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3 Rate Highest, 6 Lowest in Nursing Home Study

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By MICHELE SAGER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 24, 2008

TAMPA - Three of 31 nursing homes in Hillsborough County received five stars while six received just one in a national ranking system just launched by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Administrators for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services took existing data already on the agency's Web site and made it easier for patients and families to evaluate a nursing home.

The ratings are based on three major criteria: state inspections, staffing levels and quality measures, such as the percentage of residents with bed sores. The nursing homes receive stars for each of these and for their overall quality.

Check the link on this page to find ratings for 204 nursing homes in the 10 counties of West Central Florida.

The star system gets mixed reviews from local nursing home operators.

"I think the government had good intentions but I don't think you can choose a facility based on a simple ranking system," said Craig Robinson, chief of operations for Gulf Coast Health Care, which operates Health Center of Tampa.

The nursing home received four out of five stars for its overall rating under its former name, Delta Health Center.

"We're very proud of our rating," Robinson said. "But people shouldn't choose a place or rule one out by a rating."

Sondra Cornett said she wished more people used the system.

The office manager at the Nursing Center at University Village, which received a three-star rating, said new residents often come straight from hospitals and can't explore their options.

"And sometimes they don't care where they are put," Cornett said.

The rating system is a good tool for busy families who want to make the best choices for their loved ones, said Tracy Falkowitz, an attorney who specializes in nursing home defense litigation.

"When it comes to long-term care, people can be skittish," said Falkowitz, who also serves as a spokeswoman for Canterbury Towers Health Center in Tampa, which received a five-star rating. "Most of what people know are the horror stories."

The three Hillsborough County centers receiving five stars are John Knox Village and Canterbury Towers in Tampa and the Brandon Health and Rehab Center.

The six with just one star are Sun Terrace Health Care Center in Sun City, and in Tampa, the Carrollwood Care Center, Woodbridge Rehabilitation and Health Center, Habana Health Care Center Rehab and Health Care of Tampa, and Lakeshore Villas Health Care.

Five stars means a nursing home ranks "much above average," four star indicates "above average," three means "about average," two is "below average" with a one indicating "much below average." The rankings will be updated quarterly.

Nationally, about 22 percent of the country's nearly 16,000 nursing homes received the federal government's lowest rating, while 12 percent received the highest ranking.

Robinson with Gulf Coast Health Care said no rating system can replace site visits.

"How does the place smell?" he said. "How does the place look? Talk to the residents. Are they happy? Do they feel cared for? Treat this like shopping for any home, you have to get out there and check them out in person."

The rating system doesn't take into account patient satisfaction, a flaw several nursing home administrators noted. Nor it does it measure cost or value.

People investigating nursing homes should also consider any prior experience with the center, the opinion of physicians and first-hand impressions, said Joseph Cassiba, health care administrator at Plaza West in Sun City Center, which received four stars.

"The five-star rating system is a one-dimensional view," Cassiba said.

Reporter Baird Helgeson and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Reporter Michele Sager can be reached at (813) 865-1523.

Reporter Baird Helgeson and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Reporter Michele Sager can be reached at (813) 865-1523.

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