Skilled nursing facilities provide top-notch care

    RIHCA is a nonprofit trade association comprised of 60 of Rhode Island’s 85 nursing homes. The organization’s Quality Committee developed the report three years ago to give policymakers and consumers a better understanding of the care delivered in nursing homes. Unlike the “rest homes” of years past, today’s skilled nursing facilities care for an acutely ill and diverse population in need of short-term rehabilitation or recuperation or long-term care for chronic conditions. The facilities now admit patients with a variety of complex medical conditions, making the quality of care delivered more important than ever.
    The report’s findings are compiled from several sources, but none is more telling than resident and family satisfaction surveys conducted by My InnerView, a national research firm.  Rhode Island nursing homes outscored the national average by both residents and their families on two main criteria:  the percentage of respondents who rated their nursing home good to excellent; and the percentage of respondents who indicated that they would recommend the facility to others.
    According to data by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS), Rhode Island facilities fare far better than their national counterparts on inspections by state Departments of Health as well. Each year, every nursing home is surveyed for compliance in nearly 1,000 areas of care. Rhode Island nursing homes averaged three deficiencies per survey compared to an average of eight nationally.
    A great contributor of what drives high quality care in Rhode Island’s nursing facilities is the self-driven initiative of the providers. For example, last year 100 percent of the state’s facilities participated in the advancing excellence campaign, a volunteer effort aimed at enhancing quality in nursing homes. By comparison, the average national participation rate was only 45 percent. Rhode Island facilities frequently serve as pilot sites to test new quality enhancement initiatives and as a result, data collected by the CMS shows Rhode Island’s facilities surpass national averages on nearly every criterion measured.
    If you would like to find out more about Rhode Island’s nursing homes, RIHCA’s quality report can be viewed online at www.rihca.com.

    Joan M. Woods is chair of the Rhode Island Health Care Association (RIHCA), a nonprofit association comprised of about two-thirds of the state’s skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities. She is also executive administrator of the Genesis HealthCare Grand Islander Center in Middletown. She can be reached at (401) 849-7100 or joan.woods@genesishcc.com.