In the previous entry, I mentioned DADS’s new Five Star Rating System for nursing homes. These facilities will be rated on health inspections, staffing, and quality. Kaiser Network is reporting than nursing facility industry experts say the new system is stricter in some states than others, which may result in better facilities in certain states.
About 22 percent of almost 16,000 nursing facilities received the lowest rating, and 12 percent received the highest. National Citizen’s Coalition for Nursing Home Reform calls the survey unreliable and that poorly performing facilities can achieve high ratings.
American Health Care Association president said Bruce Yarwood said, “We believe that customer satisfaction…is a superior indicator” than self-reported surveys.
Kerry Weems, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the new ratings system “should help consumers in narrowing their choices, but nothing should substitute for visiting a nursing home when making a decision.”
