Halt! Who Goes There?
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a news brief on Oct. 7th detailing their plan to display a consumer alert icon on the Nursing Home Compare website next to facilities that have been cited for abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Beginning with the October refresh (Oct. 23, 2019), this icon will be used to alert the public that a facility has been cited for one or both of the following scenarios:
- Cited on inspection reports for abuse that led to harm within the past year.
- Cited on inspection reports for abuse that could have led to harm in each of the last two years.
Facilities that receive the abuse icon will also have their health inspection domain rating capped at two stars. CMS will include refreshing the icon along with its monthly refresh of inspection data.
On Oct. 8th, LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan issued a statement about abuse in nursing homes, which included the following excerpt: “The abuse icon program in Nursing Home Compare, however well-intentioned, risks misleading consumers.” Read the entire statement here.
For questions concerning survey, abuse, neglect, and exploitation, please contact Mary Wassel, Director of LeadingAge New York ProCare, at mwassel@leadingageny.org. For questions concerning Nursing Home Compare and the Five-Star Quality Rating System, contact Susan Chenail, Senior Quality Improvement Analyst, at schenail@leadingageny.org.
Contact: Susan Chenail, schenail@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383 ext. 116