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Nursing homes ratings by Medicare differ significantly from the Yelp consumer ratings, a recent study has found.

Nursing Homes: Ratings Differ

A study conducted by Prof. Anna Rahman, University of Southern California, evaluated nursing homes from both Medicare and Yelp consumers on the following metrics:

• quality of staff care and staffing
• physical facility and setting
• resident safety and security
• clinical care quality
• financial issues

Medicare staff reviewers focused on the quality of healthcare provided by the nursing home as well as resident safety.

Yelp reviewers, other other hand, focused on staff caring, responsiveness, and physical environment.

Nursing Homes: Ratings Interpretation

These results suggest that nursing home residents and their families care about human touch. Is the staff caring? Responsive to resident needs? They also care about the physical setting. Is the facility appealing?

The Medicare quality measures do not assess these attributes, but you might reasonably expect high Yelp scores to correlate Medicare scores. But, they do not correlate. Why?

According to Dr. Rahman, different types of reviewers, consumers and  government surveyors, define high quality using different factors. Therefore, consumers would do best to consult both 5-star methods when considering potential care settings for their loved ones.

Nursing Homes: Putnam Ridge Gets 5 Star Ratings

At Putnam Ridge, we are extremely gratified by our stellar five star reviews that we’ve achieved from real consumers, on some of the biggest independent healthcare sites!

The popular consumer website at www.Wellness.com, is but one example!

Click on the graphic below to visit our page!