Report: 94 Percent Of Nursing Homes Have Violations Report

September 30, 2008 5:57 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A report issued Monday by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 94 percent of nursing home had reports on violation of federal health and safety standards in 2007.

Nursing homes that had deficiencies that caused actual harm or immediate peril to patients comprise 17 percent, according to Daniel Levinson, inspector general of the DHHS.

Among the frequently reported problems involving nursing homes were patients with bedsores, mix up medications, poor nutrition and neglect and abuse of patients.

In 2007 alone, the DHHS got 37,150 complaints about conditions in nursing homes and the department's inspectors were able to find proof of violations in 39 percent of the facilities. Of the verified complaints, about 20 percent involved abuse or neglect of patients.

The bulk of complaints were observed to have involved for-profit nursing homes which made up two-thirds of the total number of nursing homes across the nation. Non-profit homes comprise 27 percent, while the balance of 6 percent was government-run nursing homes.

According to DHHS data, 1.5 million elderly Americans live in 15,000 nursing homes. Given the current trend of more seniors being sent by their families to these institutions, the DHHS estimates by 2030 the number of elderly living in nursing homes would go up to 3 million.

States with high rates of deficiencies included Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming and the District of Columbia which all logged a 100 percent rate, while the least, at 76 percent, was Rhode Island.

To push the nursing homes to improve their service, the federal government plans to implement a five-star ranking system which describes overall quality of care. The rankings will be published on a federal portal.