R.I. gets high grade for long-term care

A national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving nursing homes and other long-term care facilities has given Rhode Island a high grade for nursing home quality.
In its 2013 Nursing Home Report Card, which compares nursing homes state by state, Families for Better Care Inc. said Rhode Island scored superior grades in five of eight federal measures used to asses nursing home quality, and is only one of two states to score higher than average in all categories.
According to the report, less than four percent of Rhode Island’s facilities were cited for abuse, neglect or mistreatment in 2012, a lower than average percentage than in other states.
“The state exemplifies what can be achieved when operators, regulators and concumers strive for quality nursing home care for residents,’’ Brian Lee, executive director of Families for Better Care, said in a press release announcing Rhode Island’s results.
“We believe that if Gov. [Lincoln D.] Chafee and the Rhode Island Legislature maintain string nursing home oversight, Rhode Island will be jockeying for ‘best nursing home state’ for years to come,” Lee stated.
In a column in Senior Digest, the chairman of the Rhode Island Health Care Association said he welcomed the report card’s findings, which echo his own opinion about the state’s nursing homes. Scott Sanborn, who also serves as administrator of Kindred Health Care, said that the rest of the country can follow Rhode Island’s lead when it comes to providing “quality, skilled nursing care.”