Tennessee Gets Failing Grade on Nursing Home Report Card

By Staff Writer

It was an inspired caregiver who once said, “To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.”

While we can only hope that more caregivers have this same mindset when taking care of our loved ones, the reality is that nursing home abuse is a common and epidemic problem in this country, as proven by a recent survey of elderly care facilities across the nation.

According to the Nursing Home Report Card conducted by Families for Better Care, Tennessee was given a D in overall nursing home care, with a rank of 38^th in the country. What’s more, Tennessee nursing homes ranked 47^th in staffing.

Considering that most nursing home abuse or neglect arises out of a facilities failure to provide proper staffing, these are disturbing findings for all Tennesseans, especially those with loved ones in nursing homes and senior care facilities.

Families for Better Care is a non-profit citizen-led advocacy group dedicated to “creating public awareness of the conditions in our nation’s nursing homes and other long-term care settings and developing effective solutions for improving quality of life and care.”

Their Nursing Home Report Card project aims to accomplish just this by conducting a state-by-state analysis of nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and then comparing each state to come up with a grading curve and ranking system.

Unfortunately, getting just barely above an F in terms of nursing home care was not the only disturbing finding uncovered by the study. Researchers also found that:

• Tennessee is among the poorest staffed nursing home states in America
• Professional nursing services were almost non-existent in Tennessee nursing homes, and each resident received on average just 40 minutes of professional nursing care per day
• Tennessee regulators issued the second lowest percentage of nursing home deficiencies
• Just over 1 in 10 nursing homes in Tennessee were reportedly “severely deficient” (immediate jeopardy or actual harm violations that resulted in the resident’s injury, abuse, neglect, or death)
• Tennessee ranks second to last in the troubled Southeast region

Under the Tennessee Adult Protection Act, nursing homes can be held criminally liable for neglect and abuse for a number of reasons. But while criminal lawsuits are intended to punish violators for breaking public law, it is up to the families and individuals affected by nursing home neglect and abuse to file civil action against the offending party to receive compensation.

(Learn more about the different types of nursing home abuse by visiting our knowledge center)

Lawsuits involving nursing home abuse are often emotional and drawn out, which is why it is critical to hire an experienced medical malpractice attorney specializing in nursing home abuse to determine if the standard of care was breached in your case.

Your loved one deserves better from those who are supposed to care for them. Contact us immediately if you believe a Tennessee nursing home or care facility is neglecting or abusing someone you love.

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