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Care Connect Note: Following is an important senior care article about identifying nursing homes cited for abuse and neglect in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Williamsburg, and throughout the U.S. The article was written by The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, which was formed in 1975 because of public concern about substandard senior care in nursing homes.

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CMS Will Alert Consumers About Nursing Home Abuse

By The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care - 10/7/2019

Yesterday the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will use a special icon to identify nursing homes that have been cited for abuse and neglect. According to CMS, adding the icon to Nursing Home Compare, the federal government website, is designed to improve the transparency of consumer information as part of its five-point plan to improve nursing home quality and safety.

CMS’s action follows two hearings on nursing home abuse and neglect held earlier this year by the US Senate Finance Committee. Consumer Voice commends CMS for this action which is a step forward in providing critical information to consumers, their families and the public, and creating an incentive for nursing homes to prevent abuse and neglect.

How the icon will work
The icon, which CMS is calling a consumer alert icon, will be a circle with a red hand in the middle signifying “stop.” Beginning October 23, 2019, it will indicate nursing homes that meet the following criteria:

1.) Have been cited for one or more of the following senior care deficiencies related to abuse, neglect, or exploitation:

• F600 (Protect each senior from all types of abuse, such as physical, mental, sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect by anybody);

• F602 (Protect each senior from the wrongful use of the senior's belongings or money);

• F603 (Protect each senior from separation from other residents, his/her room, or confinement to his/her room);

• F223 (Protect each senior from all abuse, physical punishment, and involuntary separation from others); and

• F224 (Protect each senior from mistreatment, neglect, and misappropriation of personal property).

2.) The cited deficiency a) has harmed a senior within the past year (a scope and severity level of G or higher); and/or b) potentially could have harmed a senior within each of the past two years (a scope and severity level of D, E or F).

The icon will be removed after the senior care facility has corrected the deficiency and has gone a full cycle (about 1 year) with no abuse citations on any survey (standard or complaint). For instance, if a facility receives an icon based on a finding of abuse during a standard (annual) survey and then has no abuse findings on the next standard survey and on complaint investigations, the icon will be taken off.

In addition, nursing homes that receive the abuse icon will have their health inspection rating capped at a maximum of two stars. Due to the methodology used to calculate the overall rating, the best overall quality rating a senior care facility that has received the abuse icon can have is four stars.

Nursing Home Compare will be updated monthly so consumers will not have to wait for CMS’s quarterly updates.

Although much more needs to be done to identify, investigate and prevent abuse/neglect/exploitation in senior care facilities, Consumer Voice is pleased that CMS has taken this positive measure to better protect nursing home residents.