SENIORS COALITION SEEKS CARE REPORTS; LOCAL HOME ON THE LIST

A Cape Girardeau nursing home is among 50 in the state asked to release reports on quality of care to a coalition of senior citizens groups.

The coalition, which includes members of the Missouri Council of Senior Citizens, Silver Haired Legislators, the Missouri Coalition for Quality Care and Service Employees International Union Local 50, announced this week that the state's 50 for-profit nursing homes were being asked to release quality assurance reports, which are internal company inspection reports.

Letters requesting the reports were mailed out to the homes on Tuesday and Wednesday, said Brian Treece, a spokesman for the coalition.

Treece said coalition members hope the requests "really give us a benchmark to see who complies with this new law."

Under a new state law, nursing homes are required to provide copies of the quality assurance reports to consumers.

Included on the list is Cape Girardeau Nursing Center, 2852 Independence. Lori Bainter, administrator of the home, said she had not yet received the request.

"I know House Bill 409 has been passed, but the standard at Beverly Enterprises (which owns Cape Girardeau Nursing Center) is that we're only concerned with one thing, and that's providing quality care," Bainter said.

She said requests for the quality assurance reports might be referred to Beverly Enterprise's corporate headquarters in Fort Smith, Ark., but added, "we will follow that law."

Bainter said surveys of residents and their families show that satisfaction with care offered at the home is high.

Treece said the coalition asked facilities in Kansas City, St.. Louis and Springfield for the reports three weeks ago and were turned down.

"We've asked 10 times and 10 times we've been refused," he said. "Those requests were done in person and those were denied."

The coalition charged that Beverly Enterprises is withholding the requested reports for Lincoln Nursing Center, one of its facilities in Jefferson City. Treece said coalition members were promised the reports for Lincoln Nursing Center on Oct. 12, but have not yet received them.

"We really think that Lincoln Nursing Center and Beverly Enterprises are withholding the information from the public," Treece said.

He said coalition members had originally gone to the facility in person to request the report, but were told the information would be mailed to them.

"We were rather encouraged that they at least admitted they had quality assurance information and were prepared to submit it," Treece said.

He pointed out the new law does not require homes to have copies of the report available on hand. Instead of the quality assurance reports, however, Beverly Enterprises sent a company survey.

This week, the coalition released a state report on Lincoln Nursing Center which documented 53 pages of poor patient care and unsanitary conditions at the facility.

The law, which went into effect this summer, is being challenged by the Missouri Health Care Association, which charges it places an undue burden on nursing homes.

The association represents nursing homes and care facilities. Attorney General Jay Nixon has asked that the association's claim be dismissed, said Scott Holste, a spokesman for Nixon's office.

Treece said the association did not file any objections to the new law while it was under debate by legislators. "I suspect they would rather fight this in a very expensive court of law, which many seniors can't afford," he said. "It's truth in advertising. If they're claiming to have quality, they need to have documentation to prove it."

Missouri is the first state in the nation which requires nursing homes to provide the reports to consumers.

Cape Girardeau Nursing Center was picketed by members of Service Employees International Union Local 50 in January. Union members passed out fliers citing reports by Beverly Enterprises and the Missouri Department of Social Services that the facility was "unnecessarily restraining" patients.

Beverly Enterprises came under fire in January when Local 50's parent organization, the Food and Allied Service Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, charged the company was not living up to a 1991 agreement to upgrade the quality of care at its nursing homes.

Officials with Beverly Enterprises responded at the time that the labor organization was using "highly misleading" claims to gain an advantage during labor negotiations.

The coalition is asking several other nursing homes in Southeast Missouri for the quality assurance reports, including: Bloomfield Nursing Center, Bluff Nursing Center in Poplar Bluff, Camelot Nursing Home in Farmington, Caruthersville Nursing Center, Dexter Nursing Center, New Madrid Nursing Center and Ridgeview Nursing in Malden, owned by Beverly Enterprises; and Vintage Villa in Dexter and Fleur De Lis in Farmington, owned by Americare Systems, Inc.