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Are New York Nursing Homes Receiving Poor Ratings?

The last thing you want to hear if you have an elderly family member living in a New York nursing home is that that facility has received a poor rating. According to a USA Today analysis of new government data, one in five of the country’s 15,700 nursing homes have continuously received poor ratings for overall quality. That means there is a very good chance that the New York nursing home where your loved one resides could be on this list.

The USA Today article, “Analysis: Poor Ratings Persist for 1 in 5 U.S. Nursing Homes,” reports that more than a quarter-million patients live in homes given another set of low scores within the past year, according to information released by Medicare. These ratings are based on inspections, complaint investigations and other data collected mostly in 2008 and 2009.

The analysis by USA Today uncovered a startling fact – the lowest-rated nursing homes had an average of 14 deficiencies per facility, which can include safety violations and quality of life measures. These findings make you wonder how many residents at New York nursing home facilities are the victims of elder abuse and neglect? Within the State of New York, nursing home abuse and neglect cases are a very real problem.

According to Larry Minnix, CEO of American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, “if homes are not motivated to get better, chances are they won’t, and you’ll wind up in homes in poor-quality purgatory. There should be two types of homes: the excellent and the non-existent.”

Medicare’s Thomas Hamilton stated that, “we want to see improvements,” when he was referencing the poor ratings of these nursing homes.

If you suspect that your loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse in New York, you need to take action immediately. Contact a Long Island nursing home abuse attorney at the law firm of Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine at 800.734.9445 to learn about your legal options.