Over 4,000 Bad Nursing Homes in the US - THREE in NC
Posted by
Christina MedlinFebruary 18, 2008 4:00 PMThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) , formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), is the federal agency responsible for administering the Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance), HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments), and several other health-related programs.
CMS created the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Initiative to monitor Nursing Homes with irregular compliance histories - meaning facilities that would be in compliance during one inspection of the facility, but major problems re-emerge by the next inspection. Nursing Homes in the SFF Initiative are visited twice as frequently as other nursing homes. The more the problems persist the more stringent the enforcement. Enforcement can range from fines to termination from Medicare and Medicaid.
As of February 12, 2008, 4,000 U.S. nursing homes are providing substandard care, three of which are in NC. These Nursing Homes are on the "Facilities That Have Shown Improvement" Chart of the study, which means that the three NC facilities are improving but CMS is waiting to see if the improvements continue over time. However, the study indicates that Clemmons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Clemmons, NC has been apart of the SFF Initiative for 17 months! Other Nursing Homes listed include Liberty Nursing and Rehabilitation Center of Mecklenburg City (7 months in SFF) ini Charlotte, NC and Universal Health Care/North Raleigh in Raleigh, NC(7 Months in SFF). In order to be removed from this list, the Nursing Home must continue to show significant improvement for 12 months. SFF will update the study in April 2008 and August 2008.
If you are considering admission to Nursing Home, check out "Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home"