New tool rates nursing homes
Officials: Families should not rely solely on star systemBy BILL SHEA, Messenger staff writer
Fact Box
To learn more
- The nursing home ratings can be found online at www.medicare.gov/NHCompare.
- Iowa's long-term care ombudsman can be reached at (800) 532-3213.
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Fort Dodge nursing home ratings
A new federal nursing home rating system gives top marks to the Fort Dodge Villa Care Center, which is currently fighting allegations that its staff failed to get prompt care for injured residents.
That same rating system, posted on a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site, gives the Marian Home in Fort Dodge the lowest grade.
Those grades are found on the latest version of the Nursing Home Compare Web site, which uses a series of stars to rate long-term care facilities, with five out of five stars being the best score.
Fort Dodge Villa Care Center, 2721 10th Ave. N., received five out of five stars.
That facility was recently fined $18,000 by state regulators who claimed the nursing home's staff didn't quickly get treatment for residents suffering from broken bones and other injuries. The facility has filed an appeal in that case. Debra Koenig, administrator of the home, did not return a phone call seeking comment about the rating system.
At the opposite end of the rating scale is the Marian Home, 2400 Sixth Ave. N., which received just one star for its overall rating. Efforts to contact Gerald Bruenig, the administrator of that institution, were unsuccessful. The Web site shows the Marian Home getting low marks for quality measures and health inspections.
Careage of Fort Dodge, 728 14th Ave. N.; Friendship Haven, 420 Kenyon Road; and Greenleaf Health Care, 1305 N. 22nd St.; each received three out of five stars.
Jessica Beving, the administrator of Careage of Fort Dodge, said she doesn't think the federal officials who make the ratings had all of the available information about her facility.
''It doesn't really portray us,'' she said.
The rating system is a ''snapshot in time'' based on annual surveys done at nursing homes, according to Rollie Peterson, housing director at Friendship Haven and acting administrator of the Tompkins Health Center there. He said that's a flaw in the system because conditions in a facility could have changed since the last survey was done. He said professionals in the long-term care industry believe the star system may have been released to the public prematurely.
''We think we do have a great nursing facility here.'' he said.
Both regulators and local nursing home administrators say that the Web site's rating system shouldn't be the only thing people should consider when making decisions about nursing home care for a loved one.
''We do not want families to rely solely on the star system,'' said Mary Kahn, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which manages the ratings system. ''We want them to use it as a tool.''
Beving said there's no substitute for visiting nursing homes to talk to the residents and staff members.
''It's more than just a number of stars,'' she said. ''We're caring about real people here every day and trying to make their lives better.''
Peterson said anyone examining nursing home options for a loved one should use ''good old observation, interactions and relationships.''
''I think that's going to tell you a lot more,'' he said.
A version of the Nursing Home Compare Web site has existed for several years. U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, pushed for its creation. Late last year the format that relies on numbers of stars was set up to make a large amount of data more user-friendly, according to Kahn.
''We believe that the star rating system is the simplest,'' she said.
Data collected by state inspectors is used to compile the ratings. There are three major categories that make up each nursing home's overall rating. Kahn said the health inspections category is given the most weight in determining a facility's overall rating.
People who become concerned by a nursing home's rating should talk to the facility's staff, Kahn said.
''They need to say, 'Here's what I read, explain this to me and tell me what you're doing about it,''' said Jeanne Yordi, Iowa's long-term care ombudsman.
Yordi said people looking for a good nursing home for a family member should check with numerous sources including her office, which is part of the state Department of Elder Affairs, and the state Department of Inspections and Appeals. She added that those people should visit the facilities.
When checking out a nursing home in person, individuals should pay attention to how the staff interacts with residents and visitors, Yordi said. She added that visitors should not be ''fooled by pretty surroundings.'' Lavish buildings, she said, could be a clue that the nursing home's owner spent too much on architecture and perhaps not enough on staffing.
Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net
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WhereforCare
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02-17-09 5:48 PM
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Many of you seem to have opinions on nursing homes in the area, so please, make them valuable and write a review of these homes at the WhereforCare website.
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kotabear327
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02-17-09 2:13 PM
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blunt2thepoint-you mentioned you know exactly what nursing home firefly is talking about. I know which one it is but over the last three years-I can honestly say in addition to the one you are thinking of are two more nursing homes who have taken a nose-dive to the dirt. One of which people still speak highly of. BE SO VERY CAREFUL WHEN CHECKING OUT NURSING HOMES PEOPLE! Most places around here have re-painted, added new furniture, or covered up old urine-stained carpet. Don't let the looks steal the real view you have to pay attention to. Looks can be deceiving and believe me-THEY ARE!
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kotabear327
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02-17-09 1:43 PM
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last facility I will take part in working as an aide. I will not participate in neglecting the resident or being dishonest toward the resident or the family for any facility. When I am asked about the facilities-I will tell the truth as it was when I worked there. I give thanks to the family members who show up 20 times unexpectedly on all shifts to check up on their family members/cares. Just watch how nurses, aides, atc run around and straighten things up and MAKE SURE THEIR JOBS ARE DONE AND ON TIME WHEN A FAMILY MEMBER OR FRIEND OF THE PERSON RECEIVING CARE SHOWS UP. AS AN AIDE MYSELF-I KNOW THAT THESE RESIDENTS GET THE COMPLETE/BEST CARES JUST AS ALL THE OTHER RESIDENTS SHOULD GET WITHOUT THE FAMILY MEMBERS/FRIENDS HAVING TO CHECK-UP ON US! Ask the aides or nurses-most of them will tell you truth. Sometimes you have to be the a**hole to demand the right things. Its sad but true. Please check into whatever facility you are considering! What you see is what u are probably gonna get
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kotabear327
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02-17-09 1:34 PM
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are not what they are promised to be. I have seen it at more than one place as well...if at all possible-see if someone can come into the persons home-who needs care (of course with background checks and recommendations first). I am ashamed to have worked at some of the places I did. Firefly is right. People needing care didn't always get the care the family members thought they did, and we are almost always understaffed (BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY CALL A CENSUS)-this is how many people needing care are living in the facility and how many staff are needed. This # has always been an unfair amount. Keep in mind that sometimes people living at the facility are an assist of two-meaning that it takes 2 people to assist the one resident. This is sometimes not possible to have because they have scheduled one aide to a floor/wing and sometimes depending on the facility-the nurses will not help the aides. I consider myself to be an honest, hard-working aide but I can tell you this much-this is the
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kotabear327
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02-17-09 1:28 PM
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I just wanted to share this for all who are interested. I have been a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) for many years and have been employed at all but 2 of the nursing homes in town. I also still am currently working at one of them right now. Let me tell you this-if you ever think about placing a friend or loved one in ANY nursing home-please, please take a tour with many friends or family members (so that all of you can pay attention to things that are going on around the facility and you can share them with each other later). If the nursing home smells like URINE/FECES-THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM and NO NURSING HOME SHOULD HAVE THAT ODOR IF the residents are getting the proper/right cares throughout the whole day and night! Let me tell you that working in many of the facilities-I will definitely pass when it comes time for me to decide to put a loved one or friend in ANY care facility. I will faithfully go into the home of the one needing care and help them at home. Nursing homes
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firefly94
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02-17-09 12:09 PM
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blunt2thepoint--You are 100% right--I've seen everything you said with my own eyes.
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firefly94
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02-17-09 12:02 PM
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I was referring to the site given in the fact box of the article--that is the one I went to. It really doesn't matter who gave the nasty rating to the Marian home--the fact remains that they are one of the best in town. The 800 phone # up the fact of this article box belongs to Elder Affairs. I also called them & told them this article should not be taken seriously regarding the bad rating ot The Marian Home. They were very glad to get that information.
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firefly94
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02-17-09 11:44 AM
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WhatforCare--Go to that site--Click on the bar where it says Find & Compare nursing homes. Click on find a nursing home within a certain zip code. In the zip code request box, type in the zip code 50501. On the distance pull down menu, select IN THIS THIS CITY/ZIP. Click where it says continue & there you have it all--plain as day. I called the Marian Home & told the administrator I did not feel at all the way the Messenger & this site has made them look. I had a nice talk with them. I encourage others to also call them & offer support. I know some of the people who work there & they are very hard & dedicated workers. Just call 515-576-1138 & ask for the admnistrator. That's what I did.
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blunt2thepoint
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02-17-09 10:50 AM
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I would have to agree with firefly94 and smith3. People don't always see the behind the scenes in places like these, and if they are not there on an average day to day basis, they don't know what really goes on. I have been in several nursing homes and know that in many cases, they are just plainy short handed so many residents don't get the time and care that they pay for. And i can tel you that when the state comes to do their "inspections", people "spiff" things up around there to make it appear they are doing what they SHOULD be doing on a daily basis, but as soon as they leave....they fall back into the same old careless routines. Many injuries aren't reported, simply because the staff doesn't have the time or manpower to do the paperwork that is involved with it. It absolutely disgusts me to see some of the things that go on in a nursing home, and to firefly94, I believe i know exactly which nursing home you are referring to! and you are very much correct!
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Smith3
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02-17-09 10:21 AM
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Obiviously whoever is rating these nursing homes has not actually stepped foot in them, or they would know that the ratings they gave were blatant lies. What kind of website is this anyway? I would hope that if you were going to put a family member in the Villa Care Center, you would go there and physically check it out first, and hopefully, you will realize the fact that a state inspector (who does this for their job, EVERY DAY) determined that the facility deserved to be fined 18,000 because they were not taking care of their residents properly. What if this had been your grandma that broke her leg and didn't go to the doctor... And what if something developed from this? What if because the injury was left alone, and infection developed.. People can die from things like this. Hopefully, after thinking about this, you'll consider your other options in fort dodge. 18,000 is a pretty large fine, I'm positive they don't hand those out everyday...
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duhawk
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02-17-09 9:31 AM
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firefly (people who are not affraid to tell the truth even when others are not seeing it) That translates into people who dont see it my way. I think you need to have a check up your a quart low.
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WhereforCare
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02-17-09 9:24 AM
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Hi there firefly- I think there is some confusion, as there are no ratings on the WhereforCare . com website for the 50501 area as of yet. As you say 'The best way to check a facility is via a network of friends, relatives & acquaintances who see first hand what is going on with a particular facility--people who are not afraid to tell the truth even when others aren't seeing it.' This is exactly what WhereforCare provides- an area for people to put word of mouth regarding these facilities on the Internet.
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firefly94
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02-17-09 7:53 AM
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I'm sorry I made a few typo mistakes in my posts--I was in a rush to get all the parts together so no other post would come in & split mine--I do know how to spell aide lol--I just rushed when I proofed--I also made a couple of other mistakes but I'm for sure you all still got the point being made. Just don't take these government rating sites seriously because to do that could cause a loved one much trouble later on.
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firefly94
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02-17-09 7:44 AM
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The part where the residental apts are seem to be quite nice. But the floors where the patients needed 100% care 24/7 is where all the shame is. I'm for sure you mean well, WhereforCare--but this site just is not accurate & therefore very unrelilable. I could never in good conscience silently allow someone to choose a facility for a loved one based on any rating they see on this site. The best way to check a facility is via a network of friends, realatives & acquaintances who see first hand what is going on with a particular facility--people who are not afraid to tell the truth even when others aren't seeing it.
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firefly94
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02-17-09 7:36 AM
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THE AIDES CANNOT BE BLAMED FOR ANY OF THIS! There was often only one aide to a wing. The aide I worked with said she would like to do more for the patients but couldn't because they keep the facility was always so so short of help. She went on to say that she felt bad that her people were paying such a high price for care they were not receiving. She said she couldn't even give some of them their baths on their scheduled bath days because there just wasn't enough help to get it all done. The aids were so few & over worked that some had to shut their phones off so they could get caught up on rest without getting called in to work on their days off. The asepsis practice there was absolutely horrendeous. Many days, I saw aids going from one patient to the next--changing messy clothing--soiled by bowel & bladder accidents--without washing their hands between patients.
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firefly94
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02-17-09 7:24 AM
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WhereforCare--I checked this site out & to say the best, it is grossly inaccurate as far as the ratings for the facilities in the 50501 area are concerned. One of the three carrying a three star rating should not even have a one star rating. I took some of my training there & what I saw as to how the patients were treated was shameful. One of the other students dropped a feeding sryinge on the floor & took it to the nurses station in exchange for a new one. The nurse in charge just rinsed it off in cold water & gave it back to her. Even after protesting, she still was not allowed a clean syringe for her patient. I was in a patient's room with my instructor & noticed some very dark black spots on the foot heels of the patient.I could tell the instructor was not liking what we were seeing when she said that the patient was not being turned often enough which was why she was turning black.
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WhereforCare
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02-17-09 4:12 AM
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It is exactly for this reason that Whereforcare**** has been set up- this is a ratings and reviews website for senior care where those who has regular experience of a senior care facility such as residents, their families, friends and professionals, can write a review of it in order to help others make a shortlist of 4-5 facilities that they can then visit- there is no substitution for visiting. The website is very new and just beginning to gather reviews, but if you have an opinion about care in your area, please feel free to write a review at the WhereforCare website.
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firefly94
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02-17-09 3:24 AM
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So once again, the good ole government has stuck it's big fat rump in our face. I have made it very clear to my children that if I ever have to be in a care facility, the Marian Home is where I want to be. I've been there many times & it is not at all hard to see that the residents there are happy. Who cares what the govt has to say about the Villa Care Center--what slant & angle they used to decide that it is, after all, a 5 star facility??? I already knew it was a good place just by what the residents & their families were saying. That govt website would be the VERY LAST place I would go to check out how good a facility is. A NEW government rating system--What a pile of c r a p!
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