There is a long list of troubled nursing homes that the federal government allegedly knew about, but the public didn’t. According to a Senate report released Monday, hundreds of nursing home facilities nationwide were flagged for persistent poor care, and six are in Mississippi.
The Mississippi nursing facilities on the report are located in Diamondhead, Southaven, Greenville, Columbus, Ruleville, and Meridian. The list, provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, include nursing homes with documented problems, but whose names were not publicly disclosed on a shorter list of homes which get increased federal scrutiny.
Medicare officials say budget cuts appear to be contributing to the problem by reducing money available for the focused inspections required on the shorter list.
Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania issued the report. Senator Toomey said, “We’ve got to make sure any family member or any potential resident of a nursing home can get this information, not only ahead of time but on an ongoing basis”.
