NY Nursing Home Inspection Reports Now Online

A new online search tool lets nursing home consumers review inspection reports to make educated choices regarding where their loved ones should reside.

2012-10-25

October 25, 2012 (Press-News.org) Making the decision to entrust the care of a loved one to a nursing home can be fraught with emotion and overwhelming concern for his or her continued well-being. As the American population ages and life expectancies increase, the need for permanent assistance to care for parents and grandparents has risen. Since more and more families are looking to nursing homes to care for their loved ones, new tools are emerging to ensure families are able to make educated decisions about the facility they choose.

Most recently, a new online tool was created to allow families to review inspection reports from nursing homes in Manhattan, New York City and across the country. The search engine, called Nursing Home Inspect, was created by ProPublica to allow consumers to use keyword searches to discover deficiencies at facilities all over the United States. For instance, if a potential nursing home consumer were concerned about the incidents of residents with bed sores at facilities in Manhattan, he or she could do a search for "bed sores" or "pressure ulcers" to discover inspection reports regarding such issues.

This tool is also beneficial for families with relatives already living in assisted living facilities. Currently, there are 1.5 million residents in nursing homes across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 16,100 nursing homes in the country, Nursing Home Inspect has information regarding 14,565 of those facilities. As of September 21, 2012, the search tool had over 144,000 inspection reports available to the public.

Prior to the implementation of this ProPublica online search function, consumers who were interested in safety statistics regarding a particular nursing home had to take additional action. Consumers could file a Freedom of Information Act request to review a home's inspection reports or they could choose to visit the nursing home in person. While it is still advisable to visit a home before deciding to place a loved one in its care, it is now much simpler to review its safety record.

Some nursing homes have responded that the online search fails to give a complete look at the care provided at the facilities. They contend the inspection reports only account for incidents of poor care, while they fail to consider other quality measures. For instance, the inspection reports do not discuss the satisfaction of residents as a whole in a particular home.

New York Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

With nursing home residents paying an average of $360 per day -- or $131,484 per year -- in New York City, it is critical for family members to ensure they are receiving the quality of care they deserve. Whenever there is a suspicion of nursing home neglect or abuse, family members should file a complaint with the New York State Department of Health. Filing a report will initiate an investigation and result in an update to the online search tool.

Nursing home residents are vulnerable adults and are therefore susceptible to substandard care. Patients who are neglected can suffer a variety of dangerous symptoms, including bed sores, malnutrition and dehydration. Nursing home residents can also suffer due to poor care, including failures to diagnose medical conditions and the over-prescription of antipsychotic medications.

Staffing levels at nursing homes are particularly important, as well, since residents with cognitive disorders may not know how to get back to the facility if they are allowed to wander off. This problem, referred to as "elopement," is a concern in New York. While nursing homes in New Jersey require a certain number of staff members depending on the number of residents at the facility, New York does not have minimum staffing requirements.

If you suspect that your loved one has received improper care at a New York nursing home, consulting with a skilled personal injury attorney will ensure your loved one is properly protected. A New York nursing home injury attorney will fight for just compensation for the injured vulnerable adult.

Article provided by Tomkiel & Tomkiel, P.C.
Visit us at www.tomkiel.com/

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Connected Cars Can Help Drivers Avoid Road Dangers and Accidents

2012-10-25

If cars could sense a potential accident risk and alert drivers before a crash occurs, would this help to prevent more motor vehicle accidents? Researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute recently launched a study to answer just this question. They will track almost 3,000 drivers with wireless transmitters in their cars, and some with receivers and audio warning systems. The test is to see how these devices help drivers avoid collisions during real-world scenarios. Although the most recent motor vehicle statistics published by the National ...

Connecticut Parents: Tips for Your Children to Avoid Dog Bites

2012-10-25

As a parent, one of the most terrifying prospects is being unable to prevent your child from being injured or harmed. Despite parents' best efforts, though, some incidents occur too quickly for them to be able to step in to protect their children. Dog bites and attacks, which occur with some amount of regularity in the U.S., are one example of this type of incident. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 4.7 million people are victims of dog bites each year in the U.S. Consequently, it is wise for parents to discuss safety tips with their ...

Texas Marijuana Possession Penalties Explained

2012-10-25

In Texas, marijuana offenses are classified differently than the four other drug classes in the criminal code. Depending on the amount of marijuana in possession, prosecutors in Texas can charge accused individuals with a Class B misdemeanor all the way up to a second-degree felony. How Texas Defines Marijuana Possession In Texas, a person must "knowingly and intentionally" possess a useable quantity of marijuana to be accused of an offense. This means that those charged with marijuana possession may be able to prove their innocence by providing evidence ...

Drive Friendly, Drive Safe: Texas Refocuses its Motto on Safety

2012-10-25

"Drive Friendly, Drive Safe." This past summer, the Texas Department of Transportation enhanced its former motto "drive friendly" to add an additional official emphasis on safe driving in its ongoing effort to bring down the number of motor-vehicle accidents and fatalities in the state. In its campaign, TxDOT specifically hopes to raise awareness of important driving behaviors that impact road safety including: - The need for drivers to be particularly alert for pedestrians and bicyclists - The importance for motorists to be careful in highway ...

Deferred Action Roll-Out Brings Deportation Relief for Young Immigrants

2012-10-25

For immigrants in the United States who are concerned about deportation and removal, recent news regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is a welcome development. While Congress has never managed to pass the DREAM Act, the current administration has taken executive action to implement a new policy that benefits young immigrants who moved to the U.S. when they were children. DACA began on August 15, 2012, as an answer to Congressional lethargy on immigration reform and its repeated failure to pass the DREAM Act. The administrative policy reform ...

Minority Shareholder Ownership After Divorce

2012-10-25

Dividing complex property during divorce -- such as businesses and stock interests -- can be challenging. There are many factors to consider, such as the past, current and future value of the property, the economic value of intangible assets and the challenges that owning the property can pose. This last concern is one that many people going through a Texas divorce do not fully consider. How can you ensure that the assets you receive will not become a nuisance in the future? One example of property that must be handled carefully during divorce is stock interests; namely, ...

Fatal Crash Shows Virginia's Anti-Texting Law Needs Updating

2012-10-25

There is no question that distracted driving is a major problem, both in Virginia and throughout the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving accidents killed 3,000 people and injured another 419,000 in 2010 alone. The risk of a serious car accident is especially high when a motorist decides to send or read text messages while driving. Indeed, a 2009 study by researchers at Virginia Tech showed that texting while driving makes a driver 23 times more likely to become involved in an accident. That same study found ...

Divorce and Business Ownership: How to Divide the Property in West Virginia

2012-10-25

When a couple is going through a divorce, it is not uncommon for many complicated issues to arise. Child custody and property division are just a few of the challenges that can make a divorce more contentious, leading to lengthy and expensive court battles. Often, this can take a serious emotional toll on all parties, leading to people making bad decisions just to finalize the divorce. West Virginia, like many other states, calls for an equitable division of marital property as part of a divorce. This means that whatever property division that is ultimately determined ...

New Study Reveals High Fall Rate Among New Nursing Home Residents

2012-10-25

A study published this summer in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that one in five new nursing home residents fall in their first month of residency. Many of these accidents are preventable, caused by negligence on the part of the nursing home or its staff. The New Nursing Home Fall Study Researchers found that 21 percent of 230,000 residents studied had experienced at least one fall within the first 30 days of their admittance to one of the 10,000 nursing homes included in the data. The study concluded that hiring more staff, especially certified ...

More Than $775 Billion Generated by Immigrant-Owned Business Activity

2012-10-25

A recent report from the Partnership for a New American Economy, a bipartisan group of mayors and business leaders that promotes the economic benefits of sensible immigration reform, details the extensive benefits that the U.S. economy gains from businesses owned by immigrants. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who co-founded the group, has called for extensions of visa laws to minimize obstacles for everyone from highly educated medical and technical workers to low-wage and seasonal farm laborers and allow them to more easily participate in the U.S. economy. The ...

NY Nursing Home Inspection Reports Now Online

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: