According to the Tennessean. Tennessee nursing homes rank No. 48 (beating only Louisiana and Georgia), according to new survey information out from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Less than 7% of the nursing homes in Tennessee were rated above average.
The paper reports that
"[o]f the 40 nursing homes listed in Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties, 11 fell well below average. Three of those — Briley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Whites Creek, Greenhills Health and Rehabilitation Center in Nashville and Cumberland Manor Nursing Center in Nashville — not only received the poorest marks for overall quality, but also received the lowest possible score in every category."
The paper notes that "[o]nly two facilities in the Nashville area — Gallatin Health Care Center LLC and West Meade Place — received the highest overall possible scores."
Read the entire story here.
This information has become public at a time when the Tennessee General Assembly will be considering legislation that limits the ability of consumers to pursue legal action against nursing homes when they cause injury or death to their patients. Hopefully, the Legislature will understand that if you want to protect the health and safety of nursing home residents you must maintain the right of citizens – through juries – to hold nursing homes fully accountable for harming residents.
Why would we want to pass damage caps and other laws to protect an industry that refuses to effectively do what they are paid to do (take care of our seniors) ?
Here is the Nursing Home Compare website. The site is easy to use. For example, here is the basic information on the nursing homes in the county where I live.