during each of the last three years.
From treating bed sores to preventing urinary tract infections, the quality of care in nursing homes was usually the focus of those deficiencies, the report found. Experts also found that on a typical day, far too many residents waited too long to get the help they needed.
Despite the report's findings, critics said just issuing "deficiency citations" won't change anything.
"Very few of these deficiencies ever result in a financial penalty," said Wes Bledsoe, founder of A Perfect Cause, a non-profit group that advocates for the reform in long-term care. "And if they do, they are not collected. The system has no teeth."
As a result, some states are taking actions into their own hands. In New...