Perspective               

Crackdown on Nursing Homes

Nearly 1.6 million older adults live in about 17,000 nursing homes nationwide. The majority of these homes participate in Medicare and must therefore follow federal standards. Unfortunately, many Medicare-participating nursing homes have failed to provide the nursing, nutrition, and other services they promised.

In an effort to crack down on low nursing home standards across America, federal officials have increased the number of fines given to nursing homes. The government has drastically toughened enforcement over the past few years-officials this year imposed five times as many fines as in 1996.

Nursing homes have generally been fined for providing poor care to their patients. For instance, a nursing home in Utah was fined $1,300 a day because its residents developed bedsores. Another home in Cincinnati was penalized $153,000 because it failed to respect patients' privacy rights and to care for patients suffering from bedsores, infections, and incontinence. Other common problems in nursing homes include patients who are malnourished and losing weight.

If you have a complaint about the quality of care inside a nursing home, contact your state's Survey Agency. The phone number is listed in the Nursing Home Compare database at www.medicare.gov. If you are interested in choosing a nursing home, call 1-800-MEDICARE and request the free publication titled "Your Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home." The booklet can help you compare nursing homes in your area by looking at nursing home characteristics, resident characteristics, state inspection results, and nursing staff information.

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