Three Indiana nursing homes are among the worst in the country and an additional 14 have serious quality and care issues

Hanover Nursing Center one of the 14

In a story from a Indianapolis TV station, three Indiana nursing homes are among the worst in the country and an additional 14 have serious quality and care issues significant enough to make them candidates for a federal monitoring program, according to a report released by two U.S. Senators earlier this week.

The report, which is generally not made available to the public, was released by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) on Monday includes more than 400 nursing homes across the country that are candidates for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Special Focus Facility Program (SFF).

Three nursing homes in Indiana are already part of the SFF program, including Lawrence Manor Healthcare Center in Indianapolis, which has been working to improve for the past 17 months.

The other two already included on the list are Vernon Health & Rehabilitation in Wabash – 13 months and Aperion Care Arbors in Michigan City – 10 months.

Once a facility is on the list, the operators are given 18 to 24 months to make recommended improvements and extensions can be granted. Failure to improve can jeopardize the nursing homes’ participation in the Medicare and  Medicaid programs and the funding that comes from them.

14 additional nursing homes in Indiana, including Hanover Nursing Center, are currently under observation that have a documented patter of poor care significant enough to make them candidates for the SFF federal monitoring program.

Those nursing homes include:

1. Essex Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
2. Signature Healthcare of Lafayette
3. Hanover Nursing Center
4. Aperion Care Valpraiso
5. SImmons Loving Care Health Facility
6. Life Care Center of Rochester
7. Signature Healthcare of Newburgh
8. Majestic Care of Fort Wayne
9. Raia'lins House of Health & Living Community
10. Aperion Care Peru
11. Majestic Care of Connersville
12. North Ridge Village Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
13. Golden LivingCenter - Elkhart
14. Aperion Care Tolleston Park

Full list of troubled nursing homes across the country