List of Worst Nursing Homes Published
Posted by Administrator (admin) on Feb 14 2008 at 4:03 PM
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Washington – The Bush administration has released a list of nursing homes with the worst inspection records in their states.

They released this list - containing the names of 131 nursing homes - after initially resisting their disclosure. The administration also said that said some were already showing signs of improvement.

The list released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) designates troubled facilities cited as a ‘special focus facility’ which means that the nursing home requires more oversight. Inspections are generally conducted in six-month intervals rather than annually at nursing homes with this identification.

There are 52 nursing homes in the list which are showing no signs of improvement after being cited as a higher-risk place. The administration says that another 52 nursing homes show improvement. In last six months, they have added another 27 nursing homes to the list.

The government had released a partial list of 54 worst nursing homes last November, balking at disclosing a full list of homes that needed more oversight. The full list was now published after a group of Democratic lawmakers began pushing for full disclosure.

CMS says it will update the list of troubled nursing homes on a quarterly basis. The next release has been scheduled to April.

Kerry Weems, CMS acting administrator, says this is the latest in a series of steps they will be taking to improve quality and oversight in nursing homes.

"We are issuing more information on special focus facilities to better equip beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to make informed decisions and stimulate robust improvements in nursing homes having not improved their quality of care," he said.

There are about 16,400 nursing homes nationwide.