Many long-term care bloggers are buzzing with the article in The New York Times yesterday that claims 94% of nursing homes had violated federal health and safety standards.  Bruce A. Yarwood, president of the American Health Care Association had some objections to the report.  What’s your take?

From the article on The New York Times:

Researchers have found that people receive better care at homes with a higher ratio of nursing staff members to patients.

The inspector general said he had found some cases in which nursing homes billed Medicare and Medicaid for services that “were not provided, or were so wholly deficient that they amounted to no care at all.”

Bruce A. Yarwood, president of the American Health Care Association, a trade group, said: “We know we have to do a better job. We have been doing a better job, in treating pressure sores, managing pain and reducing the use of physical restraints.”

Mr. Yarwood said that the inspection system was broken. “It does not reliably measure quality,” he said. “It does not create any positive incentives.”

Click here to read the entire article.

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