Memphis, TN -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/01/2014 -- Recent reports that show the great overall improvement of Kentucky nursing homes over a year is not enough to cease the battle if the problems in relation to nursing home care still persist.

Although Kentucky have showed a promising inclusive development, strict and vigilant annual on-site inspections and federal reporting should be done to ensure that nursing homes are complying with federal and state requirements and that proper nursing home care continuously function especially on nursing homes in Kentucky.

Based on the annual Nursing Home Report Card as produced by Families for a Better Care (a non-profit consumer group and nursing home resident advocacy group) for nursing homes, Kentucky was able to improve its rank from #40 of the previous year to #30 for 2014 - which is considered as the most significant jumps in the year's evaluation.

Out of the eight criteria that were used in determining the state's rating, Kentucky managed to show five improvement out of the eight areas examined. Significant improvement were made mostly in the number of nursing homes with above-average health inspections (10% increases), and the number of professional nursing hours per resident, per day which showed a 13% increase.

However, further attention should be given as the Kentucky Ombudsman has verified that 87.74% of nursing home complaints were recognized, which is an almost 5% increase from 2013, and nearly 20% of Kentucky nursing homes were cited for at least one severe deficiency in 2014 (which should post as a warning that immediate action is needed to improve the nursing home care provided to the resident patients).

Moreover, it was estimated that between one (1) to (two) 2 million Americans age 65 or older, numerous were abused including those living in nursing home neglect Kentucky. Though, nursing home residents have rights and certain protections under the law, it is not enough to fully improve the nursing home care unless strict federal inspection and assessment would take place.

Careful inspections and reporting are highly requested to avoid incidents like what had Center for Public Integrity has reported recently wherein one nursing home executive allegedly admitted that "staffing hours will be a little high this week but will drop the following week, which would reflect to inaccuracy in the staffing level and direct care time. Therefore, such inaccuracy would be susceptible to inflation of reported staffing levels that will affect the credibility of the results from annual inspections.

Another answer to improve the resident's safety and quality of care, as Families with Better Care has suggested, "is by hiring more qualified and highly trained staff to increase individual time with each resident". Staffing level inflation would be prevented if payroll data reported to Medicaid will be used in the analysis of staff levels which can provide more accurate quarterly reports based on financial data which the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has referred as the "gold standard".

Any violation and damage made to the rights of resident patients of nursing home neglect Kentucky should be penalized as Kentucky Nursing Home Justice, a team of lawyers who seeks justice for neglected nursing homes, deals this matter as a serious business for many got injured or die each year due to negligence of many nursing homes who make profit and take federal money out from resident patients rather than taking care of them.

Truly, if federal government would impose strict annual inspections and reporting on nursing homes, the sufferings of many elderly, disabled and dependent adults would be put to an end, and no one has to experience nursing home abuse or has to die each year.

About Kentucky Nursing Home Justice
Kentucky Nursing Home Justice is a team ready and willing to help people achieve justice in Kentucky. Their team includes attorneys licensed in a number of states: Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Virginia. Members of their team have represented clients in states across the country, from California to New Hampshire, and from Michigan to Florida, with places in between. They have assisted in obtaining relief for persons across the country, with members of their team assisting in obtaining multiple trial verdicts of One Million Dollars or more. They regularly try lawsuits – they work long hours. They welcome the chance to try and help any person in need of legal assistance.