That should change starting in January, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services imposes tougher reporting requirements nationwide. Reform is critical. The system, considered the gold standard in the industry since 2009, is used by families as a guide to safe, capable care for their loved ones. It needs to be trustworthy.
Staffing levels are reported once a year, often in connection with an inspection. There is no way to detect if a home operator adds staff just for that period and reports those inflated numbers.
The administrator of the Medford nursing home allegedly said as much in 2010 in an email recounted in the New York attorney general’s lawsuit against the home in February. Questioned about overtime hours, the administrator assured the home’s owner that it was just for the state inspection survey. “All hands on deck during the survey,” he wrote. “It’s our superbowl and only lasts one week. The staffing hours will be a little high for this week but will drop the following week.”
Self-reporting of quality measures also can be unreliable. Since 2008, only 60 of 5,000 incidents and accidents at Medford were reported as the law requires, according to the state’s lawsuit.