Web site helps to check up on nursing homes
| • | Table: How Hawai'i nursing homes rank |
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer
A new Web site offers Hawai'i consumers a way to see how the state's 45 nursing homes measure up for quality of care.
The Web site lists information about government inspections as well as information reported by the nursing homes. People can view the information on the Internet at www.medicare.gov. Those who do not have access to the Web may use a help line, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), to obtain information.
The Web site is part of an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The site examines care provided to the state's 3,752 residents of skilled nursing facilities as well as similar information for nursing homes across the country. Smaller residential care homes are not covered.
The federal government is also buying full-page ads in 70 newspapers across the country, including today's Advertiser, to highlight some of the information that is available.
The report notes deficiencies for quality of care in each facility. The areas targeted for improvement could range from procedures to prevent residents from getting bed sores; the number of hours a registered nurse is available; proper food storage and handling; ensuring that medication is monitored closely; or the evaluation and training of nurses aides.
As would be expected, the report shows some areas where Hawai'i's facilities are better than the national average and others where they fall behind. For example, the average number of deficiencies for the Hawai'i skilled nursing facilities was 10, compared to a national average of seven deficiencies for each facility. But the average number of nursing staff hours per patient per day in Hawai'i was 4.8 hours, an hour better than the national average of 3.8 hours.
The number of deficiencies listed for Hawai'i facilities ranged from a low of zero to a high of 23.
Mary Rydell, Pacific area representative for the Department of Health and Human Services, said consumers badly need the information.
"We've been collecting this data for over five years," Rydell said, "and we feel that consumers have more information about buying a car than they do selecting a nursing facility."
She encouraged people to use the data as an aid but also to visit facilities, to ask questions of the state agencies that inspect the homes, and to talk to administrators of the facilities.
Kathie Taylor works at Hale Kupuna Heritage Home, an 84-bed nursing home on Kaua'i. She said problems noted are taken seriously by the facilities and each home takes steps to correct them.
Patti Bazin of Leeward Integrated Health Services — a 93-bed facility in Wai'anae — said the rankings also give consumers an idea of the scope and severity of some of the problems noted in the reports. She sees the ranking as a chance to turn the spotlight on the profession.
"Nursing homes have a poor perception in the community," Bazin said. "This is an opportunity for us to show the public that we care about the kupuna and the quality of care."
People who are interested in information about a specific facility can follow up with that nursing home and request a copy of the plan of correction for its problem areas.
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