Changes to Nursing Home Compare Facility Information

Earlier this month the Center for Medicare Advocacy and the Long Term Care Community Coalition made a joint announcement regarding changes to the Nursing Home Compare website. Nursing Home Compare is a service provided by Medicare.gov to help prospective nursing home residents or nursing home residents and their families obtain information about every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home in the country.

 

A nursing home is a place for people who can’t be cared for at home and need 24-hour nursing care. Over 15,000 nursing home facilities around the country will be affected by this change. Nursing home residents and their families will be able to easily identify if the nursing home they are considering has a history of resident abuse, neglect, and exploitation of its residents.

 

What’s happening?

Beginning on October 23, 2019, nursing home residents (potential + current) and their families will be able to see a new icon next to the nursing home or care facility’s Nursing Home Compare profile. A red circle with a hand at the right of the facility’s name will appear if the nursing home has a history of resident abuse, neglect, and exploitation. The new icon will look like this:

 

According to the press release, facilities that receive this designation have been found to have exhibited the following in the prior 12 months:

 

1.   A harm-level (scope and severity level G or higher) abuse citation on the most recent standard survey cycle or complaint survey within the past 12 months.
2.   An abuse citation where residents were found to be potentially harmed (scope and severity level D or higher) on the most recent standard survey cycle or complaint survey within the past 12 months and on the previous standard survey cycle or complaint survey in the prior 12 months.

 

The change was the result of several years of an awareness building by The Center for Medicare Advocacy and the Long Term Care Community Coalition.  For more information about addressing resident abuse, as well as resources for tracking and reporting abuse, please see LTCCC’s Abuse, Neglect, and Crime Reporting Center.