Elder Law

Report Finds That More Than 90% of Nursing Homes Violate Federal Health and Safety Laws

By dvanar

More than 90 % of U.S. nursing homes were cited last year for violating at least one federal health and safety law,  the-new-york-times reported recently.

About 17 percent of nursing homes had violations that led to “actual harm or immediate jeopardy” to residents, according to the report by the inspector general to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Citations were issued for violations including infected bedsores, drug errors, resident malnutrition, and patient abuse or neglect.

About 37,150 complaints were sent to inspectors last year about nursing home conditions, of which 39 % were validated, the report said. Some 20 % of the verified complaints involved patient abuse or neglect.

Deficiency rates varied widely among states. The proportion of nursing homes cited for deficiencies ranged from 76 percent in Rhode Island to 100 percent in Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.

More than 1.5 million people live in the nation?s 15,000 nursing homes. The homes are typically inspected once a year and must meet federal standards as a condition of participating in Medicare and Medicaid, which cover more than two-thirds of their residents, at a cost of more than $75 billion a year.

Full post as published by Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli Blog on September 30, 2008 (boomark / email).