One in Five Florida Nursing Homes are on State’s ‘Watch List’
Jacksonville elder abuse attorney Eddie Farah recently ran across an article in Health News Florida that seems almost inconceivable: One in five nursing homes are on the state of Florida’s “Watch List” for not meeting state standards, or for not making corrections quickly enough.
Incredibly, out of the 140 nursing homes on the watch list, twelve of them have been on the list for 100 days or more, according to Families for Better Care, a citizen advocacy agency.
Brian Lee, the executive director of Families for Better Care, told Health News Florida that this is unacceptable. “It is a multi, multi-billion dollar industry and they are living off the bedsore-ridden backs of our loved ones and making profits,” he said.
According to Lee, many people don’t know how to gather information about nursing homes or have to search extensively to get it. He said that the state Agency for Health Care Administration (AHC), which is responsible for nursing home inspections in Florida, should send out that information.
While Lee is pressing AHC to send out press releases to communities where nursing homes on the watch list are based, the agency says that it doesn’t need to do that because the information is available on its website.
The senior director of policy and program development for the Florida Healthcare Association, an advocacy group for long term care providers, says that nursing homes get bad reputations for things that have nothing to do with their level of care. She claims that federal quality ratings for nursing facilities in Florida have been steadily improving.
Despite that rosy assessment, reports of elder abuse and neglect in understaffed nursing homes in Florida continue to mount — an inexcusable legacy for our most vulnerable of populations.
If you believe a loved one has been neglected or abused at a nursing home, you can stop the abuse. Contact the law firm of Farah & Farah in Jacksonville to discuss your legal options. Call us at (800) 533-3555 or contact us online today. We can help.
