A list of nursing homes around the country flagged by federal lawmakers for persistent health issues has now been made public, and 11 of them are in New Jersey.

The government would previously not disclose the official list of the nursing homes with serious ongoing health, safety, or sanitary problems found by inspectors. The silence cracked on June 4^th when Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania released the list of over 400 nursing homes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) flagged with persistently poor survey inspection results.

Here is the list of the flagged New Jersey nursing homes:

• Care One at Evesham (Marlton, NJ)

• The Wanaque Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation (Haskell, NJ)

• Millville Center (Millville, NJ)

• Our Lady’s Center for Rehabilitation & HC (Pleasantville, NJ)

• Riverside Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (Trenton, NJ)

• Sterling Manor (Maple Shade, NJ)

• Waterview Center (Cedar Grove, NJ)

• Summit Ridge Center (West Orange, NJ)

• Roosevelt Care Center (Old Bridge, NJ)

• Newgrove Manor (East Orange, NJ)

• Riverfront Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center (Pennsauken, NJ)

This kind of information should always be available to the public and updated regularly. It is optimistic that the current administration is interested in affirming their commitment to families and looking out for their loved ones in nursing homes.

Because these facilities are mainly filled with elderly whom already have serious health conditions, the bills are usually paid for by Medicare or Medicaid. In order for the facilities to receive payment from government entities, they need to comply with their regulations and provide standard care. The CMS will identify the homes on this list as “Special Focus Facilities” and could cut them from federal programs if conditions don’t improve.

Information on the quality of facilities, as well as and staffing-related issues, can be found online on the CMS’ Nursing Home Compare page. Inspection ratings were very recently made public again after being concealed since February of 2018. It’s good to see the government is getting more involved and inspecting these facilities with greater care to ensure the well-being of the elderly.

Even if a specific nursing home isn’t listed here, you should always do your research on a facility before admitting a loved one. Whether caused by understaffing, lack of proper training, or supervision, some nursing home residents are being neglected and, in turn, suffering from serious injuries, that often lead to death.

Because many nursing homes don’t provide the level of care their residents deserve, you should stay alert for signs of nursing home abuse or neglect. If you or a loved one were injured due to a facility’s error or neglect, it is strongly recommended that you seek experienced counsel immediately.