The federal government rated 279 nursing homes in KY. What to know about best, worst

President Joe Biden’s administration recently announced it’s stepping up oversight efforts for nursing homes, and in doing so following up on a watchdog report last year that found unusually high use of psychotropic drugs in some facilities.

As reported by Bloomberg, that report from the U.S. Office of the Inspector General found about 80% of Medicare long-stay nursing home residents were receiving some type of psychotropic drug. These drugs included antipsychotics, anticonvulsants and mood controllers, among others.

Given all this, you might be wondering what quality of care Medicare-certified nursing homes in Kentucky are providing their residents, particularly if you’re looking for a safe home for an aging loved-one.

Here’s a walk-through for finding which nursing homes are among the best and worst in Kentucky and how to be an informed consumer when making this critical decision.

How many Kentucky nursing homes are offering high-quality care?

Of the 279 Kentucky nursing homes rated by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 72 are rated at just one out of five stars. That’s the lowest rating possible through the federal agency’s scoring system.

Furthermore, of those 72 nursing homes, seven have been cited for abuse, per CMS’ online directory of health care providers in Kentucky.

The seven facilities are listed by CMS as follows:

Chautauqua Health and Rehabilitation, 1205 Leitchfield Road, Owensboro, KY 42303

Elliott Nursing and Rehabilitation, Route 32 East Howard Creek Road, Sandy Hook, KY 41171

Hazard Health and Rehabilitation Center, 390 Park Ave., Hazard, KY 41702

Landmark of Iroquois Park Rehab and Nursing Center, 900 Gagel Ave., Louisville, KY 40216

Landmark of Louisville Rehabilitation and Nursing, 1155 Eastern Parkway, Louisville, KY 40217

Regency Center, 1550 Raydale Drive, Louisville, KY 40219

Ridgeway Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility, 406 Wyoming Road, Owingsville, KY 40360

None of these homes responded to requests for comment from the Herald-Leader. The database does not indicate when the citations occurred.

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Conversely, 43 Kentucky nursing homes have been rated five stars, the highest score possible, according to the CMS online directory.

For those in the Lexington area, five facilities are rated five stars. Those are Cardinal Hill Skilled Rehabilitation Unit, The Willows at Fritz Farm, The Home Place at Midway, the Thomson-Hood Veterans Center and the Kenwood Health and Rehabilitation Center.

How are nursing homes reviewed?

Each of the reviewed, Medicare-certified nursing homes is rated based on three sources: health inspections, staffing and quality measures. The agency describes its ratings as only a “snapshot” of the quality at each nursing home.

The CMS states on its website, “star ratings can give you important information and help you compare nursing homes, but aren’t a substitute for visiting the nursing home.”

You can also use the ratings to inform the questions you ask on a nursing home tour and help you decide what’s best for yourself or a loved one.

You can browse nursing home ratings online at Medicare.gov.

Do you have a question about aging in Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email ask@herald-leader.com.

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