Elder Law

Families Need to Research When Choosing A Nursing Home

By Levin & Perconti

Since reports issued claimed that 90 percent of nursing homes were sited for at least one deficiency this past year, it is important for family members to choose the right nursing home. Surprisingly, for-profit nursing homes are getting more citations that government run homes. Across the US nursing homes house more than 1.5 million people and two-thirds of the residents are Medicaid or Medicare participants. The annual cost for the care is more than $75 billion. In order for nursing homes to receive funding from the government through Medicaid and Medicare, they must meet federal standards and are inspected at least once every 15 months. The care in nursing homes has fallen short for several years, drawing scrutiny from the public and the government. The report says the most common violations of nursing homes surveyed were improper storage and distribution of food, lack of services needed for patients? well being and accident hazards. With these alarming statistics it is important that individuals read the report released by the Department of Health and Human Services. If not a person puts the individual they love at risk of being mistreated or not cared for in the proper manner. To read the full story, click here.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on October 13, 2008 (boomark / email).