Study Ranks Ohio Nursing Home Care Below National Average

A new report by Miami University in Oxford shows the quality of care in Ohio nursing homes is lower than the national average. The report examined residents who stay in a nursing home for 100 days or more. It ranks Ohio below the national average on 10  quality measures used by Medicaid and Medicare. Those include urinary tract infections, unexplained weight loss, pain, ulcers and use of antipsychotic drugs. Seventy Nine percent of Ohio nursing facilities are owned by for-profit companies, which were below the national average in all 10 categories. The report does not say why Ohio is ranked poorly, but researchers say more data collection needs to be conducted. A trade group called the Ohio Health Care Association says the study uses old data and improvements have been made.