Nursing home inspections ensure that facilities comply with operating rules and regulations. Although inspection reports are meant to ensure regulatory compliance, the public can also use them to compare healthcare facilities.
Our experienced Greenville nursing home abuse lawyer at Bobby Jones Law explains nursing home inspection reports in Greenville, SC.
What Are Nursing Home Inspection Reports?
Nursing home inspection reports are written findings from nursing home inspections. An inspection report may find compliance or non-compliance.
Inspection reports may include factual summaries, corrective actions, and follow-up investigations.
How do nursing home inspections work?
South Carolina Department of Public Health (SC DPH) nursing home inspections are conducted unannounced and happen about once a year. They can be more frequent if violations are found or if there are specific complaints. A DPH inspector arrives at the facility to observe, gather information, and investigate specific situations.
What does a nursing home inspection look for?
Nursing home inspection reports evaluate compliance with:
- Standards for providing care
- Policies and procedures
- Cleanliness
- Fire safety
- Staffing levels
- Staff interaction with residents
- Quality of care
Inspectors may observe activities in the facility. They may review records, operating documents, and reports. They may evaluate internal policies and procedures. Interviews, including with residents, staff, family members, and volunteers, may be a part of the process.
A single inspection won’t check every rule and regulation. An inspection in which no violations are found isn’t necessarily a guarantee that the facility is operating perfectly.
What if they find a violation?
If the DPH inspector finds a regulatory violation, they create an ROV (Report of Visit). The ROV explains the non-compliance. The facility must submit a corrective action plan. Inspectors may follow up to ensure future compliance.
Who Inspects Nursing Homes in South Carolina?
The South Carolina Department of Public Health conducts nursing home inspections. Inspectors are healthcare professionals who represent DPH.
While DPH inspectors are state-level representatives, they enforce both state and federal standards. All nursing homes in South Carolina must have a state license; DPH issues these licenses. In addition, if the nursing home participates in Medicare and Medicaid, it must follow federal standards for these programs. DPH enforces these standards on behalf of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
How To Check Nursing Home Violations Online
To check nursing home violations online, search SC DPH CMS Surveys.
Search for South Carolina nursing home violations.
You can search by facility name, location, date, and CMS certification number.
Using Medicare’s Care Compare Tool
In addition to searching DPH inspection reports, you might find nursing home star ratings helpful. Star ratings reflect health inspections, staffing, and overall quality measures. The Medicare Care Compare tool lets you view and compare star ratings for nursing homes in South Carolina. You can also view abuse citations.
Third-Party Databases Like ProPublica’s Nursing Home Information
ProPublica is a non-government website that compiles and publishes nursing home inspection data. They provide details about nursing homes, such as staffing levels, bed counts, and staff turnover rates. They also have CMS inspection reports with deficiency letter ratings. This can be another helpful resource for learning about nursing home compliance and evaluating a facility.
How To Read a Statement of Deficiencies (Form CMS-2567)
If a nursing home inspection reveals deficiencies, inspectors use Form CMS-2567 to create a Statement of Deficiencies. The document identifies the facility, its address, and the date of inspection. The relevant regulation is assigned an identification number.
The Summary Statement of Deficiencies details what happened that amounts to a violation. It states the facts, cites the regulation, and explains how compliance was insufficient.
If there is a correction plan, the plan is summarized in the Provider’s Plan of Correction section.
Examples of non-compliance found in Greenville, SC, CMS-2567 reports include:
- Scissors unattended on a medication cart
- Resident elopement from the facility
- Failing to provide breakfast for a resident
- Not providing adequate care, including making sure a resident gets a regular bath
- Failing to provide adequate wound care when a resident required it
- No call light to request assistance
- Failing to provide medical care when oxygen therapy was required
- Improper catheter use
- Poor storage of supplies and hazardous materials
See the CMS-2567 Form.
Understanding Scope and Severity Ratings
SC regulatory violations are split into classes.
Class I – The condition poses an imminent danger to the resident’s health, safety, or well-being, or it creates a substantial possibility of death or physical harm.
Class II – The condition has a negative impact on resident health, safety, or well-being.
Class III – The condition doesn’t follow DPH best practices.
Deficiencies are assigned Scope and Severity ratings. An “A” rating is the least serious violation, while an “L” rating is the most serious violation. These ratings help measure the severity of the violation and the risk of harm. The letter rating reflects whether harm occurred, whether the violation creates an immediate risk, how widespread the danger is, and the potential severity of harm.
How Inspection Reports Support a Legal Claim
Inspection reports can show a pattern of negligence. They may show that the facility knew about dangerous conditions or failed to remedy them despite prior injuries.
An inspection report can give you a starting point for an investigation. It can help identify focus areas.
Proving Notice and a Pattern of Substandard Care
The standard for proving nursing home abuse or neglect is negligence or more serious misconduct. There isn’t an exact number of violations that automatically proves negligence. Previous inspection reports can be a big help, but on their own, they won’t prove a case.
It’s important to build the evidence of what happened in your case and why the nursing home is at fault. Bobby Jones Law is a law firm that represents nursing home residents and their families.
Talk to a Lawyer
If you’re concerned about the care that you or a loved one has received in a care facility, we invite you to contact Bobby Jones Law. Robert “Bobby” Jones is an experienced nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer. We research and evaluate nursing home inspection reports. We can use them as part of your case-building for nursing home abuse or negligence compensation.
Call or message us now.
