| FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact:
Richard Deutsch |
December 22, 2004 |
202-261-7573 |
NHQI Two
Years Later: Nursing Home Care Is Improving
Statement
by AHQA Executive Vice President David Schulke
Two years ago, representatives of Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs),
nursing homes, and other stakeholders joined HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson
and then- CMS Administrator Thomas Scully in this room to launch the Nursing
Home Quality Initiative. The initiative committed the federal government
to publishing information about the quality of care in individual nursing
homes, and to hiring QIOs to help long-term care facility staff learn new
ways to improve care. Added to the ongoing federal nursing home inspection
program, the initiative promised major advances in the quality of long-term
care.
We said then
that this initiative could make a real difference in the lives of thousands
of older and disabled Americans. Today, the results are in. They show
that thousands of nursing homes across the country have made important
gains in quality. In the 25 years I’ve been working full
time on the quality beat, I can’t think of another nursing home quality
initiative that has shown as much impact in so short a time.
CMS data show that nursing homes in general have improved performance
on many of the publicly-reported quality measures. Nursing homes that worked
closely with their local QIO improved faster than their peers. For example,
while the average nursing home reduced the number of long-stay residents
suffering from pain by 38%, the 2,500 nursing homes working intensively
with their QIO saw the proportion of residents in pain drop by 49%.
QIOs helped
bring this about, but the hard work was done by the staff in thousands
of participating nursing homes. The publishing of quality measures motivated
nursing homes to work hard on these problems, but it also made a lot of
difference that the national nursing home associations and major nursing
home chains actively supported this initiative. We’ve all
seen government initiatives stall when industry opposed them, whereas
this one is succeeding. I believe the state and national leaders of
AAHSA and AHCA are due a great deal of credit for their commitment to
the success of this initiative.
There’s still plenty of room for improvement. Most QIOs and nursing
homes made too little progress on pressure ulcers. And even where we succeeded,
improvement on specific clinical quality measures doesn’t automatically
create a safe, home-like environment. We support Dr. McClellan’s intention
to align all CMS operations that affect quality, including quality measurement
and improvement, public reporting, inspections and payment.
Secretary Thompson and Administrator McClellan have been strong leaders
for improved health care quality. We hope the administration will provide
the resources necessary for QIOs and their partners to accelerate the momentum
built by these early successes.
The
American Health Quality Association is dedicated
to improving the safety and effectiveness of health care. AHQA represents
the national network of Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) that
work with hospitals, medical practices, health plans, long-term care
facilities, home health agencies, and employers to encourage the
spread of best clinical practices and improve systems of care delivery.
Visit: www.ahqa.org.
|
