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The New York State Department of Health maintains a website that offers information about local nursing home performance. You can also find nursing home ratings for Suffolk County on this site.
Even US News and World Report participates in nursing home ratings. Quite a few Long Island nursing homes have made this list.
The federal government also runs a ratings system.
Unfortunately, even shopping around to find the best nursing home for your elderly loved one does not guarantee that they won’t be abused or neglected at these facilities. According to The New York Times, it’s common for nursing homes to violate federal regulations, and it’s just as common for the government to avoid reporting these incidents to the public or factor them into their rating systems.
If the federal government isn’t disclosing all the information the it’s difficult to believe that state agencies or private sites will do much better.
In the federal cases, incidents uncovered by state inspectors got quashed during “a secretive appeals process,” reports The Times.
“The Times this year has documented a series of problems with Medicare’s ratings system. Much of the data that powers the system is wrong and often makes nursing homes seem cleaner and safer than they are. The rating system also obscures how many residents are receiving powerful antipsychotic drugs.”
Often the appeals process excludes patients and their families.
The oversights are serious.
- More than 2,000 5-star facilities weren’t following basic infection-control precautions.
- At 40 5-star facilities, inspectors didn’t think sexual abuse was a problem.
- Multiple homes have failed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 on their premises.
Nursing homes have a duty of care to their residents. If your loved one gets injured or sick because they weren’t supervising them closely enough, did not take adequate safety precautions, or had staff members who just downright physically, emotionally, or sexually abused them the you have a right to pursue justice on their behalf.
Know the signs of abuse:
- Frequent, unexplained injuries.
- Fall injuries.
- Stained or dirty clothing or bedding.
- Bedsores or blisters.
- Weight loss.
- Signs of overmedication such as confusion, lethargy, or depression.
- Changes in behavior, such as crying, fear, or withdrawal.
Money from a nursing home settlement includes medical care costs for correcting the abused, your own lost income if you have to take time off work to care for an abused loved one, pain, suffering, and other losses such as recompense for money missing from your loved one’s account or valuables missing from your loved one’s room.
If you think you might have a case, don’t delay. Contact us for a free case evaluation.
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