Elder Abuse Lawyer Comments on Nursing Home Quality of Care Performance Study
- 146,000 deficiencies were issued to nursing homes for violations of federal regulations in 2010, indicating many quality issues in the nation’s nursing homes. 23 percent of the nation’s nursing facilities received deficiencies for poor quality of care that caused actual harm or jeopardy to residents.
- 43 percent of nursing homes failed to ensure a safe environment for residents to prevent accidents.
- 30 percent of nursing homes received deficiencies for failure to meet professional standards, 28 percent for failure to provide comprehensive care plans, 23 percent for giving unnecessary drugs, 21 percent for poor clinical records, 20 percent for failing to ensure resident dignity, 20 percent for poor housekeeping, and 19 for failure to prevent pressure sores.
- Facilities with more RN staffing have higher quality of care on average. The average staffing levels were below the level recommended by experts.
- About 90,000 residents (6.5 percent) have pressure sores.