checked, it would have discovered Shelton had an outstanding arrest warrant on felony battery charges.
Sadly, my blogpost foreshadowed a Chicago Tribune article printed yesterday that reported the rape of an elderly resident at the hands of a younger mental patient:
A 69-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by a 21-year-old mentally ill resident at a nursing home in Elgin, Illinois. Maplewood Care's administrator tried to cover up a brutal rape by calling it consensual sex, and encouraged employees to lie about it to cover it up.
It is also example of how mixing frail elderly residents and younger mentally ill tenants in nursing homes can lead to violence if facilities do not monitor potentially dangerous residents.
Christopher Shelton, 21, had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with aggression when he was admitted to the nursing home in November. The state report showed he had told the nursing home staff in December that he was sexually frustrated, but the facility failed to monitor him more closely. The state and federal governments fined the nursing home $44,400 for violations related to the incident.
The victim's family was not told the nursing home had admitted young adult residents with a history of violent and aggressive criminal behaviors. Shelton, a convicted felon and a former resident of the Elgin facility, was readmitted to the home without a proper review of his criminal history. If the home had checked, it would have discovered Shelton had an outstanding arrest warrant on felony battery charges.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Mentally Ill Patients Pose Threat to Elderly in Nursing Homes
A recent Associated Press article reveals a spike in the number of mentally ill patients who are moving into nursing homes, often times sharing a room with an elderly, frail resident. Time and again these mentally ill individuals attack their defenseless elderly roommates.
Over the past several years, nursing homes have become dumping grounds for young and middle-age people with mental illness, according to Associated Press interviews and an analysis of data from all 50 states. And that has proved a prescription for violence, as cases across the country illustrate.
Younger, stronger residents with schizophrenia, depression or bipolar disorder are living beside frail senior citizens, and sometimes taking their rage out on them.
Nearly 125,000 young and middle-aged adults with serious mental illness lived in U.S. nursing homes last year. That was a 41 percent increase from 2002, when nursing homes housed nearly 89,000 mentally ill people ages 22 to 64. Most states saw increases, with Utah, Nevada, Missouri, Alabama and Texas showing the steepest climbs.
Younger mentally ill people now make up more than 9 percent of the nation's nearly 1.4 million nursing home residents, up from 6 percent in 2002. Several forces are behind the trend, among them: the closing of state mental institutions and a shortage of hospital psychiatric beds. Also, nursing homes have beds to fill because today's elderly are healthier than the generation before them and are more independent and more likely to stay in their homes.
No government agency keeps count of killings or serious assaults committed by the mentally ill against the elderly in nursing homes. But a number of tragic cases have occurred:
• In 2003, a 23-year-old woman in Connecticut was charged with starting a fire that killed 16 fellow patients at her Hartford nursing home. A court guardian said Leslie Andino suffered from multiple sclerosis, dementia and depression. She was found incompetent to stand trial and committed to a mental institution.
• In 2006, 77-year-old Norbert Konwin died at a South Toledo, Ohio, nursing home 10 days after authorities said his 62-year-old roommate beat him with a bathroom towel bar. Sharon John Hawkins was found incompetent to stand trial.
• In January, a 21-year-old man diagnosed with bipolar disorder with aggression was charged with raping a 69-year-old fellow patient at their nursing home in Elgin, near Chicago. A state review found that Christopher Shelton was admitted to the nursing home despite a history of violence and was left unsupervised even after he told staff he was sexually frustrated.
Under federal law, nursing homes are barred from admitting a mentally ill patient unless the state has determined that the person needs the high level of care a nursing home can provide. States are responsible for doing the screening. Also, federal law guarantees nursing home residents the right to be free from physical abuse.
The problem has its roots in the 1960s, when deplorable conditions, improved drug treatments and civil rights lawsuits led officials to close many state mental hospitals. As a result, some states have come to rely largely on nursing homes to care for mentally ill people of all ages.
Also, mixing the mentally ill with the elderly makes economic sense for states. As long as a nursing home's mentally ill population stays under 50 percent, the federal government will help pay for the residents' care under Medicaid. Otherwise, the home is classified a mental institution, and the government won't pay.
In Missouri, more than 4,400 younger mentally ill people are living in nursing homes, in part because of a state program that helps the elderly stay in their own homes longer. Nursing homes "are looking at 60 to 70 percent occupancy, and the statistics tell us they've got to be in the 90s to operate successfully," said Carol Scott, the state long-term care ombudsman for 20 years. "They're going to take anybody they can."
www.EndElderAbuse.com
1-888-LAW-3010
Over the past several years, nursing homes have become dumping grounds for young and middle-age people with mental illness, according to Associated Press interviews and an analysis of data from all 50 states. And that has proved a prescription for violence, as cases across the country illustrate.
Younger, stronger residents with schizophrenia, depression or bipolar disorder are living beside frail senior citizens, and sometimes taking their rage out on them.
Nearly 125,000 young and middle-aged adults with serious mental illness lived in U.S. nursing homes last year. That was a 41 percent increase from 2002, when nursing homes housed nearly 89,000 mentally ill people ages 22 to 64. Most states saw increases, with Utah, Nevada, Missouri, Alabama and Texas showing the steepest climbs.
Younger mentally ill people now make up more than 9 percent of the nation's nearly 1.4 million nursing home residents, up from 6 percent in 2002. Several forces are behind the trend, among them: the closing of state mental institutions and a shortage of hospital psychiatric beds. Also, nursing homes have beds to fill because today's elderly are healthier than the generation before them and are more independent and more likely to stay in their homes.
No government agency keeps count of killings or serious assaults committed by the mentally ill against the elderly in nursing homes. But a number of tragic cases have occurred:
• In 2003, a 23-year-old woman in Connecticut was charged with starting a fire that killed 16 fellow patients at her Hartford nursing home. A court guardian said Leslie Andino suffered from multiple sclerosis, dementia and depression. She was found incompetent to stand trial and committed to a mental institution.
• In 2006, 77-year-old Norbert Konwin died at a South Toledo, Ohio, nursing home 10 days after authorities said his 62-year-old roommate beat him with a bathroom towel bar. Sharon John Hawkins was found incompetent to stand trial.
• In January, a 21-year-old man diagnosed with bipolar disorder with aggression was charged with raping a 69-year-old fellow patient at their nursing home in Elgin, near Chicago. A state review found that Christopher Shelton was admitted to the nursing home despite a history of violence and was left unsupervised even after he told staff he was sexually frustrated.
Under federal law, nursing homes are barred from admitting a mentally ill patient unless the state has determined that the person needs the high level of care a nursing home can provide. States are responsible for doing the screening. Also, federal law guarantees nursing home residents the right to be free from physical abuse.
The problem has its roots in the 1960s, when deplorable conditions, improved drug treatments and civil rights lawsuits led officials to close many state mental hospitals. As a result, some states have come to rely largely on nursing homes to care for mentally ill people of all ages.
Also, mixing the mentally ill with the elderly makes economic sense for states. As long as a nursing home's mentally ill population stays under 50 percent, the federal government will help pay for the residents' care under Medicaid. Otherwise, the home is classified a mental institution, and the government won't pay.
In Missouri, more than 4,400 younger mentally ill people are living in nursing homes, in part because of a state program that helps the elderly stay in their own homes longer. Nursing homes "are looking at 60 to 70 percent occupancy, and the statistics tell us they've got to be in the 90s to operate successfully," said Carol Scott, the state long-term care ombudsman for 20 years. "They're going to take anybody they can."
www.EndElderAbuse.com
1-888-LAW-3010
Friday, March 6, 2009
New Rule Impedes Cases Against Nursing Homes
In September 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) issued a new rule designating state inspectors and Medicare and Medicaid contractors as "federal employees." Federal employees are generally shielded from providing evidence for either side in private litigation, absent a court order.
The practical effect of this new rule is to make it much more difficult for abused and neglected nursing home residents to obtain inspection reports and other important evidence to support their personal injury claims.
The Washington Post's Cindy Skrycki reports: "This change hurts nursing home residents and their families by allowing bad practices to be kept in secret by nursing homes and inspectors," said Eric M. Carlson, an attorney with the National Senior Citizens Law Center in Los Angeles. "Government inspectors have the right to go into nursing homes and investigate, and they learn things that residents and families otherwise could never find out."
It's ironic that DHS performs nursing home inspections and certification reviews so as to protect residents from abuse. But when the results of those inspections and reviews are requested by nursing home residents, DHS has created an obstacle to discourage disclosure.
Not surprisingly, the new rule is receiving heavy criticism, which should put pressure on DHS to reverse its position on disclosure of these important inspections and reviews. Please check back in the future for updates on whether the rule is abandoned by DHS.
www.EndElderAbuse.com
1-888-LAW-3010
The practical effect of this new rule is to make it much more difficult for abused and neglected nursing home residents to obtain inspection reports and other important evidence to support their personal injury claims.
The Washington Post's Cindy Skrycki reports: "This change hurts nursing home residents and their families by allowing bad practices to be kept in secret by nursing homes and inspectors," said Eric M. Carlson, an attorney with the National Senior Citizens Law Center in Los Angeles. "Government inspectors have the right to go into nursing homes and investigate, and they learn things that residents and families otherwise could never find out."
It's ironic that DHS performs nursing home inspections and certification reviews so as to protect residents from abuse. But when the results of those inspections and reviews are requested by nursing home residents, DHS has created an obstacle to discourage disclosure.
Not surprisingly, the new rule is receiving heavy criticism, which should put pressure on DHS to reverse its position on disclosure of these important inspections and reviews. Please check back in the future for updates on whether the rule is abandoned by DHS.
www.EndElderAbuse.com
1-888-LAW-3010
Monday, February 23, 2009
Attorneys Inspect Nursing Home where Patient Wanders Off & Dies
The Chicago Tribune reports on a pending lawsuit involving a tragic case of an Alzheimer's patient who died due to the failures of inattentive nursing home staffers:
Inside the nursing station at The Arbor of Itasca is a handwritten note reminding staff that "if this buzzer sounds, staff must go out to the courtyard to check for a resident."
"Obviously in this situation, that never happened, because had they done that they would have gone outside and seen that Sarah Wentworth's body was in the courtyard," said Louis Cairo, an attorney representing Wentworth's family in a lawsuit against the nursing home.
As part of the suit filed last week, Cairo and other attorneys for the family on Friday conducted an inspection of the facility, where the 89-year-old Alzheimer's patient died Feb. 5 after her frozen body was found outside.
The inspection, which involved taking photographs, video and measurements, came as prosecutors continued their own investigation of the facility. Neglect and obstruction of justice charges may be filed against as many as four employees as soon as next week, sources said.
Cairo alleged that a 23-year-old staff member on duty the night of the incident was watching TV in a room adjacent to the nursing station when Wentworth exited a door and triggered the alarm. Instead of checking the courtyard as instructed, Cairo alleges the staff member assumed someone "stepped outside to have a cigarette" and turned the alarm off "so it didn't distract her television program."
"Whoever it was didn't do their job," Cairo said.
"Call it lazy, call it neglect, call it irresponsible, call it all of the above."
Inside the nursing station at The Arbor of Itasca is a handwritten note reminding staff that "if this buzzer sounds, staff must go out to the courtyard to check for a resident."
"Obviously in this situation, that never happened, because had they done that they would have gone outside and seen that Sarah Wentworth's body was in the courtyard," said Louis Cairo, an attorney representing Wentworth's family in a lawsuit against the nursing home.
As part of the suit filed last week, Cairo and other attorneys for the family on Friday conducted an inspection of the facility, where the 89-year-old Alzheimer's patient died Feb. 5 after her frozen body was found outside.
The inspection, which involved taking photographs, video and measurements, came as prosecutors continued their own investigation of the facility. Neglect and obstruction of justice charges may be filed against as many as four employees as soon as next week, sources said.
Cairo alleged that a 23-year-old staff member on duty the night of the incident was watching TV in a room adjacent to the nursing station when Wentworth exited a door and triggered the alarm. Instead of checking the courtyard as instructed, Cairo alleges the staff member assumed someone "stepped outside to have a cigarette" and turned the alarm off "so it didn't distract her television program."
"Whoever it was didn't do their job," Cairo said.
"Call it lazy, call it neglect, call it irresponsible, call it all of the above."
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Worst of the Worst
The federal government calls them "special focus facilities," or SFFs. We call them the worst nursing homes in the entire country. These are nursing homes that should be avoided at all costs.
The government resorted to releasing the SFF list because a number of facilities were consistently providing poor quality of care, yet were periodically instituting enough improvement that they would pass one survey only to fail the next, for many of the same problems as before.
Such facilities with a “yo-yo” compliance history rarely addressed underlying systemic problems that were giving rise to repeated cycles of serious deficiencies.
Once a facility is selected as an SFF, the state survey agency conducts twice the number of standard surveys and will apply progressive enforcement until the nursing home either (a) significantly improves and is no longer identified as an SFF, (b) is granted additional time due to promising developments, or (c) is terminated from Medicare and/or Medicaid.
CMS and the state can more quickly terminate a facility that is placing residents in immediate jeopardy.
The CMS policy of progressive enforcement means that any nursing home, not just those identified as an SFF, that reveals a pattern of persistent poor quality is subject to increasingly stringent enforcement action. If problems continue, the severity of penalties will increase over time, ranging from civil monetary penalties, denial of payment for new admissions and, ultimately, removal from Medicare and/or Medicaid.
Click here for an up-to-date listing of SFF nursing homes.
The government resorted to releasing the SFF list because a number of facilities were consistently providing poor quality of care, yet were periodically instituting enough improvement that they would pass one survey only to fail the next, for many of the same problems as before.
Such facilities with a “yo-yo” compliance history rarely addressed underlying systemic problems that were giving rise to repeated cycles of serious deficiencies.
Once a facility is selected as an SFF, the state survey agency conducts twice the number of standard surveys and will apply progressive enforcement until the nursing home either (a) significantly improves and is no longer identified as an SFF, (b) is granted additional time due to promising developments, or (c) is terminated from Medicare and/or Medicaid.
CMS and the state can more quickly terminate a facility that is placing residents in immediate jeopardy.
The CMS policy of progressive enforcement means that any nursing home, not just those identified as an SFF, that reveals a pattern of persistent poor quality is subject to increasingly stringent enforcement action. If problems continue, the severity of penalties will increase over time, ranging from civil monetary penalties, denial of payment for new admissions and, ultimately, removal from Medicare and/or Medicaid.
Click here for an up-to-date listing of SFF nursing homes.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Unattended Nursing Home Resident Falls & Dies
Sad news out of Concord, North Carolina last week: a nursing home resident suffering from Alzheimer's disease wandered off a loading dock at the nursing home and later died. An investigation of the incident revealed that the nursing home staff was aware that the resident was a "wanderer," and staff were under strict orders to check on her every 15 minutes. The nursing home staff members failed to monitor the resident, which allowed the resident enough time to wander, unnoticed, through several doors, through the kitchen, outside the home, and off the 4-foot loading dock.
State health officials recommended the maximum $50,000 fine against the nursing home because the loading dock was not equipped with adequate safeguards to prevent the fall. The nursing home has since installed an alarm and fence around the loading dock.
This tragic incident underscores the need for loved ones of potential nursing home residents to do their homework before choosing a nursing home. Carefully inspect the nursing home premises for dangerous conditions that could cause harm to residents. Ask to interview staff members about why they work in the nursing home industry and how long they have been working at this particular nursing home. And lastly, check how the nursing home stacks up on Medicare's 5-star rating system. Not surprisingly, the home where this incident occurred earned the lowest possible rating -- 1 star.
Access the 5-Star Rating System Here
www.EndElderAbuse.com
1-888-LAW-3010
State health officials recommended the maximum $50,000 fine against the nursing home because the loading dock was not equipped with adequate safeguards to prevent the fall. The nursing home has since installed an alarm and fence around the loading dock.
This tragic incident underscores the need for loved ones of potential nursing home residents to do their homework before choosing a nursing home. Carefully inspect the nursing home premises for dangerous conditions that could cause harm to residents. Ask to interview staff members about why they work in the nursing home industry and how long they have been working at this particular nursing home. And lastly, check how the nursing home stacks up on Medicare's 5-star rating system. Not surprisingly, the home where this incident occurred earned the lowest possible rating -- 1 star.
Access the 5-Star Rating System Here
www.EndElderAbuse.com
1-888-LAW-3010
Sunday, January 4, 2009
High Staff Turnover Affects Care - Rural Homes May Be Better
In my December 19, 2008 post, I discussed CMS's new 5-star rating system for nursing homes. In a Kansas City Star article published today ("KC Area Facilities Get Low Scores," January 4, 2008, p. B1) journalist Alan Bavley observes that nursing homes with high staff turnover are generally rated lower on the 5-star scale than those facilities with lower staff turnover stats. Be sure to compare staff turnover rates of nursing homes you are considering for a loved one.
The article also notes that nursing homes in urban areas have a harder time retaining quality staff than do rural nursing homes. And rural nursing homes usually provide a more personal touch. Consequently, it may be advisable to look into rural nursing home options for your loved one. While choosing a rural nursing home may result in a longer drive for visits, it's certainly worth this minor inconvenience to ensure quality care.
Excerpts for the Kansas City Star article:
A possible reason for the relatively low ratings in the Kansas City region could be the stiff competition for health care personnel and the difficulty urban facilities face retaining staff, said federal and state officials who inspect nursing homes.
“There’s just such shortages of nurses. In rural areas, there’s no place else to go to work, there aren’t other options,” said Jennifer King of the Kansas City regional office of the CMS.
“In urban areas, there’s turnover and not enough staff, and that leads to not enough continuity of care,” King said. “Ultimately, it even affects health inspections.”
Most of the five-star nursing homes in Missouri and Kansas are in small towns, places like Lindsborg, Kan., and Malden, Mo.
Lower staff turnover may not be the only reason for frequent five-star ratings of small-town nursing homes. Care also may be more personal there, officials say.
“If you live in a small town and work in a nursing home, you may be taking care of your own relatives or the relatives of your friends,” said Tracy Niekamp, program manager for nursing home licensure and certification of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The article also notes that nursing homes in urban areas have a harder time retaining quality staff than do rural nursing homes. And rural nursing homes usually provide a more personal touch. Consequently, it may be advisable to look into rural nursing home options for your loved one. While choosing a rural nursing home may result in a longer drive for visits, it's certainly worth this minor inconvenience to ensure quality care.
Excerpts for the Kansas City Star article:
A possible reason for the relatively low ratings in the Kansas City region could be the stiff competition for health care personnel and the difficulty urban facilities face retaining staff, said federal and state officials who inspect nursing homes.
“There’s just such shortages of nurses. In rural areas, there’s no place else to go to work, there aren’t other options,” said Jennifer King of the Kansas City regional office of the CMS.
“In urban areas, there’s turnover and not enough staff, and that leads to not enough continuity of care,” King said. “Ultimately, it even affects health inspections.”
Most of the five-star nursing homes in Missouri and Kansas are in small towns, places like Lindsborg, Kan., and Malden, Mo.
Lower staff turnover may not be the only reason for frequent five-star ratings of small-town nursing homes. Care also may be more personal there, officials say.
“If you live in a small town and work in a nursing home, you may be taking care of your own relatives or the relatives of your friends,” said Tracy Niekamp, program manager for nursing home licensure and certification of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
