The nursing homes in Virginia are the same as in any other state. Some are good…some are average…and some are just plain bad.
Don’t believe me? A report released in 2014 by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General found that 22 percent of Medicare patients who stayed in a nursing facility for 35 days or less experienced harm as a result of their medical care. An additional 11 percent suffered temporary injury.
What does this statistic mean? It means that 1 out of every 3 Medicare patients who come to a nursing home is harmed by the care he/she receives at the nursing home.
My Take: Would you allow a surgeon to operate on you if she said she injures 1 out of every 3 patients she operates on? I bet your answer would not just be “no” it would probably be “hell no!” Nursing homes increase their profit by cutting costs. They cut costs by hiring fewer, and more poorly trained, nurses. They cut costs by making one nurse care for 20 residents – which cannot physically be done. Maximizing profit is the primary explanation for the poor care provided by nursing homes. If your loved one resides in a nursing home and depends on getting good care in order to live, you better watch that nursing home like a hawk!