Worst Nursing Homes in Montana
Public health encompasses many aspects of the healthcare system, including residential care for seniors. Nursing homes are designed to meet the care needs of these adults, but they often fall short of professional standards and focus more on their bottom lines.
Many facilities in Montana have poor records and numerous violations. This article will explore some of the worst nursing homes in the state.
Identifying Poorly Performing Nursing Facilities in Montana
If you or your older family members are ready to move into a nursing home, you must research individual facilities to find a high-quality establishment. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has a comparison tool and rating system that can help.
Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare Website
The nursing home comparison tool on Medicare.gov lets you look up individual facilities to see their ratings and past inspection reports. You can even view specific fines and violations that have been cited in these reports.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Star Rating System
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rates most facilities nationwide on a five-star system. Each home will receive an overall score based on individual ratings for health inspections, staffing, and quality measures.
Every nursing home that offers substandard care on the list below has a one-star overall rating.
List of Worst Nursing Homes in Montana: Based on Publicly Available Data
- Bella Terra of Billings – This Special Focus Facility Candidate has fines totaling $272,000 since 2021. The main violations for these fines include allowing resident abuse and neglect, allowing accident hazards on the premises, and insufficient staffing [1].
- Kalispell Rehabilitation and Nursing LLC – As another Special Focus Facility Candidate, this skilled nursing center has a recent inspection report with multiple serious deficiencies. The violations included untrained nurses, medication errors, instances of abuse and neglect, a failure to report abuse, and a failure to respond to abuse allegations [2].
- Yellowstone River Nursing and Rehabilitation – Yellowstone River has been fined roughly $84,000 in recent years. The deficiencies cited for these fines included resident abuse, failing to meet professional standards, failing to prevent accident hazards, and not providing quality ulcer care [3].
- Park Place Transitional Care and Rehabilitation – Between 2022 and 2024, this care center received fines totaling $347,000. Some of the largest fines resulted from residents being abused, patients being harmed by accident hazards, and patients not receiving appropriate ulcer care and communications [4].
- Mount Ascension Transitional Care of Cascadia – One of the most significant failures at this health care center was the failure to prevent infections from spreading. This failure impacted many residents, and the facility was fined roughly $53,000 for this offense [5].
- Continental Care and Rehabilitation – This long-term care center is a Special Focus Facility Candidate due to its history of violations. 76 deficiencies have resulted in fines worth $180,000 since 2022, with the most serious issue being the rampant abuse of patients [6].
- Cooney Healthcare and Rehabilitation – This facility is also part of the SFF Candidate list. Failing to provide treatment according to patient preferences, not providing enough food and fluids to a patient, and abuse have been the most severe deficiencies in recent years [7].
- Pioneer Care and Rehabilitation – A complaint report against this care center in 2022 revealed numerous failures, including instances of abuse and neglect, the presence of accident hazards, insufficient pain management practices, and poor communication with residents [8].
- River Ridge Rehabilitation and Nursing LLC – River Ridge has received five fines since 2022. Some of the reasons for these fines include resident abuse, poor infection control practices, meddling in resident financial affairs, not providing sufficient ulcer care, and not providing enough food and fluids to a resident [9].
- Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation – This SFF Candidate has had $248,000 in fines since 2022. The largest of these fines, totaling $177,694, was based on deficiencies like poor infection practices, administrative failures, poor nutritional support, and resident rights violations [10].
- Ivy at Deer Lodge – This facility failed to provide skilled nursing needs on numerous occasions, including basic life support, food and fluids, enough staff members, and appropriate respiratory care. The center has been fined $93,200 since 2021 due to some of these deficiencies [11].
Common Problems Found in Poorly Rated Nursing Home Facilities
Elderly Montanans face similar issues at every underperforming nursing home. Some of the most common problems found in these facilities include staffing shortages, more residents than resources, poor management, negligent care, abuse, untrained employees, preventable injuries, pressure ulcers, and improper patient monitoring.
Legal Options for Residents of Poorly Performing Nursing Homes
If you believe a nursing home is underperforming or mistreating residents, you can take advantage of several legal options. First, you can report your concerns to the nursing home administrators. Then, you could file a complaint with the Montana Health Care Association or the Department of Public Health and Human Services.
In some cases, a lawsuit could be filed to seek compensation. The resident could also be transferred to other facilities.
Compensation in Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Cases
A successful lawsuit could result in a settlement for legal damages. Economic damages may include lost income, medical expenses, and future medical costs. Non-economic losses include emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of quality of life.
Why You Need an Experienced Nursing Home Neglect Attorney
Nursing home closures are infrequent, so it is essential for victims and their families to take action when they suspect abuse or neglect.
An experienced nursing home abuse lawyer will investigate your claim, navigate state and federal regulations, deal with nursing homes and insurance companies, and hold these facilities accountable.
Contact Our Montana Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers for a Free Consultation
The Nursing Home Law Center is committed to supporting victims of nursing home abuse and neglect. We will help you build a strong case to pursue compensation. Call us today at 800-926-7565 or complete the online form to request a free case evaluation.
Resources: [1] ProPublica – Bella Terra, [2] ProPublica – Kalispell, [3] ProPublica – Yellowstone River, [4] ProPublica – Park Place, [5] ProPublica – Mount Ascension, [6] ProPublica – Continental, [7] ProPublica – Cooney Healthcare, [8] ProPublica – Pioneer, [9] ProPublica – River Ridge, [10] ProPublica – Whitefish, [11] ProPublica – Ivy at Deer Lodge