Despite losing its foothold as America’s best nursing home state, Rhode Island continued to rank among the best states in nursing home care, reports Families for Better Care, a national nursing home resident advocacy group based in Austin. The group published its third state-by-state nursing home report card by analyzing eight federal measures to gauge nursing home quality.
Rhode Island’s nursing home ranking was buoyed by scoring superior grades in half of eight statistical measures and above average grades in all but one category for the second consecutive report card.
“Rhode Islanders should be proud of their continued nursing home success,” said Brian Lee, Families for Better Care’s executive director.
According to the report card, the state’s highest grade related to the percentage of facilities with deficiencies; scoring the most nursing homes with clean inspections than any other state.
Despite Rhode Island’s strong showing the report also exposed a glaring blemish.
Ranking No. 50 in professional nurse hours for the second consecutive report card is alarming.
“Ranking No. 50 in professional nurse hours for the second consecutive report card is alarming,” Lee said. “Repeatedly failing such a critical measure is a continued black eye for the Ocean State, opening the door to an increased percentage of facilities with severe deficiencies.”
Rhode Island’s 2019 Nursing Home Report Card is available for download at http://www.nursinghomereportcards.com.
ABOUT FAMILIES FOR BETTER CARE
Families for Better Care, Inc. is a non-profit citizen advocacy group dedicated to creating public awareness of the conditions in our nation’s nursing homes and developing solutions for improving quality of life and care. For more information, visit http://familiesforbettercare.com.
