It is important to do background research when choosing a nursing home or assisted living facility in Pennsylvania. Not all nursing homes are created equal! In this three part series, the Philadelphia Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys of Senior Justice Law Firm will provide step-by-step guides on researching nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the state of Pennsylvania. In Part I, we will show you how to find Pennsylvania Nursing Home Inspection Reports. In Part II, we will discuss how to find Pennsylvania Nursing Home Lawsuits.
Free PA Nursing Home Negligence Case Consultation
Call Us Now. We Can Help: 215-399-9200
Who Creates Pennsylvania Nursing Home Inspection Reports and What Do They Inspect?
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is in charge of regulating nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the state. Teams of inspectors, including a registered nurse, social worker and nutritionist, are sent to facilities to review their compliance with minimum legal standards as well as the overall quality of care provided by the facility. These inspections are unannounced to prevent facilities from hiding failures from the inspection team.
If a particular resident or family of a resident has a specific complaint, they should reach out by calling 800-254-5164 or filling out a complaint form.
How Do I Find Pennsylvania Nursing Home Inspection Reports
First, you need to search for the relevant facility. The Department of Health separates reports by county, so proceed to the nursing care facility locater page and click the relevant county. For example, if we were looking for a facility in Philadelphia, we would click Philadelphia County which would bring you to this page. Once on the county page, you will see all nursing homes listed in alphabetical order. Each nursing home will display its name and address, ownership type, license, last inspection, number of beds and what type of payments the facility accepts.
What Information is Contained in Nursing Home Inspection Reports
Now that you know how to access Pennsylvania Nursing Home Inspection Reports, it is important to understand what these inspection reports contain. Under each facility, there are three options:
- “View Patient Care Surveys”
- Under this category, you can view facility deficiencies and their plan of correction to address prior deficiencies. To view prior inspection reports, you have to click on the date and individually choose previous inspection reports.
- “View Building Safety Surveys”
- This category shows deficiencies regarding the building and premises of the facility. Just like the patient care surveys, older inspection reports can be accessed by clicking on the date drop down menu and choosing an earlier date.
- “View Additional Services”
- This category provides brief explanations of other aspects of the facilities, such as specialty medical services provided and activities and recreation provided.
Conclusion
After reading this post, you can now find Pennsylvania Nursing Home Inspection Reports by using the Pennsylvania Department of Health Website. You also now know what information is contained in the reports.
