Disability Law

The Dallas Morning News reported on a disturbing study of nursing homes that found more than 90 percent were cited for violations of federal health and safety standards last year, and that for-profit homes were more likely to have problems than other types of nursing homes. About 17 percent of nursing homes had deficiencies that caused "actual harm or immediate jeopardy" to patients.

Highlights of the findings:

? Problems included infected bedsores, medication mix-ups, poor nutrition and abuse and neglect of patients.

? Inspectors received 37,150 complaints about conditions in nursing homes last year, and they substantiated 39 percent of them, the report said. About one-fifth of the complaints verified by federal and state authorities involved the abuse or neglect of patients.

? The inspector general said 94 percent of for-profit nursing homes were cited for deficiencies last year, compared with 88 percent of nonprofit homes and 91 percent of government homes.

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. The rate in Texas was 89.6 percent.