A proposal to install a ratings system for rest homes should be added to regulations as soon as possible. Safety is the issue Thanks to a push to hold rest homes in North Carolina more accountable for the quality of service they offer, it is possible to turn up some useful information through research. For example, members of the public can determine whether a home has violated regulations or whether its residents have been hurt in accidents. Still, a simple rating system, giving the homes from one to five stars, makes absolute sense and should be established by the General Assembly. Opposition from some home operators doesn’t stand up to logic.

Rest homes meet the needs of many thousands of this state’s elderly residents, and their role is bound to expand. With the baby boom generation nearing retirement and old age beyond that, it’s more important than ever that standards of safety and day-to-day care for the elderly be enforced. The additional numbers, after all, will put more pressure on this industry to perform, and the quality of care must be maintained and improved. (Just because the boomers are approaching the age when long-term care starts to become an issue doesn’t mean, of course, that the quality of care hasn’t been important all along. It was and it is.)

A rating system would make checking a rest home’s performance, and inquiring as to any problems, easier for families who are considering such care for an elderly loved one. (more…)