Texas Nursing Home Rating System Is Far From Perfect

Placing an elderly loved one in a nursing home can be a stressful, overwhelming, and even painful process as families strive to find the best care for the important older person in their lives. Making sure that the adult care facility they chose is safe, healthy, and attentive is key – but many Texas families are not sure how to find the best nursing homes in the state.

Currently, there are two different nursing home rating systems that cover Texas facilities: the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services introduced its Nursing Home Compare ratings and the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services provides a numerical score. While the former provides a five-star rating system, the other provides a number on a scale of one to 100.

However, many elder care experts in Texas are quick to point out that both nursing home rating systems have flaws and that families should certainly not base their entire selection on the ratings alone.

While the ratings are based on information taken from official data and regular inspections, some of the information can be misleading and, in some cases, low scores could be based on an anomaly or misunderstanding. On the other hand, serious problems might be missed during inspections and not reflected in the score. Finally, some Texas nursing homes have very different ratings between the two systems.

Most agree that the rating system should be used as a general guide but not a major deciding factor. Very simply, the best way to choose an appropriate nursing home for your loved one is to visit the adult care facilities in question, talk to the people who work there, and understand what your loved one wants out of a nursing home. At Rasansky Law Firm, we have experienced attorneys who deal with nursing home negligence all the time and would be happy to assess your case.

RASANSKY LAW FIRM
2525 McKinnon Street
Dallas, Texas 75201
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