Only 23 Indiana Nursing Homes Found Deficiency Free

INDIANAPOLIS--Twenty-three Indiana comprehensive care nursing homes boasted zero deficiencies in their annual surveys conducted from October through December 2004, state health officials announced today.
A total of 117 nursing homes in Indiana had their annual surveys during this period.
'As part of our continuing effort to inform the public about nursing home care in Indiana, we want to let people know when facilities have an outstanding annual survey,' said Terry Whitson, assistant commissioner for Health Care Regulatory Services at the Indiana State Department of Health.
'Our inspection process is rigorous, so we want to congratulate the managers and staffs of the 23 facilities that had zero deficiencies,' Whitson said.
For each annual survey of a long-term care facility, a team of three or four professional surveyors performs detailed inspections that last from four days to two weeks. The team members are registered nurses or social workers.
The annual surveys cover these areas:
� residents' rights, including admission, transfer, and discharge;
� residents' behavior and facility practices (how the facility protects
its residents);
� quality of life;
� resident assessment (how the facility determines the appropriate
care for each resident);
� quality of care;
� nursing services;
� physician services;
� dental services;
� infection control;
� physical environment; and
� administration.
The 23 nursing homes that had deficiency-free annual surveys in the fourth quarter of 2004 (listed by county of location"