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4 Nursing Home Warning Signs:
How to Avoid a Problem Nursing Home
When choosing a nursing home for a loved one, family members frequently can’t differentiate a high performing nursing home from a problem nursing home. Nursing home websites typically boast top-tier care and showcase smiling, happy residents. Sadly, a Philadelphia nurse understaffing attorney understands that not all nursing homes provide good care. This article will help you identify some nursing home warning signs to avoid when searching for a nursing home.
Special Focus Facilities (SFF)
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and state agencies inspect nursing homes to ensure that the nursing home is meeting health and safety guidelines. CMS then puts together a list of nursing homes with a history of serious quality issues and enrolls floundering nursing homes into the Special Focus Program as a Special Focus Facility.
Nursing homes who are selected for the Special Focus Program exhibit a higher number of deficiencies, more severe deficiencies, and an ongoing pattern of challenges to their quality of care. These problems are centered on the facility’s health and safety inspection deficiencies over a multi-year period. Nursing homes that meet criteria that includes a pattern of deficiencies are deemed Special Focus Facility (SFF) Candidates. A portion of these SFF Candidates is then picked as Special Focus Facilities.
CMS requires Special Focus Facilities to undertake a thorough, onsite inspection every 6 months until they demonstrate enough improvement to leave the program. If a SFF Nursing Home doesn’t improve it may eventually be prohibited from participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
As of March 30, 2022, the following Pennsylvania nursing homes were identified as candidates or participants in the Special Focus Program.
Pennsylvania Special Focus Status Nursing Homes (as of March 30, 2022)
Provider Name | City | Special Focus Status |
BALDWIN HEALTH CENTER | PITTSBURGH | SFF Candidate |
BRIGHTON REHABILITATION AND WELLNESS CENTER | BEAVER | SFF |
CAMBRIA CARE CENTER | EBENSBURG | SFF Candidate |
CHESTNUT HILL LODGE HEALTH AND REHAB CTR | WYNDMOOR | SFF Candidate |
EPWORTH HEALTHCARE AND REHABILITATION CENTER | TYRONE | SFF Candidate |
GARDENS AT BLUE RIDGE, THE | HARRISBURG | SFF Candidate |
GARDENS AT CAMP HILL, THE | CAMP HILL | SFF Candidate |
GARDENS AT SCRANTON, THE | SCRANTON | SFF Candidate |
GARDENS AT WYOMING VALLEY, THE | WILKES BARRE | SFF Candidate |
GLEN BROOK REHABILITATION AND HEALTHCARE CENTER | BERWICK | SFF |
GREENSBURG CARE CENTER | GREENSBURG | SFF Candidate |
GROVE AT NORTH HUNTINGDON, THE | NORTH HUNTINGDON | SFF Candidate |
KADIMA REHABILITATION & NURSING AT LUZERNE | DRUMS | SFF Candidate |
KINGSTON REHABILITATION AND NURSING CENTER | KINGSTON | SFF Candidate |
LAURELWOOD CARE CENTER | JOHNSTOWN | SFF |
PARKHOUSE REHABILITATION AND NURSING CENTER | ROYERSFORD | SFF Candidate |
PLEASANT ACRES REHABILITATION AND NURSING CENTER | YORK | SFF Candidate |
RESTORE HEALTH AT UNIVERSITY CITY | PHILADELPHIA | SFF Candidate |
RIDGEVIEW HEALTHCARE & REHAB CENTER | SHENANDOAH | SFF Candidate |
ROSE CITY NURSING AND REHAB AT LANCASTER | LANCASTER | SFF Candidate |
ROSEMONT CENTER | ROSEMONT | SFF Candidate |
SPRING CREEK REHABILITATION AND NURSING CENTER | HARRISBURG | SFF Candidate |
SQUIRREL HILL WELLNESS AND REHABILITATION CENTER | PITTSBURGH | SFF |
TOWNE MANOR WEST | NORRISTOWN | SFF Candidate |
Prior to placing your loved one in a Special Focus Facility, closely evaluate the nursing home’s staffing, health and safety inspections, and quality measures on CMS Nursing Home Compare.
High Staff Turnover
High turnover of nursing home staff may indicate serious problems within the nursing home. In January, CMS begun publishing turnover numbers for nursing staff and Administrators on Nursing Home Compare. Higher turnover may be associated with less care continuity. Facilities with higher Administrator turnover may suffer from leadership volatility and operational disorganization. In addition, high turnover may induce understaffing if the nursing home is unable to hire new staff, according to a Philadelphia nurse understaffing attorney. CMS has chosen to publicize staff turnover data because high turnover can directly impact resident care. Families should relate high staff turnover as a nursing home warning sign to avoid.
Understaffing
Understaffing is big warning sign of a problem nursing home. Many quality measures, such as incidence of falls and pressure ulcers, are closely tied with the staffing patterns of a nursing home. Nursing homes that routinely understaff often have poorer quality outcomes than nursing homes with appropriate staffing patterns.
In January, the CMS Nursing Home Compare website expanded its staffing information to include weekend staffing RNs and other nursing staff. Families should closely examine a nursing home’s staffing information and compare other nursing homes within their region. Large fluctuations in staffing patterns on weekends could signal that care levels plummet during off-hours. If your loved one has been injured due to inadequate staffing, contact a Philadelphia nurse understaffing attorney.
Abuse Icon
Families using the Nursing Home Compare website should watch for the Abuse Icon as a warning sign of a problem nursing home. This red icon with a hand indicating “stop” shows that the nursing home been hit with an abuse, neglect, or exploitation deficiency within the past year, or twice within the past two years.
These deficiencies are significant in that they either caused harm to a resident, or potentially could have resulted in harm. An Abuse Icon might be a warning sign for families who are choosing a nursing home. This icon should drive a family to discuss the Icon with the Nursing Home Administrator and learn if actions have been taken to correct the findings of abuse.
Pennsylvania Nursing Homes with Abuse Icons (as of March 30, 2022)
| Provider Name | Provider City | Abuse Icon |
| ASBURY HEALTH CENTER | PITTSBURGH | Y |
| BARNES-KASSON COUNTY HOSPITAL | SUSQUEHANNA | Y |
| BROOKSIDE HEALTHCARE & REHABILITATION CENTER | ROSLYN | Y |
| COLONIAL PARK CARE CENTER | HARRISBURG | Y |
| CROSS KEYS VILLAGE-BRETHREN HOME COMMUNITY, THE | NEW OXFORD | Y |
| GINO J MERLI VETERANS CENTER | SCRANTON | Y |
| GROVE AT NEW WILMINGTON, THE | NEW WILMINGTON | Y |
| GUARDIAN HEALTHCARE AT TAYLOR | TAYLOR | Y |
| HARMAR VILLAGE CARE CENTER | CHESWICK | Y |
| HOMESTEAD VILLAGE, INC | LANCASTER | Y |
| MANOR AT PENN VILLAGE, THE | SELINSGROVE | Y |
| MARKLEY REHABILITATION AND HEALTHCARE CENTER | NORRISTOWN | Y |
| NORRITON SQUARE NURSING AND REHABILITATION CENTER | NORRISTOWN | Y |
| PLEASANT ACRES REHABILITATION AND NURSING CENTER | YORK | Y |
| PROMEDICA SKILLED NRSG AND REHAB (YORK NORTH) | YORK | Y |
| PROVIDENCE POINT HEALTHCARE RESIDENCE | PITTSBURGH | Y |
| ROLLING MEADOWS HEALTH CARE CENTER | WAYNESBURG | Y |
| ROSEMONT CENTER | ROSEMONT | Y |
| SAINT MARY’S VILLA NURSING HOM | MOSCOW | Y |
| SARAH REED SENIOR LIVING | ERIE | Y |
| SHOOK HOME THE | CHAMBERSBURG | Y |
| SPRINGFIELD REHABILITATION AND HEALTHCARE CENTER | SPRINGFIELD | Y |
| ST JOHN SPECIALTY CARE CENTER | MARS | Y |
| YORKVIEW NURSING AND REHABILITATION | YORK | Y |
Contact a Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer Today
Philadelphia nursing home neglect lawyers at our law firm recognize the warning signs associated with problem nursing homes. If your loved one experienced a serious injury due to nursing home neglect, help is available. Our experienced Philadelphia nurse understaffing attorneys aggressively pursue problem nursing homes and hold them accountable for injuries from poor care.
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Contact the Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers at Our Firm
The nursing home neglect lawyers at our firm understand the plight of the nation’s nursing home residents. No one should be subject to neglect and substandard care in long term care facilities. Our attorneys will partner with you to take a stand against underperforming nursing homes and seek compensation for their injuries. Call us today or send us a message to speak directly with an nursing home neglect lawyer.