Maryland Manor Care Nursing Homes Rate Poorly in Medicare 5 Star Rating System

Medicare today unveiled its 5 star rating system for nursing homes.  1 star means much below average.  2 stars means below average.  3 stars means average.  4 stars means above average.  5 stars means much above average.  The overall star rating considers health inspections, staffing and quality measures.  What does this mean for the consumer?  It is a good thing because it will be easier to evaluate and compare nursing homes.  For example, HCR Manor Care is a for-profit organization based in Ohio.  It  owns and operates nursing homes throughout the country.  Twelve are in Maryland.  Ten of those twelve nursing homes are rated below average or much below average.  Medicare considers one home, Manor Care Rossville, a special focus facility.  This means that the facility has a persisitent history of poor quality care and is subject to more frequent inspections and monitoring.    This is vital information that you must have if a loved one needs care in a nursing home.  Too often, families become aware of deficiencies in care only after a loved one has been injured.  I see this often in my law practice.  I am glad that families now have a helpful way to get needed information about the quality of care in nursing homes. 

Deficiencies Higher at For-Profit Nursing Homes

I just read a very troubling report from the Inspector General for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services about deficiencies in nursing homes nationwide.  Any nursing home that accepts Medicare or Medicaid patients must meet Federal standards and be inspected at least every 15 months for compliance with those standards.  If the nursing home fails to meet one or more standard, a deficiency is issued.  In each of the past three years more than 91% of the nursing homes surveyed received deficiencies.  Between 2005 and 2007 the average number of deficiencies per nursing home increased more than 10% from 6.4 to 7.0.  In each of the past three years for-profit have higher percentage of deficiency then not-for-profit or government.  In addition, for-profit nursing homes had a higher average number of deficiencies than either of the other two groups.  For example, in 2007 for-profit homes had an average 7.6 deficiencies per home, while not-for-profits had 5.7 and government homes had 6.3.  Of even greater concern is the nature of the deficiencies.  The most commonly cited deficiencies for all nursing home over the past three years were quality of care, resident assessment and quality of life.  A more alarming finding is that in 2007 nearly one in every five nursing homes surveyed were cited for deficiencies which caused actual harm to a patient or placed the patient's life in immediate jeopardy.  These numbers are shocking.  Patients in nursing homes are totally vulnerable and at the mercy of their caregivers.  There is no excuse for injury or harm to a patient from a failure to meet these Federal standards.  For more information about Nursing Home Neglect visit my website at www.SharonChristieLaw.com