According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), almost 4 percent (580) of the 16,000 nursing homes in the United States could be considered “the most poorly performing” under CMS’s Special Focus Facility program. States currently identify some 755 nursing homes (the 15 worst in each state) as “candidates” for the program. Under the GAO’s methodology, the most poorly performing homes are distributed unevenly across states, with 8 states having no homes that actually qualify and 10 others having from 21 to 52.
Not surprisingly, the most poorly performing homes tended to be chain-affiliated and for-profit and have more beds and residents.
Virginia has somewhere between 3 and 5 of these poorly performing nursing homes. If you are looking to place a loved family member in a nursing home, better read this report first.