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Bexar County Nursing Home Problems Found |
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Numerous Problems Found in Bexar County Nursing Homes by San Antonio Express-News An investigation of Bexar County nursing homes by the San Antonio Express-News found that most of the county’s nursing homes had 10 or more health violations during inspections between June 2001 and August 2002. The report by Analisa Nazareno was published in November 2002 and resulted from a study of Medicare and Texas Department of Human Services Websites. “After walking in and out of dozens of nursing homes in Texas, Peter Irwin has some advice for people who are considering sending a loved one to a nursing home in San Antonio,” wrote Nasareno.. "Keep them free and independent of those nursing homes for as long as possible," the 75-year-old San Antonio seniors advocate told the Express-News. Nazareno said her study “shows many nursing homes in Bexar County have numerous health inspection violations and struggle to meet quality guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.” Highlights of the Express-News survey Bexar County homes had an average of 13 violations; while nursing homes throughout the state had an average of only nine deficiencies. Bexar County homes scored poorly — an average of 54 — on the state's evaluation system that grades nursing homes on a scale from 0 to 100, based on a combination of inspection reports and surveys of quality of life criteria and medical standards, according to the Express-News. Nationally, nursing homes used restraints on beds or wheelchairs to hold down 10 percent of patients, but in Texas, 18 percent of nursing home residents were held using restraints. "It's a dignity and a safety issue," John Willis, the state's Long-Term Care Ombudsman told Nazareno. "People who are restrained are more likely to be harmed or get harmed. There have been a number of deaths from restraints and inappropriate restraints." Willis said constricting movement through restraints weakens a senior citizen's muscle strength and could lead to falls, which could lead to other serious medical conditions. Willis told the Express-News the state's Department of Human Services is launching a campaign to inform both residents and nursing home staff about the dangers of excessively restraining residents. Officials with the government systems that grade the nursing homes and make the information available to the public said the inspections and rating system should be used as a tool for making individual decisions. State ombudsman Willis said consumers should talk to the nursing staff to evaluate whether there are problems with high turnover or worker dissatisfaction. "If I met and talked with a lot of people who are in their first or second month of service at the home, I would be concerned," Willis was quoted as saying. Bexar County nursing homes report more nursing staff hours per resident, on average, than the state or the nation, but the Express-News pointed out this is self-reported. "We know that there's a direct link with quality of care and staffing within the nursing homes," said Candice Carter, advocacy representative for AARP of Texas, who wonders if the self-reported numbers are accurate. "I continue to hear from trade associations that staffing is the biggest problem that we have because Texas doesn't reimburse as highly for Medicaid," she said. Experts told Nazareno that the quality of care residents receive — including standards of cleanliness, tranquility and facility management — is directly linked to what they can afford. And because many residents in Bexar County are low income, most of the nursing homes in the area would be low quality as well. |
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