The New York State Department of Health has updated its Web site to include important information on nursing home quality – including the results of state inspections.
People using the site, nursinghomes.nyhealth.gov, will be able to see specific deficiencies for which a nursing home has been cited, including their severity and the number of residents affected. Users of the site can also download and print the inspection reports.
State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D., said, “New York residents and their families need to have important information about nursing home care available to them as they evaluate long-term care options for family members.”
The New York State Nursing Home Profile on the State Health Department’s Web site will continue to enable the public to:
- Easily search for nursing homes of interest by name, region, county or selected distance within a chosen zip code;
- Identify nursing homes providing special services such as adult day care, respite care, or services to children in need of long-term care;
- Compare nursing homes on the basis of up to 19 quality measures, including the percent of residents whose need for help with daily activities has increased, the percent of residents given influenza vaccine during flu season, and the percent of residents who were assessed and given pneumococcal vaccination; and,
- Obtain up-to-date information regarding complaint investigation history, as well as recent enforcement actions taken by the Department.
“We are pleased to see that the Department of Health is continuing to improve the information on nursing home quality provided on its Web site,” said Richard J. Mollot, Executive Director of the Long-Term Care Community Coalition. “It is vital that consumers have as much information as possible when making decisions about nursing home care. This Web site provides a good starting point for them to learn about and compare the inspection results of nursing homes in their community and formulate questions for when they visit a facility.”