On December 18, 2008 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the "Five Star Quality Rating System" on the official Nursing Home Compare website. Nursing homes are given an overall rating based on facility performance on three types of performance measures: Health Inspections, Staffing, and Quality Measures.

Nursing Home Compare also displays the star ratings for each of the three performance measures alongside the Overall Rating. Nursing homes with five stars are considered to have much above average quality and nursing homes with one star are considered to have quality much below average.

More than nine out of 10 nursing homes in the United States last year were cited for violating federal health and safety standards, according to a recent report by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General.

Approximately 94% of for-profit nursing homes received citations related to problems such as infected bedsores, medication mix-ups, poor nutrition and abuse and neglect of patients. 88% of nonprofit nursing homes and 91% of government-run nursing homes received citations. Approximately 17% of all nursing homes participating in Medicare and/or Medicaid had deficiencies that caused harm or danger to residents.

Deficiency rates varied state to state: Some 76% of Rhode Island nursing homes received a deficiency citation, while 100% of nursing homes in states such as Idaho and Alaska were cited.

Never depend wholly on anyone's "star" rating (or any other rating). At best these ratings give you a general idea of how the nursing homes in your area are performing. It may have been some time since any particular facility was visited by inspectors. There may have been management or ownership changes since the facility was last inspected. The "culture and personality" of the home may not be a good fit for you. So use your common sense and best judgement when you're checking out a place for your loved one.

The best time to check these reports is before you head out, checklist in hand, to see a nursing home for yourself.

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