Nursing-home quality ratings available online
Families looking for a nursing home can now compare different facilities for quality using a free online service provided by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The Web site, Nursing Home Compare, gives quality ratings ranging from a low of one star to a high of five stars.
Five stars means the facility is “much above average”; four, “above average”; three, “average”; two, “below average”; and one star means the facility is “much below average”.
The website also flags nursing homes that have had consistently poor performance. These facilities are designated “Special Focus Facilities” (SFF) and are clearly identified on the Web site.
The ratings are based on health inspections, staffing levels, and quality of care measures, such as the percentage of residents who develop bedsores after 90 days in the nursing home and the number of residents who become less mobile after admission.
The site can be easily searched by state, county, city or zip code and distance away from a zip code and by the particular name of the facility.
A search brings up a list of nursing homes, their ratings, the number of beds in a faciity and whether they are run as a for-profit or non-profit.
Search results can be sorted by overall rating, whether they are part of a hospital and other criteria.
Facilities can also be compared side-by-side.
Each listing provides a link to additional information about the results of their inspections, such as problems that had been identified, and a link to a map and directions page to help the user find the nursing home.
The website also provides additional material to help families looking for assistance including a section on alternatives to a nursing home, such as community support services, assisted-living facilities and home-care services.
The American Health Care Association, an industry group that represents more than 11,000 long-term care facilities, had tried to get Congress to delay the release of Nursing Home Compare.
The Association argues that the ratings are based on a “flawed” survey system that used data that “may not be accurate nor up-to-date” and, as a result, “provides little information for the consumer and may confound the already difficult decision of which facility best serves the consumer’s needs.”
On the other hand, NCCNHR, a consumer advocacy group that focuses on the quality of long-term care, was generally supportive of the effort but said it will take time to see how the ratings reflect residents actual experiences.
The NCCNHR encouraged consumers to consider the star ratings but urged them not to rely on the ratings solely.
The NCCNHR was formerly know as the National Citizen’s Coalition for Nursing Home Reform.
To learn more:
- Visit the Nursing Home Compare.
- Visit the Web site for the American Health Care Association.
- Visit the NCCNHR Web site.
Category: Senior Health, Social & Family Issues
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