Media Release

Date: November 15, 2006

Governor Carcieri and HEALTH Release First Statewide Report on Family & Resident Satisfaction for Nursing Home Care in Rhode Island

Today, Governor Donald L. Carcieri and the Rhode Island Department of Health released the results of the first statewide surveys on "Family & Resident Satisfaction with Nursing Home Care in Rhode Island." This report was created for the Health Care Quality Performance Measurement and Reporting Program, legislated in Rhode Island in 1998. The legislation requires public reporting of clinical performance measures and patient satisfaction for all Rhode Island licensed health care facilities and providers. This initial report has two purposes: it provides information for consumers to use when choosing a nursing home, and promotes quality improvement efforts in Rhode Island nursing homes and among nursing home providers. Future reporting will enable consumers and providers to look at changes in satisfaction and in quality of care over time.

"This is another right step in our commitment to provide transparency at every level of government," said Governor Donald L. Carcieri. "The open dissemination of public reports such as this one empowers Rhode Islanders to make better informed decisions, and can help improve the quality of life of our elderly loved ones," he added.

The report is the culmination of a two-year project performed by a team of professional organizations assembled by HEALTH. The surveys that are summarized in this report were conducted in the spring of 2006. Family members responded to mailed questionnaires, and nursing home residents responded to face-to-face interviews. The report contains overall satisfaction ratings for each nursing home, and satisfaction ratings on up to twelve specific areas, such as Administration, Professional Nurses, Facility Environment, and Meals and Dining.

"This report is the first of its kind in Rhode Island, and we are proud to set a standard to be followed by other states in years to come," said David R. Gifford, MD, MPH, Director of Health. "The results of the report show that, overall, most residents and family members are satisfied with their nursing homes and the care they receive there".

Roberta Hawkins, Executive Director for the Alliance for Better Long Term Care in Rhode Island said: "Making these reports available to the public may be a wake up call for some nursing homes that need improvements. Clearly, we all need to work harder to improve the satisfaction scores of nursing homes that are at the bottom of the ladder".

In each survey, nursing home residents and their family members were asked a set of questions covering many aspects of the nursing home's operation and environment. Each question asked how often the nursing home met a specific quality standard or goal, for example: "Do the nurse aides spend enough time with you?" Persons answering the survey could respond, "Yes, always," "Yes, sometimes," "No, hardly ever," or "No, never." The patients' and family members' answers were averaged for each nursing home to produce ratings on each of the specific areas and on total satisfaction. These aggregate ratings are represented by one, two, or three diamonds, which indicate performance below (◆), about the same as (◆ ◆), or above the state average (◆ ◆ ◆), respectively.

On the family survey, 17 of the 92 homes (18%) received 3 diamonds on total satisfaction, 61 (66%) received 2 diamonds and 14 (15%) received 1 diamond. On the resident survey, 15 homes (16%) received 3 diamonds, 72 (78%) received 2 diamonds, and only 5 (5%) received 1 diamond. Results for each nursing home individually are presented on the HEALTH website listed below.

This project is the result of a collaboration by all of the licensed nursing homes in Rhode Island; the Rhode Island Health Care Association; the Rhode Island Association of Facilities and Services for the Aging; the Alliance for Better Long Term Care; the Rhode Island Department of Human Services; the Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs; the Rhode Island Long Term Care Coordinating Council; and the Department of Health's contractor Qualidigm, Inc. as well as its subcontractor, Quality Partners of Rhode Island. The resident and family surveys were developed, administered and analyzed by the survey firm Vital Research, LLC of California.

Alfred Santos, CEO of the Rhode Island Health Care Association said: " The Rhode Island Health Care Association and its member nursing home facilities are extremely supportive of any process or project grounded in quality improvement. We were eager to participate in the Resident and Family Satisfaction Survey and are pleased that the public has another tool to help them assess nursing home quality, and that nursing homes have another guide to assist them achieve performance excellence. However, we wish to remind consumers that the best way to assess any nursing facility is to visit in person, ask questions, and make their own observations," added Santos.

Christopher Novak, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Association of Facilities and Services for the Aging (RIAFSA) said: "RIAFSA supports all aspects of the continuum of long-term care, and this tool, which provides quality information to consumers, is the right step for providers and the public. For the industry, it will help us identify facilities that are excelling in specific areas so they can serve as best practice models."

The report can be viewed at http://www.health.ri.gov/chic/performance/quality/quality27.pdf

The technical report can be viewed at http://www.health.ri.gov/chic/performance/quality/quality27tech.pdf