This week, PublicSource.org published an article about the state of nursing home care in Western Pennsylvania. By analyzing information from the full text of federal nursing home inspection reports that is now available online through the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), PublicSource found that more deficiencies were issued in Pittsburgh than in any other city in the state.
What’s more disturbing is that inspectors gave 446 deficiencies to 35 Pittsburgh nursing homes in just three years, according to the data. That’s a rate of almost 13 deficiencies per nursing home, which is greater than the national average of six to seven deficiencies per inspection.
The analysis also showed that six nursing homes in Western Pennsylvania had the majority of the state’s worst scores, meaning that residents in those homes were in “immediate jeopardy.”
In a 10-county region in Western Pennsylvania, there are six nursing homes that account for the majority of the state’s worst scores. They include The Cedars of Monroeville, Caring Heights Community Care & Rehab in Coraopolis, Edison Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in New Castle, West Haven Manor in Apollo, Mountainview Speciality Care Center in Greensburg, and Latrobe Health and Rehabilitation Center in Latrobe. Some of the issues that led to poor ratings at these homes included:
A steam table with water as hot as 185 degrees was left simmering in a kitchen open to cognitively impaired patients
Leaving gates and doors unlocked at all times at a facility with 117 vulnerable residents
Nearly $77,000 in unpaid bills for essential services at a facility that included food, medical supplies, and water
Reports of a nurse’s aid who was accused of throwing a resident into bed, causing him to his his head on a cement wall
For those who must make the difficult decision to placed a loved one in a nursing home, the inspection reports available online through the CMS website can provide important information on the facilities they may be considering. With Pennsylvania having the fourth highest percentage of people 65 and older in the United States, families need this information to make informed decisions. We encourage you to use the site at www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare.