How to Find Nursing Home Violations
If you are about to admit your loved one into a nursing home, it is essential that you research the facility extensively to determine if it is a suitable place for your loved one to live. Visiting the facility and speaking to current residents and staff members can give you an idea of whether the nursing home is suitable or not.
However, it is also important to check to determine if any nursing home has been cited for violations. This can give you an even bigger indication of whether a nursing home is complying with the law and providing a safe environment for residents. Below, our Tampa nursing home abuse attorney outlines how to find if a facility has current or previous violations.
Medicare’s Nursing Home Ratings
The Medicare Care Compare tools allows you to view official nursing home ratings based on quality measures, health inspections, and deficiencies in care. You can view any documented violations as well as health inspection scores to get an idea of the level of care provided. A nursing home with multiple or repeated deficiencies indicate ongoing care issues, so it is important to carefully review the information.
Florida’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
The Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is an advocate for nursing home residents and can help you obtain inspection reports for facilities, as well as any complaints that have been filed against a specific facility. You can find firsthand accounts of previous investigations, resident concerns, and responses from a specific facility. You can contact the ombudsman by phone or online.
State Health Inspection Reports
You can view nursing home inspection reports detailing complaints, violations, and deficiencies on the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration’s (AHCA) website. These inspections are unannounced and can happen at any time, including after business hours and on the weekends. These inspections ensure compliance with health and safety, as well as emergency preparedness standards.
Viewing the inspection reports compiled by the AHCA can help you determine if the facility provides the proper quality of care. These reports are particularly helpful by showing data that may not be available at the national level.
Search Online Reviews
Searching for a specific facility on online review sites, such as Google Business Profile, can also provide you with firsthand accounts from residents of a specific facility and their loved ones. This can also provide you with insight that may not be found in official reports. Additionally, you can also search U.S. News Health’s Best Nursing Homes list to find nursing home ratings and read reviews from residents and their family members.
Call Our Nursing Home Abuse Attorney in Tampa for Help
Looking for violations before admitting a loved one into a nursing home is important, but it does not guarantee your family member will be properly cared for. At Kohn Law, our Tampa nursing home abuse attorney can determine if abuse or neglect occurred, and look for previous violations that may help your case. Call us today at 813-428-8504 or contact us online to schedule a consultation and to learn more about how we can help.
Sources:
ahca.myflorida.com/health-quality-assurance/inspection-reports-for-health-care-providers
health.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes?int=hp_rankings_and_ratings_health
medicare.gov/care-compare/?providerType=NursingHome
