Nursing Homes in Wisconsin Graded Above Average in Half of Quality Measures

For the third year, Families for Better Care, a citizen advocacy group, released a report card on nursing homes across all 50 states. The report grades nursing homes in all 50 states based on the quality of care provided to residents. Wisconsin nursing homes received a B grade, which makes them above average.

However, when you dig deeper into the data on Wisconsin nursing homes, you see Wisconsin nursing homes received above average grades in just half of the eight quality measures, including:

• Professional nursing staff above average – Wisconsin got an A and was ranked 10th this year, compared to 13th last year
• Facilities with deficiencies – Wisconsin got a B as 86.56 percent of facilities had deficiencies
• Direct care staffing hours per resident – Wisconsin got a B as there were 2.58 direct care staffing hours on average, this is the same as last year
• Direct care staffing above average – Wisconsin got a B this year, while last year’s grade was a C; this puts Wisconsin 18th in the nation in this particular quality measure

Wisconsin got one C and three D’s in the other four quality measures, including a D in facilities with severe deficiencies. Wisconsin also had 1.59 professional nursing hours per resident, good enough for a D, even though this is a slight increase above 1.54 from last year. Wisconsin ranks 36th in the nation in this last category.

Grades for Central Plains States

On the positive side, Wisconsin ranked second among the Central Plains states and was the only other state in the region besides Minnesota to be ranked above average. Wisconsin moved up to 20th in the rankings from 24th the year before.

Illinois got an F and moved from 44th to 49th compared to the previous year. The report card said 97 percent of facilities in the state were cited for deficiencies. Another 30 percent were cited for actual harm or immediate jeopardy for residents. Illinois was also the only state to receive below average grades in staffing and enforcement measures.

Iowa improved from 46th to 37th and went from an F last year to a D. This is the first time the state recorded something besides an F. Iowa was ranked 41st in the nation for percent of facilities with a severe deficiency and 47th for professional nursing hours.

The other two states in the region (Missouri and Kansas) both received D’s in the report card.

While not in the Central Plains region of the country, New Mexico was ranked next to these states. This state got an F and was ranked 47th in the nation. The state received an average or above average grade in just two of the quality measures, including professional nurse staffing above average (C) and verified ombudsman complaints (B).

New Mexico is the lowest-rated state in the Southwest region. This state had one of the highest percentages of homes cited for severe deficiencies in the nation. An investigation from ProPublica from last year also shows serious deficiencies at facilities in this state.

Do You Need Legal Help for a Loved One Who Suffered Nursing Home Abuse?

At PKSD, we help the families of victims of nursing home negligence or abuse to go after financial compensation for the damages suffered by their elderly loved ones. We have seen how bad abuse and neglect can get and are committed to doing our part to support families who want to fight back.

The experienced Wisconsin nursing home abuse lawyers at PKSD understand the many aspects of these cases, including how to investigate and gather evidence, how to build a detailed case against the perpetrators, and how to properly value the compensation victims are owed under the law.

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