Fwd: CMS NEWS: CMS Issues Historic Star Quality Rating System for Nursing Homes

[Guest guest]

Department of Health & Human

Services

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Room 352-G

200 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20201

Office of Media Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE

RELEASE

Contact: CMS Public Affairs

December 18,

2008

CMS Issues Historic Star Quality Rating System for

Nursing Homes

Next Step in Evolution of Nursing Home Compare Web Site

For

the first time in history, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid

Services (CMS) today released quality ratings for each of the nation’s

15,800 nursing homes that participate in Medicare or Medicaid.

Facilities are assigned star ratings from a low of one star to a high of

five stars based on health inspection surveys, staffing information, and

quality of care measures. The ratings are publicly available on the

agency’s Nursing Home Compare Web site at

www.medicare.gov.

“Our

goal in developing this unprecedented quality rating system is to provide

families a straightforward assessment of nursing home quality, with

meaningful distinctions between high and low performing homes,” said CMS

Acting Administrator Kerry Weems. “The new information will also

help consumers and families identify important questions to ask nursing

homes and challenge nursing homes to improve their quality of care.”

The

new rating system also received high marks from Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI),

chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. “With this new

rating system, CMS is improving the ability of consumers to readily

obtain critical information which should be used in conjunction with

in-person visits to a facility.

“Transparency is key when it comes to nursing home quality,” said Sen.

Kohl. “I commend Acting Administrator Weems today and, as always,

appreciate the opportunity to work together to improve our nation’s

nursing homes.”

Consulting with a panel of experts from academia, patient advocacy and

nursing home provider groups, CMS developed the rating system based on

each nursing home’s performance in three critical areas:

Health inspection surveys. Each year state and

federal surveyors conduct about 15,800 on-site, comprehensive assessments

of each nursing home’s health care services and compliance with

federal/state rules. These surveys are designed to help protect the

health and safety of residents, including resident’s rights and general

quality of life. Surveyors also conduct about 50,000 complaint

investigations each year. Information from the most recent three

years of survey findings were used to develop the ratings.

Quality measures. The quality rating system uses 10 key

quality measures out of the 19 that can be found on the Nursing Home

Compare Web site. Areas examined include the percent of at-risk

residents who have pressure ulcers (bed sores) after their first 90 days

in the nursing home, the number of residents whose mobility worsened

after admission, and whether residents received the proper medical care.

Staffing information. There is strong evidence that low

staffing levels can comprise the level of patient care in a nursing home

and is considered an important indicator of quality. This measure

reports the number of hours of nursing and other staff care per patient

per day. This measure is adjusted to account for the level of

illness and services required by each facility’s residents.

The Web site provides the public with a quality rating for each of the

three areas listed, as well as a composite or total score. A five

star designation means the facility ranks “much above average,” four star

indicates “above average,” three means “about average,” two is a “below

average” ranking with a one indicating that a facility ranks “much below

average.” Rankings are dynamic and will be updated monthly.

“Because quality and conditions within a nursing home can change at any

time, this system is not intended to be the only tool families use in

selecting the right nursing facility for a loved one,” Weems noted.

“Nursing homes can make dramatic improvements between rating periods,

just as a previously highly-rated home could see its quality of care

deteriorate. And nothing can substitute for visiting a nursing

home.”

In

this first round of quality ratings about 12 percent of the nation’s

nursing homes received a full five star rating while 22 percent scored at

the low end with one star. The remaining 66 percent of facilities

were distributed fairly evenly among the two, three and four star

rankings.

“Choosing a nursing home or community-based care is one of the most

difficult and sometimes confusing decisions families have to make,” noted

Hamilton, director of the CMS Survey and Certification Group who

helped develop the new system. “The new Web site improvements also

include links to information for community-based alternatives to nursing

homes that may be of great interest to families.

“Regardless of the type of support a family chooses,” he said, “It is

vital that families and caregivers use the Web site as just one of many

important sources of information they should consult. Families should

also consult with their physician, talk to the state’s nursing home

ombudsman or the state’s survey and certification office and, most

importantly, visit the nursing home or community-based program for

themselves.”

Today’s addition of the five-star quality rating system is just the

latest in a series of improvements to the Nursing Home Compare Web

site. In November 2007, CMS took another historic step in

publishing a list of the nation’s nursing homes with consistently poor

performance records. Nursing homes selected as such “Special Focus

Facilities (SFF)” are provided with increased oversight, including onsite

inspections that occur twice as often as better performing homes.

Homes with the SFF designation are clearly marked on the Compare

Web site.

“Around three million Americans depend on nursing homes at some point

during each year to provide life-saving care,” Weems said. “Most of

those individuals are enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare and we all bear a

special responsibility to protect their health and welfare. Adding this

new quality rating system to our Web site is a huge step toward giving

our beneficiaries and their loved ones meaningful information to compare

nursing homes more easily.”

CMS has also today published an updated version of its Guide to

Choosing a Nursing Home which can help families through the

process. The Guide can be also be accessed at

www.medicare.gov.

The five star ratings on Nursing Home Compare are the most recent

information to be added to the consumer information available at

www.medicare.gov. Users can

find up-to-date information about hospitals at Hospital Compare

(

www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov) and dialysis clinics at Dialysis

Facility Compare

(

www.medicare.gov/Dialysis), as well as information about Medicare

health and prescription drug plans

(www.medicare.gov/mppf and

www.medicare.gov/mpdpf

).

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