To advance information on quality of care, CMS makes nursing home staffing data available
Monday, March 14, 2022
Are you having difficulty researching nursing homes, home health care services, and hospice care?
Oftentimes, when an individual is seeking care from the above listed services, a simple Google search cannot yield the specific information you are looking for. How is the staffing? How many complaints has the facility received over the years? Is the facility up to date on infection control inspections, fire inspections, and health inspections?
Back in January, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took initiative by posting all this critical information and more on the Medicare.gov Care Compare website. For the past ten years, CMS has been collecting data from hospitals, critical, rehabilitative, and long-term care facilities and posting the information on the Medicare.gov website. The information is portrayed through spreadsheets and requires a fine-tooth comb to uncover relevant details. The more user-friendly Care Compare website enables one to quickly search for facilities within a given zip code and review:
- Overall ratings
- Health and fire inspection ratings, date of last inspections, and number of citations
- Staffing ratings
- Complaint inspections
- Dates and access to infection control inspections
- Direct and indirect ownership facilities
- Managing employee length of employment
- Federal penalties over the past 3 years
- Percentage of short stay residents who needed and got a flu or vaccine shot
- Percentage of skilled nursing facility residents who experienced one or more falls with an injury over the duration of their stay
- And much more.
Nursing Home Staffing
CMS diligently analyzed the relationship between staffing turnover- the percent of nursing staff and administrators that ceased to work at the facility over 12-months- and quality of care. The data indicates that lower turnover results in higher quality of care.
Lower turnover may translate into staff having the ability to become more familiar with residents and recognize adverse changes in their conditions when they occur. Moreover, nursing staff longevity can promote stronger leadership and consistency in care.
