TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Nursing Homes To Be Listed Among Worst

ADVERTISEMENT

By KEVIN FREKING, The Associated Press

Published: November 29, 2007

Updated: 11/28/2007 11:22 pm

WASHINGTON - Fifty-four nursing homes, including one in St. Petersburg, are being told by the government that they are among the worst in their states in an effort to goad them into improving patient care.

Lawmakers and advocacy groups have been pushing the Bush administration to make it easier for consumers to identify poorly performing nursing homes. They complain that too many facilities get cited for serious deficiencies but don't make adequate improvement, or do so only temporarily.

The administration agreed, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will list the homes on its Web site today.

"Very, very poor quality nursing homes do not deserve to be left untouched or unnoticed," said Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. "This is not to be punitive. That's not our goal. Our goal is to see to it that the people in these nursing homes get better-quality care or that they get the opportunity to move somewhere else."

The homes in question are among more than 120 designated as "special focus facilities." The agency began using the designation about a decade ago to identify homes that merit more oversight. For these homes, states conduct inspections at six-month intervals rather than annually.

The homes on the list got not only the special focus designation but also registered a lack of improvement in a subsequent survey.

The nursing homes to be cited are in 33 states and the District of Columbia, according to a list obtained by The Associated Press.

There are about 16,400 nursing homes nationwide.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT