The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that runs Medicare, has published a list of more than 100 of the worst nursing homes in the country, based on how they fared during government inspections.The homes on The List are known as “Special Focus Facilities,” which means they get inspected more often than other nursing homes and can be subject to more stringent penalties over time, up to being barred from receiving Medicare dollars.
One such facility is the Madison Manor nursing home in Richmond, Kentucky, which was just added to the list. The Madison Manor is owned by Extendicare. The Lexington Herald-Ledger reports that “The Kentucky Attorney General’s office has filed criminal charges against three individuals in connection with conduct caught on a video camera placed in the room of [an 84-year-old female resident]. One person has pleaded guilty. [The resident]’s relatives placed the video camera in her room after they found more than 30 unexplained bruises. According to state records, the videotape shows nine nursing assistants at Madison Manor physically abusing [the resident] and failing to feed and clean her.”
In Michigan, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported in April 2009 concerns about Extendicare’s Birchwood nursing home. The paper disclosed that an 86-year-old resident was transferred to the hospital with “extreme” pressure ulcers (bedsores) that stretched across his pelvic area.The previous month, the Record-Eagle reported that Extendicare’s Birchwood facility had been investigated by the state’s nursing home regulators and fined a total of almost $38,000 in 2007 and 2008 for a series of violations, including patient assaults, falls and bedsores. The paper also reported that “State inspectors also discovered reports of physical and sexual assault among residents going back as far as 2006. A department report indicated that Birchwood staff failed to report the incidents to the state, or protect the residents in their care. A state attorney general spokesman said a criminal investigation continues.”Extendicare operates 31 nursing home facilities in Michigan.
Until recently, Extendicare’s Golden Valley Rehabilitation and Care Center was on CMS’s List for 22 months.In fact, CMS identified Golden Valley Rehabilitation and Care Center, which is a 180-bed facility to be one of the 50 worst nursing homes in the country due to its significant history of deficient patient care.
A State survey, conducted June 15, 2007, identified deficiencies in 31 health-related areas at Extendicare’s Golden Valley Rehabilitation and Care Center (compared to an average of 10 deficiencies in other Minnesota nursing homes). Deficiencies were cited in areas where the Golden Valley facility had been previously found deficient: administration of drugs; patient assessments; assessment after a significant change; development, preparation, and review of comprehensive care plans; services by qualified individuals in accordance with the care plans; provide necessary care for highest practical well-being; proper treatment or care for special care needs; and proper clinical records.
