⁵Many of these findings were echoed in a class action lawsuit, Smith v. O'Halloran, brought by nursing home residents in Colorado against facilities in that state as well as what is now the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The case, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, was decided in favor of the defendants. Among other things, the 10th Circuit Court ruled that the federal government had to substantially change the way it surveyed nursing homes. (Smith v. O'Halloran, 557 F. Supp. 289 [D. Colo. 1983], rev'd sub nom. Smith versus Heckler, 747 F.2d 583 [10th Cir. 1984].)[Return to Text]