"Worst" nursing homes identified

WASHINGTON — Fifty-four nursing homes are being told by the government that they're among the worst in their states in an effort to goad them into improving patient care.

Lawmakers and advocacy groups have been pushing the Bush administration to make it easier for consumers to identify poorly performing nursing homes.

They complain that too many facilities are cited for serious deficiencies but don't make adequate improvement, or do so only temporarily.

The administration agreed, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will list the homes on its Web site today.

The homes in question are among more than 120 designated as a "special-focus facility." CMS began using the designation about a decade ago to identify homes that merit more oversight. For these homes, states conduct inspections at six-month intervals rather than annually.

The homes on the new list got not only the special-focus designation but also registered a lack of improvement in a subsequent survey.

The nursing homes to be cited come from 33 states, including Washington, and the District of Columbia, according to a list obtained by The Associated Press. There are about 16,400 nursing homes nationwide.

One of the homes on the government's list was Franklin Hills Health & Rehab Center in Spokane. Brian Teed, the facility's administrator, said he did not have a problem with Medicare publicizing the list. But he said regional differences play a huge role in how nursing homes are graded. He said he recently helped run a facility in Portland and nursing homes were graded much easier there. He took over the Spokane facility in September and found it to be well-run.

"In the Portland, Oregon, area, this facility would be deficiency-free or close to it. Instead we got 15 tags. We got tagged because there was bird poop on the bench outside," Teed said.

About 1.5 million elderly and disabled people live in nursing homes. Taxpayers spend about $72.5 billion a year to subsidize the cost of nursing-home care.

Every nursing home receiving federal payments undergoes inspections yearly.

Among the things inspectors look for are giving residents the proper medicine, assisting them with daily living activities such as bathing, and assisting them with medical needs and diet, as well as the prevention of accidents and infections.