Pennysylvania’s nursing home ranking sank to a record low in this year’s nursing home report card, reports Families for Better Care, a national nursing home resident advocacy group based in Austin. The group published its third state-by-state nursing home report card by analyzing eight federal measures to gauge nursing home quality.
A major reason for the state’s downward spiral in nursing home care is that Pennsylvania failed half of all analyzed measures, the most in the state’s report card history.
“Understaffed nursing homes are still a chronic problem in the Keystone State,” said Brian Lee, the group’s executive director.
Poorest grades related to the percentage of facilities with above average inspections and direct care staffing hours per resident daily, scoring failing grades and ranking No. 47 in each category respectively.
“Low staffing hours fueled poorer inspection scores,” said Lee. “Frontline caregivers cannot properly care for residents if they are overworked and shorthanded.”
“A great way for Governor Wolf and Pennsylvania lawmakers to improve nursing home safety is by passing a tough staffing standard, something the residents sorely need,” Lee stated. “But a new staffing standard isn’t enough, lawmakers must find a way to help nursing homes pay for any new staffing mandate if care is to improve at all.”
Pennsylvania’s 2019 Nursing Home Report Card is available for download at http://www.nursinghomereportcards.com.
ABOUT FAMILIES FOR BETTER CARE
Families for Better Care, Inc. is a non-profit citizen advocacy group dedicated to creating public awareness of the conditions in our nation’s nursing homes and developing solutions for improving quality of life and care. For more information, visit http://familiesforbettercare.com.
