While reading nursing home complaint reports, the last descriptor that tends to come to mind is “home.”
Instead, one resident of a St. Louis skilled nursing facility uses some other words.
“Depressing.”
“Prison.”
The resident wished to remain anonymous but can be vouched for by St. Louis area senior advocates. She described a recent night where, having just returned from the hospital, she was unable to sleep because a resident in a nearby room was screaming for water all night.
She says the care has gotten better since she arrived last year, but that she prefers to rely on herself rather than ask the staff for help. They tend to act annoyed, roll their eyes, or talk down to the other residents, she says. Several times a week, she says she doesn’t get pain medications to manage her chronic illness symptoms.
Sometimes, it feels like “a battle trying to get them to help you.”
This story is far from unique. Nursing homes across the state have experienced chronic understaffing and can struggle to provide quality care. However, the mechanism that states use to closely monitor and penalize underperforming facilities only allows a few facilities to be scrutinized at a time, leaving other, equally poor facilities operating without adequate inspection.
This, combined with a backlog in regular health inspections, or surveys, has created an environment that allows poor care quality, and sometimes abuse, to continue for years with few consequences.
In a 2023 AARP report, Missouri was ranked 48th in the country for nursing home quality.
Full Article and Source:
Problems With Oversight,Staffing Contribute to Low Quality Ranking of MO Nursing Homes
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