Philadelphia is home to six of the worst nursing homes in the U.S.
June 5, 2019 | UPDATED July 2, 2019
According to Families for Better Care, Pennsylvania ranked as one of the top 10 worst states for nursing homes in the country. Furthermore, of the 16 nursing facilities the state has as candidates for the “Special Focus Facilities Program”, 6 are located in Philadelphia.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) describes SFFs as having “more problems” than other facilities, “more serious problems” than other facilities, and “[a] pattern of serious problems that has persisted over a long period of time” (i.e., the prior three years).
When a nursing home is chosen for the Special Focus Facilities Program, it shows the facility fails to meet the standards and protections patients are entitled to through Medicare and Medicaid programs. Some of these nursing homes have residents who have been experienced abuse and neglect, and the facilities overall have poor quality ratings.
What makes the report so significant is the fact that the facilities being considered for the Special Focus Facilities Program are not usually released to the public. The report spotlights that due to a lack of resources at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the department is not able to include all 400 nursing homes as participants in its Special Focus Facilities program. Only 88 will be chosen to be participants.
The Philadelphia-area nursing homes on the candidate list include the following:
- Cathedral Village, 600 E. Cathedral Road, Philadelphia
- Cheltenham Nursing and Rehab Center, 600 W. Cheltenham Ave., Philadelphia
- Willow Terrace, 1 Penn Blvd., Philadelphia
- Conner-Williams Nursing Home, 105 Morton Ave., Ridley Park, Delaware County
- Garden Spring Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 1113 N. Easton Road, Willow Grove, Montgomery County
- Chestnut Hill Lodge Health and Rehab Center, 8833 Stenton Ave., Wyndmoor, Montgomery County.
Brian Lee, Families for Better Care’s executive director, said, “Nursing home inspection ratings have soured.”
“America’s nursing home care is worsening,” Lee exclaimed. “Erratic inspection performance is, by and large, traceable to a singular reason, the failure by so many nursing home operators to hire enough staff to safely care for residents.”
This year’s nursing home report card exposed an alarming trend that should serve as a wake-up call for us all.
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New Jersey's Safe Care Program
The Safe Care Cam program is designed to address New Jersey’s growing concerns about elder abuse, a fear being fueled nationwide by increased media accounts of caregivers caught on hidden cameras physically or verbally assaulting their charges.
The Safe Care Cam program was created to make cameras and memory cards available on loan for free to New Jersey residents who wished to monitor how their loved ones were being treated by in-home care providers.
Five months later, in response to public requests, the program was expanded to allow the cameras to be used to monitor care in nursing homes and other institutional care facilities.
Once a camera is in place, it is up to the participant to review the recorded footage, which can be played on a television or computer with adapters provided by the program. Participants are not required to turn over footage captured by the cameras. It is up to participants to decide to report any issues of concern to the Office of the Attorney General or other appropriate authorities.
How To Participate
Individuals who wish to participate in the Safe Care Cam program can call 973-504-6375 and leave a message in a voice mailbox that will be regularly monitored by division staff responsible for the day-to-day operation of the program.
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