Analysis finds nursing homes under-reported their staffing levels; 18 in Kentucky listed as 'much below average' on interactive map

New York Times map; click on the image to enlarge it. See the interactive version here.

"Most nursing homes had fewer nurses and caretaking staff than they had reported to the government for years, according to new federal data, bolstering the long-held suspicions of many families that staffing levels were often inadequate," Jordan Rau reports for The New York Times. The data show 18 Kentucky nursing homes with staff ratings "much below average."

The daily payroll records, gathered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and analyzed by Kaiser Health News, show for the first time "frequent and significant fluctuations in day-to-day staffing, with particularly large shortfalls on weekends. On the worst staffed days at an average facility, the new data show, on-duty personnel cared for nearly twice as many residents as they did when the staffing roster was fullest," Rau reports.

But nursing homes often exaggerated staffing levels and rarely revealed these common periods of low staffing. The Times created an interactive, searchable nationwide map of more than 14,000 nursing homes and how their staffing levels stack up. To look up any nursing home's staffing data, go to https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/07/health/nursing-home-map.html. Here's a list of Kentucky nursing homes that show up in dark red on the map, meaning their staffing rating is "much below average," by county in alphabetical order:

• Florence Park Care Center in Boone County
• Providence Gallatin in Gallatin County
• Landmark of Lancaster Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Garrard County
• Kindred Hospital-Louisville in Jefferson County
• Landmark of Louisville Rehabilitation and Nursing in Jefferson County
• Oaklawn Health and Rehabilitation Center in Jefferson County
• Regency Center in Jefferson County
• Westport Care Center in Jefferson County
• The Pavilion at Kenton in Kenton County
• Vanceburg Rehabilitation and Care in Lewis County
• Salyersville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Magoffin County
• Calvert City Convalescent Center in Marshall County
• Signature Healthcare at Colonial Rehabilitation and Wellness in Nelson County
• Beaver Dam Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Ohio County
• Friendship Health and Rehabilitation in Oldham County
• Providence Richwood in Oldham County
• Bowling Green Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Warren County
• Corbin Health and Rehabilitation Center in Whitley County