Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 1, 1990 TAG: 9006280066
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: EX2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It answers a good many questions about the population and performance of homes throughout the country.
The report, second in an annual series called "Medicare/ Medicaid Nursing Home Information," is published in 93 volumes, with at least one volume for each state.
In addition to general information about choosing a nursing home and addresses and telephone numbers of federal and state agencies, it includes a four-page profile on each one of the approximately 16,000 nursing homes that participate in Medicare, federal health-care aid for the elderly, or Medicaid, the federal-state medical program for the poor.
Thirty-two performance factors are examined.
You can learn whether a home met federal requirements when it was inspected, which may have been more than a year ago, and get information about medical supervision, nursing care, cleanliness and residents' rights.
Also listed for every nursing home are descriptions of deficiencies that affect care, ranging from mental and physical abuse to the lack of emergency service.
This is a publication generally not intended for purchase by the public - it has 74,378 pages and weighs 343 pounds.
But if people want to buy individual volumes they can do so from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (202-783-3238) for $4.75 to $34, depending on the state.
In most cases, it makes more sense to consult the report at state health departments and Medicaid offices, local Social Security offices or the 10 regional offices of the American Association of Retired Persons.
Sheldon L. Goldberg, president of the American Association of Homes for the Aging, which represents non-profit nursing homes, criticized what he said were flaws in the report.
"Don't make a decision to go to a nursing home based on the report," he said. "Two nursing homes can look very similar on paper, yet actually be quite different in their quality of care."
Consumers, therefore, should use the new federal report as just one element in the nursing home selection process.
The steps suggested by experts for evaluating a home still ought to be followed: obtain recommendations from relatives or friends, request guidance from physicians and carefully inspect a few local homes.
In addition, make sure that both the institution and the administrator are licensed by the state.
"Then ask the administrator of the home to show you the most recent survey," said Paul Willging, executive vice president of the American Home Care Association, another nursing home group. "That should be the last step, not the first step."
by CNB