ATLANTA (AP) -The Department of Health and Human Services has
found that nearly 90 percent of Georgia nursing homes violated federal standards for health and safety last year.

The state was on par with the national average of 92 percent of
nursing homes that had violations.

The report was issued by the Inspector General's Office and is based on the state's annual nursing home inspections.

Georgia has 375 licensed nursing homes with 40,649 beds.

The state reduced its number of homes with violations from 95 percent
to 88 percent, and was slightly below the national average for number of violations per home with 6.5 percent compared to 7 percent nationally.

Among the problems cited at nursing homes are quality of care
and quality of life issues, including bed sores, urinary tract
infections, medication mistakes and housekeeping issues.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)