Some of the worst nursing home facilities reside in the state of Kentucky, according to national rankings for quality of care, staffing and service.
One-third of Kentucky’s 284 nursing homes scored two stars or fewer out of five stars on the national Nursing Home Compare website, which is operated by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, KYCIR reported.
KYCIR reports that only eight states had a higher percentage of such low rankings, placing Kentucky in the bottom fifth in the country in long-term care quality.
In 2013 the state was faced with 190 cases of nursing home patients experiencing “immediate jeopardy” due to quality of care, according to KYCIR and the Health and Family Services Cabinet. On its annual Families for Better Care report, the state of Kentucky received a letter grade of “D.”
“That just shows there is widespread abuse, neglect, mistreatment of residents occurring in far too many nursing homes,” Families for Better Care executive director Brian Lee told KYCIR.
Yet despite all this, the state of Kentucky is pushing legislation that would make it more difficult to file suits against state facilities, KYCIR reports. Fourteen Republican senators that have voted for such bills have received financial support from Terry Forcht, owner of one of the most deadly nursing home facilities in the state. Click here to learn more about Mr. Forcht’s efforts to minimize nursing home accountability.
Click here to read KYCIR’s full report.
The Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm represents clients in cases involving catastrophic injury caused by nursing homes and other care facilities that fail to provide proper care. If you believe your loved one has been harmed due neglect or abuse in a nursing home, take action and contact the Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm online or call us toll-free at (877) 552-2873 to set up a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
