Delaware is now America's second highest rated nursing home state, 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.
Delaware’s nursing home ranking was buoyed by scoring superior grades in half of eight statistical measures and above average grades in all but two categories for the third consecutive report card.
“Delawareans should be proud of their continued nursing home success,” said Brian Lee, Families for Better Care’s executive director.
According to the report card, Delaware catapulted its below average ombudsman record three full letter grades to now rank among the best in the category; decreasing registered complaints by more than 30 percent. Additionally, fewer Delaware nursing homes are abusing and neglecting residents as the state’s percentage of nursing homes with severe deficiencies has almost been cut in half.
Despite Delaware’s strong showing the report also exposed a glaring blemish.
“The number of nursing homes with higher staffing levels declined dramatically, falling by more than 30 percent,” Lee said. “Delaware must continue to ensure that residents have plenty of access to frontline caregivers so they receive the highest quality of care possible—something we believe they can achieve in the coming year.”
Delaware’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.
