By Regina Martin Health Insurance Carriers Contributor
Overall, there have been a number of underperforming nursing homes across the nation. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) have taken the time to compile a list of these facilities with the goal of maintaining only quality care available. Centers that end up on this list are originally placed in a category as a Special Focus Facility (SFF). Since November 29, 2007, a list of these facilities has been published because they had failed to improve even after having the chance to get better.
The Fifteen Worst Nursing Homes
International Village, Chicago, IL, 60609
Frontier Rehabilitation & Extended Care, Longview, WA, 98632
Eagle Ridge At Grand Valley, Grand Junction, CO, 81501
Evergreen Foothills Health And Rehabilitation Center*, Phoenix, AZ, 85048
Valparaiso Care And Rehabilitation Center, Valparaiso, IN, 46383
Evergreen Missoula Health & Rehabilitation, Missoula, MT, 59802
Fort Bayard Medical Center*, Fort Bayard, NM, 88036
Pawhuska Nursing Home, LLC, Pawhuska, OK, 74056
Infinia At Florence Heights, Omaha, NE, 68112
Kindred Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center, Northglenn, CO, 80233
Ashton Hall Nursing And Rehabilitation, Philadelphia, PA, 19115
The Renaissance at Kessler Park, Dallas, TX, 75211
Unihealth Post Acute Care (formerly Magnolia Manor), Moncks Corner, SC, 29461
Key West Convalescent Center, Key West, FL, 33040
Berkshire Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Forest Park, IL, 60130
Nursing Homes get labeled as an SFF for many reasons, some including failure to succeed in proper medication practices or inappropriate use of restraint with their patients. Once a facility is marked as a Special Focus Facility they are surveyed twice as much as average facilities and one of three things will take place.
Either:
The facility significantly improves and they are no longer labeled as an SFF.
They are granted more time to improve because they promise certain developments.
Or:
They are terminated from Medicare and/or Medicaid.
The list that has been created is constantly updated with the intent of having a high rate of satisfaction among consumers. The update is organized in categories so that it is easy to follow and there is an easy distinction between different nursing homes. The categories are:
New Additions, which have been added within the last six months.
Not Improved, which have failed to meet the requirements of surveys that are made.
Improving which have improved in their most recent survey and seem to be harmless to residents.
Recently Graduated which have maintained improvement within the past 12 months; and
No Longer in Medicare and Medicaid which have been terminated due to significant lack of improvement.
The SFF was developed by CMS when they realized that there were a number of homes with a poor quality of service. This program has significantly helped the quality of homes in the country due to terminating about 16% of homes from Medicaid or Medicare encouraging the improvement of at least 50% of the homes that originally get labeled as SFFs.
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