New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
A non-profit group called “Families for Better Care” recently released a comprehensive report card that ranks the skilled nursing care in all 50 states. The report, one of the most comprehensive ever, was based on a mountain of data taken from federal reports from 2013. Every state received a letter grade. Sadly, New York grade was far from passing–we received an F. The state was listed in the bottom as one of the worst places for nursing home care in the country.
The report also gave individual state grades on eight different criteria. Those factors included deficiencies identified in state inspections, staffing hours, ombudsman complaints, and more. Those individual grades were then combined to come up with the overall state grade.
The full report can be viewed online here.
Continuing Problems at New York Nursing Homes
Overall New York ranked 45 out of 50 when stacked up against the other states–squarely in the bottom 10%. There are many reasons for the failing grade. One of the main problems is the lack of professional nursing care that residents in New York nursing homes receive. On average, seniors at these skilled nursing facilities receive just over 40 minutes of that professional aid on a daily basis. Advocates note that most observers believe 2-3 hours of such care are necessary to ensure the senior’s well-being.
New York was clearly the worst-ranked state for nursing home care in the entire Northeast. All told nearly 92% of nursing homes in New York were cited for some deficiency. The state not only had the worst cumulative rank but was dead-last in the region on individual criteria like direct care staffing hours, nursing hours, and verified ombudsman complaints.
The executive director of the resident advocacy group which issued the report did not mince words when commenting on the state of elder care in New York. He noted, “”New York represents what’s terribly wrong with nursing home care and oversight in America. State officials and industry representatives should be ashamed of their abysmal nursing home record.”
Avoid NY Nursing Home Negligence
The clear take-away lesson of this report for New York residents is to be incredibly careful about making long-term choices for senior care. While the state averages are incredibly discouraging, not all facilities or individual caregivers are sub-standard. Many assisted-living options, more luxurious home, and at-home caregivers provide excellent support. The key is to prepare ahead of time so that the resources will be available when necessary to receive the best care NY elder care possible.