The Bush administration will begin rating facilities based on a five-star rating system very soon. The rating system is expected to be available on a Medicare web site by the end of the year and will allot each nursing home with a score from one to five stars. The measure will be based on government inspection results, as well as staffing data and quality measures.
"The fact a home has a lower rating will likely put them on a path to improvement," said Kerry Weems, acting administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that manages Medicare.
Around 1.5 million Americans live in nursing homes and each year, more than three million end up in nursing homes on a temporary basis. These numbers are expected to rise as the baby-boom generation gets older.
For the elderly and their families, it is often difficult to get enough information--the staffing level, the number of patients with bed sores, violations and other data that give information on the quality of care--before they choose a nursing home.
Has someone you care about been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect? If so, you should http://www.nursinghomelawyer.com/free-case-evaluation">contact a nursing home attorney right away, by calling 1 800 ATTORNEY.
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