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For years, the federal government has kept the names of close to 400 poor-functioning nursing homes under wraps. These nursing homes had a “persistent record of poor care” as of April 2019, but they were not included on the shorter list of homes that get increased scrutiny, according to an Associated Press article.

On June 3, Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) released a list of these 400 poor-functioning nursing homes, which was given to them by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The senators said, “We’ve got to make sure any family member or any potential resident of a nursing home can get this information, not only ahead of time but on an ongoing basis.” Senators Casey and Toomey believe the secrecy undermines the government’s commitment to ensure transparency for families when searching for homes for loved ones and raises questions about why the names of some homes are not disclosed while others are publicly identified.

“When a family makes the hard decision to seek nursing home services for a loved one, they deserve to know if a facility under consideration suffers from systemic shortcomings,” said Senator Toomey.

CMS’s protocol currently allows the agency to put deficient nursing homes under a Special Focus Facility program, which it does not publicly disclose. Should these facilities not improve, they can be cut off by Medicare and Medicaid.

Senators Casey and Toomey reported that the nearly 400 facilities qualify for the program because of their poor records but are not selected for participation because of CMS’s limited resources.

Seventeen Florida nursing home facilities are included on the Senators’ list. Avante at Ormond Beach, Florida was one of them.

Inspectors found that the staff was not cleaning and disinfecting blood sugar measuring devices between tests of different patients, putting the residents at risk. The inspectors report said the nursing home was quickly starting to address the issue, and the nursing home’s staff has reported that situation has been corrected.

Toby Edelman, a senior policy lawyer with the nonprofit Center for Medicare Advocacy said, “It might help (consumers) to avoid facilities that the government is acknowledging are very, very troubled.”

The CMS has a Nursing Home Compare website. On this website, facilities may have an icon shaped like a small yellow triangle that resembles a traffic caution sign. These are facilities that are not functioning at an acceptable level. Usually, nursing homes receive from a low of one star to a high score of five stars. If they are in the Special Focus Facility group, they will not have any stars listed by their names. 

Fort Myers Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. says, “We expect nursing homes to be safe and nurturing facilities for our loved ones. When they are not, we are available to assist you and your loved ones 24/7. Please contact us. There are no costs or attorney fees unless we make a monetary recovery for you.”

Fort Myers Nursing Home Neglect Attorney, Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one (1%)percent of Florida attorneys. He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida. For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at  239. 337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com  for more information. You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.