By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer - Thu Dec 18, 1:16 PM PST
WASHINGTON - About 22 percent of the nation's nearly 16,000 nursing homes received the federal government's lowest rating in a new five-star system unveiled Thursday, while 12 percent received the highest ranking possible.
A home could obtain up to five stars based on criteria such as staffing and how well they fared in state inspections.
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Kerry Weems, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the agency was merely taking existing data already on the agency's Web site and making it easier for patients and families to evaluate a nursing home. He said it can be difficult for people to understand all the aspects of an inspection.
"This should help consumers in narrowing their choices, but nothing should substitute for visiting a nursing home when making a decision," Weems said.
clear isn't it ? :p :))
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The ratings are based on three major criteria: state inspections, staffing levels and quality measures, such as the percentage of residents with bed sores. The nursing homes will receive stars for each of those categories as well as for their overall quality.
Consumer groups like the concept, but agreed there are some potential problems with the data. For example, the staffing data is self-reported just before state surveys and is widely recognized as unreliable.
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also warned that nursing homes may appear in the ratings to give better care than they actually do.
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The measurement for staffing reports the number of hours of nursing and other staff dedicated per patient each day.
The measurement for quality looks at 10 areas, including the percent of patients with bed sores after their first 90 days in the nursing home and the number of residents whose mobility worsened after admission.
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States with the highest percentage of homes with five stars were: Delaware, 30.2 percent; Alaska, 26.7 percent; New Hampshire, 24.4 percent; and Hawaii, 23.9 percent.
Industry officials said surveys conducted in some states are stricter than others, so they cautioned against using the new ratings to conclude that one state's nursing homes were better than another's.
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On the Net:
Medicare's Nursing Home Compare Web site: http://Medicare.gov/NHcompare
