12/22/2004 - New York's Nursing Home Residents Receive Higher Quality Of Care Today Than In 2002

Contact:

Spencer Vibbert

516/326-7767 ext. 652

Dennis Tartaglia/Lauren Sabados/Whitney Wasserman

212/481-7000

For Immediate Release

IPRO Applauds Efforts to Improve Care

(Lake Success, NY, December 22, 2004) - New data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) indicate nursing homes in New York State have improved the quality of care they provide to residents based on several key measures, IPRO announced today.

Many of the improvements are the result of work nursing homes are undertaking with IPRO, Medicare's Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) in New York, as part of the national Nursing Home Quality Initiative. IPRO contracts with CMS to provide quality improvement resources to nursing homes, home health agencies, hospitals and physicians.

"Nursing homes have been working hard to improve their quality of care under the national Nursing Home Quality Initiative for over two years, and the recent data collected by CMS show that their efforts are paying off, benefiting New York's taxpayers and nursing home residents," said Clare B. Bradley MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, IPRO. "In the areas of improvement of pain management and use of physical restraints, nursing homes working with IPRO are showing significant improvement and exceed the national average."

Improvements have led to better quality of life for nursing home residents in many ways. At Providence Rest Nursing Center, a 200-bed nursing home in the Bronx's Throgs Neck section, residents are experiencing less chronic pain and less post-acute care pain thanks to quality improvement efforts. Working with IPRO, the facility improved its chronic pain rate from eight percent to one percent, and improved its post-acute care pain rate from 26 percent to five percent by making changes to pain assessment tools and by working to improve the timeliness of pain assessments. In Westchester County's Ossining, the 153-bed Cedar Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center worked with IPRO to reduce its pressure ulcer rate from eight to seven percent, its chronic pain rate from 12 to four percent, and its post-acute pain rate from 42 to 11 percent.

Dr. Bradley noted that 100 of the state's 684 nursing homes are working intensively with IPRO to improve their performance. Participating homes work on three of the four measures that are the focus of performance improvement in New York: controlling chronic pain, controlling post-acute care (short-stay) pain, use of physical restraints, and control of pressure sores. Intensive work includes hands-on training with quality experts, instruction in best practices, and sharing resources. Additionally, all nursing homes in New York have received educational materials to help improve their quality of care.

Baseline data were taken from the measurement period ending June 30, 2002. In comparison, the most recent data available through the measurement period ending June 30, 2004 show significant improvements in controlling chronic pain, controlling short-stay pain and use of physical restraints. (Figures 1 and 2 attached)

"We commend the nursing homes for their success, and we thank our partners at the Continuing Care Leadership Coalition (Greater New York Hospital Association), Healthcare Association of New York State, New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging and New York State Health Facilities Association for their support of the Nursing Home Quality Initiative," added Dr. Bradley. "And we recognize that there is more work to be done, particularly in reducing the occurrence of pressure ulcers." While all three of the other measures selected for emphasis in New York showed significant improvement, the incidence of pressure ulcers in both New York and across the U.S. showed increases ranging from .1 to .3 percent.

CMS recently released a comprehensive plan to accelerate the pace of quality improvement in nursing homes around the country. One component of this plan is a more coordinated approach to linking the work of state Survey Agencies and QIOs. In New York, IPRO has been working with the Division of Quality Assurance and Surveillance for Nursing Homes to develop ways to make each other more successful in their shared mission to improve nursing home quality.

The national Nursing Home Quality Initiative was launched in 2002 by CMS, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to improve the quality of nursing home care across the nation. The program is part of a national Quality Initiative that also focuses on improving the quality of care delivered by home health agencies and hospitals.

Seniors, caregivers and others can find valuable information about nursing homes by visiting www.medicare.gov and clicking on Nursing Home Compare. The site also provides tips for making informed decisions about health care. People without Internet access may call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) for assistance.

With 20 years' experience in health care quality evaluation and improvement, IPRO holds major contracts with state and federal governments to review the cost and quality of services provided to Medicaid recipients, Medicare beneficiaries, and residents enrolled in managed care organizations. Based in Lake Success, New York, IPRO also holds contracts with private-sector clients to improve the quality of privately financed services.

View the figures.