A Federal government web site designed to provide the public with information on elder abuse in nursing homes excludes vital facility violation statistics according to a new report released by House Democrats. The "Nursing Home Compare" site provides information on more than 16,000 nursing homes across the country. But according to the report, the site fails to provide data on complaint investigation violations.

Officials often conduct a complaint investigation when a nursing home when a nursing home resident, family member of a resident or employee files a complaint with a state regulatory agency. These state agencies conducted over 50,000 complaint investigations between October 2000 and December 2001. Investigators discovered over 25,000 health-code violations. More importantly, nearly 900 homes were cited for immediate jeopardy violations. The web site, maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services, omitted these health care offenses from its database. House representatives are demanding Medicare officials correct the web site immediately.