A new nursing home rating system released by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Thursday has already created controversy after three local facilities received the lowest ranking.

The system grades the quality of nursing homes on three different categories, assigning them one to five stars based on their performance from information gathered in surveys, complaints and inspections. Five stars is the best score while one star is the worst.

John Ognibene, administrator for Mercy Health and Rehab Center, which received a one-star rating, said he questioned the system's accuracy.

“It's a great idea, but I think they implemented it prematurely,” Ognibene said. “This facility had problems five years ago and it has made significant improvements, but they go back several years for some of their information, so even though we have fixed some problems we still are marked for it.”

But Mary Kahn, public relations specialist for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said that when nursing homes are cited for a violation they are given a chance to rectify the problem and be re-inspected.

“We are just using information that is already available on our Web site and synthesizing it for the public's use,” Kahn said. “We used an advisory panel to pick critical categories to be graded to make this report.”

Kahn said criteria such as percentage of residence with bed sores, ability of long-term residents to move around on their own and percentage of individuals with delirium could be used as quality of life indicators at a facility because they are associated with the quality of service.

Karen Jeffreys, vice president of long-term care services at Finger Lakes Center for the Living, said that even though her facility got an overall rating of four stars, she had concerns about some of the criteria.

In the quality of life measures, the Finger Lakes Center for the Living received two stars, which Jeffreys attributed to the facility's larger than average population of residents who are older than 80.

“We're thrilled (about the ranking), it speaks to the dedication of our staff,” Jeffreys said. “But I have concerns about this system taking into account the population ... I think we got our two star rating because we work with a large older population. When people are over 85, they are going to have less mobility as they start to deteriorate more quickly, it's not that we don't do what we need to do.”

Because all of the information used in the system is reported either directly from the nursing home or from their state inspections, Kahn said the system was an accurate tool that people should be aware of. The system will even be updated quarterly to take into account improving or deteriorating conditions.

“The star rating system is only meant to be one tool to help people look for a nursing home,” Kahn said. “We are in no way saying people should write off a facility with one star or saying that a facility with five stars is better. This is just meant to be one way to help people make a choice. The most important thing to do before making a decision is still to go visit the facility, talk to the staff and patients and their families and ask them about the facility to see if it's a place that you will like.”

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net