Anyone searching for a nursing home for a loved one will notice a range of quality of care and staffing levels in different facilities.
Standards vary from state to state, and also within the individual states.
The federal government attempted to set minimal acceptable standards in 1987 in nursing homes where Medicare and Medicaid funds are involved. The variations in homes may come from how one interprets the standards. In 1990, the Department of Health and Human Services was required to report on the care of residents in nursing homes. This report was supposed to be completed in 1992. The 200,000-page report is finally ready to be sent to Congress.