Studies: Five-Star Ratings Linked To Consumer Demand, Nurse Training

Nursing Facility Staffing Shortages During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Apr 4, 2022

Nursing Facility Staffing Shortages During the COVID-19 PandemicThe disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing facility residents and staff has brought increased attention to long-standing workforce issues that can affect care...

Study Shows Weekend and Daily Variation in Nursing Home Staffing Led to Poorer Clinical Quality

Mar 30, 2022

Daily variation in nursing home staffing was associated with poorer clinical quality in Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing homes, suggesting that reporting staffing variation could help provide new quality improvement information, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

Typically, nursing home quality regulations include minimum staffing standards to ensure that facilities provide residents with quality care. Meeting the average staffing level has been associated with better performance on process quality measures, on-site survey scores, and resident outcome measures.

To Advance Information on Quality of Care, CMS Makes Nursing Home Staffing Data Available

Jan 30, 2022

the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will begin posting for the first time ever, staff turnover rates and weekend staff levels for nursing homes on the Medicare.gov Care Compare website today

How to Boost Your Nursing Home Star Rating

Nov 2, 2021

For the administrator looking to improve an overall quality score quickly, the staffing score is a good place to start.

The staffing score will boost a facility’s overall score by one star if it: exceeds the health inspection score, and is either four or five stars.

Staffing Rating Under 4 Stars? Review PBJ Data; Set and Monitor Goals

Sep 20, 2021

Staffing is difficult—that was a defining truth for nursing homes before the COVID-19 public health emergency created a full-blown staffing crisis that still is harming providers throughout healthcare. So, it may seem like the wrong time for directors of nursing services (DNSs) to pay much attention to the staffing domain in the Five-Star Quality Rating System.

“However, all of the Five-Star data—the staffing, health inspections, and quality measures domains—funnels into multiple parts of a facility’s life,” says Shelly Maffia, RN, MSN, MBA, NHA, QCP, CHC, director of regulatory services for Proactive Medical Review and Consulting in Evansville, IN.

Appropriate Staffing Standards in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care

Jul 29, 2021

A push to mandate staffing levels at both state and federal levels persists after several decades.

Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and long-term care (LTC) facilities (also referred to as nursing homes or nursing facilities) are no longer just for aging geriatric residents. Acuity level has increased and entering residents are younger, and/or with far more medically and socially complex needs (including more management of behaviors, tracheostomies, complex wound care, drains/tubes, life vests, and IV medications). In addition, experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic confirmed the importance of having sufficient staffing based on facility need and of hiring high-quality, well-trained staff.

5 Star, QMs, and PBJ Data Updates

Jul 27, 2021

5 Star, QM’s and PBJ data updates have been released. Last week, we shared that QRP’s were released for review. All are critical reporting which impacts our 2022 FY reimbursement and our publicly displayed information on Care Compare. There are a few small windows of time for review and correction if needed.

Study Finds Nursing Home Staffing Hours Held Steady or Rose During Pandemic

May 30, 2021

In the May issue of Health Affairs, a new study of government data show nursing home staffing levels during the COVID-19 pandemic held steady or actually increased, dispelling at least in part prior research and coverage in the media that staffing hours declined during the crisis.

OIG Reports on CMS Use of Data on Nursing Home Staffing: Progress and Opportunities to Do More

Mar 30, 2021

However, CMS has opportunities to better use the staffing information that nursing homes report. Specifically, the staffing information that CMS provides on Care Compare could be more useful to consumers if it included data on nurse staff turnover and tenure, as required by Federal law. CMS reported that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its progress to implement these requirements.”

Marys Take: Maggots, Rape and Yet Five Stars: How U.S. Ratings of Nursing Homes Mislead the Public

Mar 16, 2021

Nursing homes have manipulated the influential star system in ways that have masked deep problems — and left them unprepared for Covid-19. The piece, as you may have already deduced speaks to Nursing Home Compare, the Five-Star Rating System and Payroll Based Journal (PBJ).

Research on How Skilled Nursing Facility Staffing Impacted by New Payment Rules

Mar 10, 2021

Skilled nursing facility (SNF) staffing levels across several provider types have fallen since Medicare implemented new payment rules meant to drive value over volume of services, according to a new Health Affairs study.

The study published last week found that physical therapist and occupational therapist staffing levels at SNFs fell by 5 percent to 6 percent from October to December 2019 compared to the period before Medicare implemented the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM).

Physical therapy assistant and occupational therapist assistant levels also decreased following PDPM implementation, falling by 10 percent compared to the pre-implementation period.

New research examines if nursing home staff turnover a good quality metric

Mar 5, 2021

here are a few sub-questions we need to break down to answer before answering this one larger question. These sub-questions include:

Is nursing staff turnover at nursing homes a big problem?

Is nursing staff turnover correlated with quality of care?

Does using nursing staff turnover as a quality metric provide the right incentives?