REPORT: GOOD NURSING HOME CARE RARE GLENDALE, BURBANK FACILITIES GET HIGH MARKS.Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW Staff Writer Poor nursing homes abound while good ones are harder to find, says a survey released Tuesday that blames lax oversight of nursing care facilities. An analysis by the nonprofit Consumer Reports listed what it considers the best and worst of the nation's 16,000 nursing homes -- including two of the best and one of the worst in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . ``It's a national disgrace National Disgrace is a hip hop single, released on April 19, 2006, by the group Atmosphere. It was released on 12" vinyl. Track listing A Side
``People in nursing homes are frailer and sicker than ever before.'' In ``Nursing Homes: Business as Usual,'' the New York-based consumer advocate found that not-for-profit nursing homes generally provide the best care. It also found that independent nursing homes are generally superior than those run by chains, saying that unaffiliated facilities tend to have more staff and registered nurses. State nursing home industry officials took issue with the report, saying it used old data and unfairly lumped nursing homes with hospital nursing care or psychiatric services. ``They really have missed the mark on this one,'' said Betsy Hite, spokeswoman for the California Association of Health Facilities, which represents the state's nursing homes. Nursing home care, she added, has actually improved. ``It's so flawed, I frankly consider it an actual disservice to Consumer Reports, which many people rely on for goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. .'' Consumer Reports based its conclusions on evaluation of recent state inspection reports for nursing homes. The report, available online and in the September issue of Consumer Reports, ranked homes according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. inspection surveys, staffing and quality indicators, listing top and bottom 10 percent of nursing homes. The report also discusses the influence of politics on the 1987 federal nursing home reform law, with violators receiving token fines -- or no fines at all. ``We couldn't agree more,'' said Mike Connors Mike Connors (born August 15, 1925) is an American actor of Armenian descent. He is best known for playing Joe Mannix in the long-running detective television series, Mannix. Before that, he had played a crime-fighting investigator, wielding a . of the Pasadena office of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, which has sued the state for failing to investigate nursing home complaints in a timely manner. ``Poor care is business as usual for many California nursing homes.'' A representative of the state Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
California contains three of the nation's worst dozen nursing homes, including Fountain Gardens Convalescent con·va·les·cent adj. Relating to convalescence. n. A person who is recovering from an illness, an injury, or a surgical operation. convalescent 1. pertaining to or characterized by convalescence. 2. Hospital in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , according to the report. A Fountain Gardens administrator did not return calls. In the San Fernando Valley, Consumer reports recommended Alameda Care Center in Burbank and Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center. Sherman Oaks Hospital Sherman Oaks Hopital (SOH) is an 153 bed acute care facility in Sherman Oaks, California, USA and is home of world renowned the Grossman Burn Center. SOH is owned and operated by Prime Healthcare Services, Inc. was also recommended but closed its transitional-bed unit last year. The magazine suggested avoiding California Healthcare & Rehab of Van Nuys, listed on a Medicare Web site with 28 deficiencies. A company official did not return calls. Only 2 percent of for-profit nursing homes and 7.3 percent of not-for-profit homes met Consumer Reports standards for quality nursing home care. What's needed, Lieberman said, is tough federal and state oversight and enforcement for the 1.6 million people who live in nursing homes. ``What's amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. to me is that things are really going in the wrong direction,'' she said. ``The feds pull their punches ... the regulation process in the states have been swamped by politics.'' dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3730 |
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