From 2000 to 2006, citations for nursing homes putting residents in “imminent jeopardy” rose by 22%. Imminent jeopardy means that patients were suffering from physical abuse, injurious falls, malnutrition, bedsores, left unmedicated, and other potentially fatal circumstances. The statistics are according to the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which regulates nursing homes. However, officials point out that the increase in citations does not necessarily mean that nursing home conditions have worsened. In fact, it may be a sign that better care is on the horizon. The increased citation level is partly a measure of increased frequency of inspections. However, the inspectors did reveal almost 2,000 such violations last year, meaning that thousands of patients were put in harm’s way by their nursing homes.
Unfortunately, although the inspection system was put in place to protect residents, the increased level of citations does not appear to be improving the quality of care, as the level of citations this year seems to be roughly the same as last. Part of the ineffectualness of the inspections may be that the level of fines is too low. Perhaps the only way to correct the dangerous practices of nursing homes is to make endangering residents unprofitable. If someone you love has been put in imminent jeopardy by a nursing home in the Chicago area, contact the experienced nursing home abuse lawyer Barry G. Doyle, to really penalize these harmful practices.
