› $580,975,000 verdict in personal injury case
Connie Gay Cole was her grandparents’ favorite granddaughter. They took care of her most of her life, as she slipped in and out of employment. In return, Cole repaid them by squandering their life savings, according to The Oregonian.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week posted a new system on its Web site, Nursing Home Compare, that rates all Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes with a five-star system.
Measuring the quality of a nursing home is not always clear-cut. More that 1.5 million people live in 15,000 nursing homes throughout the country. Each facility is inspected annually and must meet federal standards in order to participate in Medicaid and Medicare. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has established the site to give the public a better understanding of how nursing homes compare to others.
On March 3, the Des Moines Register reported that in 2007 the state fined 23 Iowa nursing homes $10,000 or more for providing substandard care. Some of those homes were also hit with federal fines and sanctions against their state licenses.
