New National Nursing Home Rating System Confirms Poor State of Tennessee’s Nursing Home Care
In the first government effort on a federal level to rate our nation’s nursing homes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released its evaluation of 16,000 U.S. nursing homes. That same day The Tennessean was quick to jump on what experienced
Tennessee nursing home lawyers have known for years: Tennessee nursing homes are some of the worst in the nation. According to the nursing home ranking system, Tennessee nursing homes are the third worst. Only Louisiana and Georgia nursing homes managed to be worse ratings than Tennessee’s.
Nearly one-third of the ranked 319 Tennessee nursing homes received the worst possible rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Only 7 percent of Tennessee nursing homes were judged to be well above average. Over 41 percent of Tennessee nursing homes had the lowest score for adequate staffing, one of the key factors that can prevent nursing home abuse and neglect.
For the ranked 40 nursing homes near Nashville (Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties), 11 were ranked below average with 2 Nashville nursing homes receiving the poorest marks in every possible category (Greenhills Center in Nashville and Cumberland Manor Nursing Center in Nashville).
Medicare’s consumer-friendly rating system follows an easy-to-understand one-to-five ranking system for each of its ten nursing home measures. The nursing home reports are derived from thousands of state health inspection records, nursing home complaints, and other quality measures such as nursing home staff’s hours, whether residents receive their flu shots, have lost weight, bedsores, or other signs of neglect/abuse. Yet some Tennessee organizations, such as the Tennessee Association for Services and Homes for the Aging, find the rating system too subjective and slight the ranking system for being unable to gauge improving conditions in nursing homes.
Still, the rating system will come as a welcomed tool for many Tennesseans looking for a Tennessee nursing home for their loved one, especially as in the recent years when, for both 2008 and last year, over 20 Tennessee nursing homes each year are found so unsafe that admissions have been suspended until dangerous living conditions are resolved.
Click for the report’s five-star Tennessee nursing home comparison tool at the Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare Web site.
For more information on Tennessee nursing home abuse, contact our Nashville law offices online or call us at 800-705-2121 for a free consultation to discuss your legal options.
Author Bio
Jim Higgins, founder of the Higgins Firm, is a seasoned personal injury attorney with deep roots in Nashville, Tennessee. A 4th generation Nashvillian, Jim carries on the legal legacy of his father, a judge for over 30 years. After graduating from the University of Memphis School of Law, Jim’s career began on the other side of the courtroom, defending insurance companies and learning their tactics for minimizing settlements. However, he soon realized his true calling was fighting for the rights of the injured, and for the past several years, he has exclusively represented plaintiffs in personal injury cases.
Since then, his dedication and skill have earned him membership in the prestigious Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an organization limited to attorneys who have secured million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for their clients. Licensed to practice in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia, Jim focuses on personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice, and workers’ compensation cases. His exceptional work has been recognized by his peers, earning him a spot on the Super Lawyers list from 2021 to 2024, a distinction awarded to only a select group of accomplished attorneys in each state.
