Survey looks into quality of nursing homes

About 10 percent of U.S. nursing homes were found to have consistently inadequate quality since the year 2000, Consumers Union said on Tuesday.

Consumers Union has published an annual Nursing Home Watch List of facilities whose inspection reports raise concerns about the quality of care given to residents since 2000 and 1,717 facilities, or 10 percent, have been on every watch list.

A list was not published in 2003, Consumers Union published in July 2003 a report on "How good are your state's nursing homes?"

Another 715 facilities, or more than 40 percent of homes on this year's list, have appeared on three of four watch lists available online.

An aging population has heightened attention toward nursing home quality, which has been criticized often over the years.

Medicare publishes reports for consumers to compare quality at nursing homes. The site lists quality measures, the number of health deficiencies and staffing levels at each facility. Medicare's Web site also lists the date of the most recent inspection report and deficiencies found.

Consumers Union's list surveyed state inspections from January 1999 through March 2003 and listed the nursing homes that were found to have severe deficiencies, substandard quality of care deficiencies, high numbers of deficiencies and citations for failing to provide access to survey results.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

"Our study is focusing on the facilities that are chronically on these lists, which raises questions about the care that is being delivered," said Trudy Lieberman, director of the Center for Consumer Health Choices at Consumers Union.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Lieberman said the top management dictates the standard of care provided at nursing homes. "If the top management doesn't really care, you seem to have a lot of problems,"

"There are legitimate staffing concerns at nursing homes that are causing some of the issues," Lieberman said.

Tom Burke, a spokesman for the American Healthcare Association, a trade group that represents nursing homes, said the watchlist along with the Medicare site are useful tools in choosing a nursing home.

A visit to the nursing home and determining how the nursing home would fit a prospective resident's needs are also effective, Burke said.