Shirley Lake checks temperatures in a sample meal at Life Care Centerin Fort Wayne. Lake, a regional vice president with Care Center of America Inc., worked with others to perform a trial in-house inspection of the facility.
Administrators say paperwork takes time from patients.
That's what nursing home administrator Bob Compton says about working in one of the nation's most regulated industries. We're second only to nuclear power,'' he said. Every facility that gets Medicaid or Medicare reimbursement is inspected at least annually for certification by the federal government. The federal Health Care Financing Administration contracts with the State Department of Health to conduct the multi-day inspections. Surveyors also make yearly state licensure inspections, unannounced.