(Image: iStockPhoto)
ProPublica today is updating our Nursing Home Inspect tool, which now includes details of more than a quarter-million deficiencies identified by government regulators at U.S. nursing homes over the past three years.
Since releasing this information on its website this summer, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has added details of historical violations found in nursing homes. The agency now releases narrative reports of these problems from a home’s last three inspection cycles — or about three years.
ProPublica created Nursing Home Inspect to allow users to easily search through the reams of reports, looking for trends or particular problems. Earlier this month, we used the tool to find examples of homes that had been cited for violating residents’ voting rights. We also came up with a tipsheet for how to best search the records.
Nursing homes are inspected annually, called a standard survey, and when there is a complaint. Inspectors typically work for state agencies paid by Medicare. If they find problems, known as deficiencies, they rank them on a scale of A to L, the most severe. The vast majority are either labeled D or E.
Of the 262,500 deficiencies in our database, here are the 10 regulations most commonly violated by nursing homes:
Facility is Free of Accident Hazards: 17,331
Facility Establishes Infection Control Program: 14,186
Provide Necessary Care for Highest Practicable Well-Being: 13,401
Store/Prepare/ Distribute Food Under Sanitary Conditions: 11,746
Develop Comprehensive Care Plans: 9,070
Services Provided Meet Professional Standards: 8,986
Clinical Records Meet Professional Standards: 7,962
Not Employ Persons Guilty of Abuse: 7,288
Drug Regimen is Free from Unnecessary Drugs: 7,040
Dignity: 6,605
