Assignment Title – Nursing Home Compare Portal – Evaluating the Data Available to the Public – this assignment introduces students to this important web-based tool.
This is assignment is worth fifteen (15) points. Due date: 4/21
Purpose and Explanation of Assignment:
View the following YouTube Video:
Read the following articles in the NY Times:
Medicare Star Ratings Allow Nursing Homes to Game the System (Published 2014)
By Katie Thomas
August 24, 2014
Medicare’s five-year-old rating system to help families select nursing homes relies on unverified, incomplete and often misleading data.
How U.S. Ratings of Nursing Homes Mislead the Public – The New York Times (nytimes.com) Article appeared in the 3/14/21 edition
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/13/business/nursing-homes-ratings-medicare-covid.html?searchResultPosition=1
Regulators Announce Changes to Nursing Home Rating System – The New York Times (nytimes.com) Article appeared in the 1/19/23 edition
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/health/nursing-home-ratings-system-antipsychotics.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Health
If you have a problem accessing this article, contact the library for assistance. Students will use the Nursing Compare Portal to evaluate a facility.
To comply with OBRA 1987, CMS created a website (www.medicare.gov) and portal (Nursing Home Compare) that provides data and information for every nursing home that operates in the United States. This data is available to everyone. To help consumers understand the data, The Federal Government uses a Five (5) Star evaluation summary since this concept is familiar to most consumer (Five Star designation is the best, One Star is the worst). The information included on the portal is: general characteristics about the facility (bed size, auspices), results from government inspections, staffing levels for RNs, LPNs and CNAs, and clinical outcome measure (Quality Indicators). Staffing levels and Quality Indicators include state and federal averages for comparison purposes. It is important for nursing home administrator to be familiar with the data posted in the Portal, since it is available to consumers, managed care organizations, consumer groups and competitors. Nursing home administrators should be able to manage this data. This included addressing and negative outcomes reported, communication with the residents, their families and the public, and Quality/Process Improvement activities addressing the negative outcomes reported
Assignment
Students are to select one (1) facility using the Nursing Home Compare Portal
(use a local zip code to pick the facility to review). Using the data available, assess
this facility. The evaluation should: (I live in the bronx, my zip code is 10454)
- Describe general characteristics (i.e.: this is a 200 bed not-profit facility operating in Brooklyn) – one paragraph
- Discuss recent inspections and issue (deficiencies) identified – no more than two paragraphs
- Discuss staffing levels compared to state and federal averages – no more than two paragraphs
- Discuss Quality Indicators compared to state and federal averages – one paragraph
- Review how they impact the Five Star rating. Consistent with the NY Times article, students will comment on whether they believe that the data taken together makes sense. How can a One – or Two-Star Staffing facility have Five Stars in Quality measures – one paragraph
- If you were a consultant hired by a family to help them select a nursing, would you recommend this one. You recommendation is based on your analysis from previous paragraph.
There are additional writing requirements in the Assignment Section.
Grading Rubric
Can be found in the Course Information/Syllabus Folder.
The Maximum grade for the written analysis is ten (10) points.
Students will make a five (5) minute oral presentation in class. The presentation will be based on the following:
Name
Location
Star Ratings: total and by category
Your recommendation to select this facility or not and why
The maximum grade for the Oral presentation if five (5) points