Wes Bledsoe, the founder of a national watchdog group for nursing homes, has called for a change on how substantiated abuse cases are cited and how they influence the rating of nursing homes on the federal Medicare.gov Web site. During recent town hall meeting, Bledsoe asked the audience members what they would like to know about a nursing home if they were searching for one for a loved one. The answer: They would want to know if there has been mistreatment or any kind of abuse. Bledsoe then went through numerous Minnesota Department of Health reports that clearly showed substantiated abuse but because the facilities self-reported the incidents and implemented a plan of correction before the state health department arrived, they were not cited any deficiencies. The HensonFuerst Nursing Home Abuse lawyers understand many families of nursing home residents rely heavily on this government rating system, and they suggest caregivers demand accurate and complete information.
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