HJAR Jul/Aug 2022

HJAR Editor’s Note: The nursing home industry has changed over the years. Gone, hopefully, are the days when we visited a grandparent or great-grandparent andheldour noses to thestenchof theestablishment. The federal government has stepped in and made changes to protect the elderly who will probably call these facilities their last homes. There have always been good and bad actors in the nursing home mix. One recent trend for some of these bad actors is turning the nursing home business into the real estate business. Nursing homes are purchased, and exorbitant rents are charged for the “lease” of the property, draining the business of revenue, while lining the pockets of the investors who might have traditionally reinvested to the benefit of the residents. These high rents leave a crippled, dying business, filled with some of the most vulnerable and unaware humans at their mercy. Another story for another day. In this feature, however, it is not our intention to judge, but to share the most recent CMS scores for Arkansas’ nursing homes. CMS Ranks Arkansas 10th Worst in Serious Nursing Home Deficiencies By Lena V. Groeger and Charles Ornstein, ProPublica Lena V. Groeger and Charles Ornstein. “Nursing Home Inspect.” ProPublica, updated April 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nursing-homes and https://projects.propublica.org/nursing-homes/state/AR Compiled using data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. ProPublica does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the data provided. HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  JUL / AUG 2022 21