One region experienced drops in nursing home ratings for all but one facility.  Most facilities did not increase in citations or decreases in performance. The stake just got higher.  The one facility that did increase improved in survey reports due to a new administrator offering a higher quality of care over the past couple years. Facilities are being held to a higher standard to receive 4 to 5 stars.

Falls are a key factor in nursing home deaths, with the average amount of falls per nursing home patient at 2.6 per year.  50 to 75 percent of patients fall at least once a year. Twenty percent of those falls occur with serious injury.

Since nursing hours spent with patients affects overall ratings for nursing homes, some facilities are inclined to begin keeping electronic records to validate nursing staff hours spent with patients on a daily basis.  The initiative comes from the 2012 Affordable Care Act requiring electronic records for patients.  Now nursing homes are recording nursing hours in addition to patient information and care. “So right now we have an electronic health record. And that is how the registered…

A nursing home employee has pled guilty after being charged with stealing from a nursing home.  The theft involved controlled substances such as hydrocodone and larceny of less than $200.  Charges equal a two-year felony and a 93-day misdemeanor. A four-year larceny charge was dismissed based on a plea bargain since the woman pleaded guilty. The nursing home employee was a med-tech and stole prescription medication from patients for personal consumption.  For more, read the story….

A nursing home related new bill is going before a vote.  Currently spouses of nursing home patients are able to keep half of the couples’ assets when paying for nursing home care.  The bill would allow the spouse absent from the nursing home to obtain a greater amount of the assets above the current fifty percent allowed by the bill. Medicare state rules currently maintain the rules of the bill, however, the proposed change would follow federal rules.  The minimum amount of assets…

Nursing home patients are receiving leg artery procedures in excess with less than desirable results.  The surgery is designed to increase circulation.  However, it has not been successful for many of the patients who have had it.  Many patients who have obtained the surgery are losing more physical function or dying within a year of the surgery. The surgery is not to be ruled out, however. Doctors say it should be viewed as a surgery with a short-term effect, easing side effects …