Five Star Rating System ranks all U.S. nursing homes beginning Thursday

ALBANY, NY (12/17/2008)(readMedia)--

On Thursday, Dec. 18, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will

roll out its new 5-Star Rating System on Nursing Home Compare, the federal government's site for consumer research on nursing homes.

The rating system is based on information from the last three years of surveys and complaints, staffing information collected at survey and quality measures.

It is anticipated that approximately 20 percent of the facilities will receive five stars, 70 percent will have two, three or four stars and the remaining 10 percent will be assigned the lowest rating of one star.

CMS will issue a press release Thursday, and USA Today is expected to run a story on the rating system Thursday as well.

Our position on the system:

NYAHSA believes there should be two types of nursing homes: the excellent and the non-existent. Quality should be an automatic public expectation.

We support a consumer-friendly nursing home rating system based on reliable quality information that the public can understand, but the five-star rating system is a great idea prematurely implemented.

What needs to be improved about the Five-Star Rating system is:

  • Immediate development of a data collection tool around staffing.
  • Coordination of the rating system with the Advancing Excellence in America's Nursing Homes campaign.
  • Overhaul of the survey and certification system with funding provided for a new system.
  • Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement that flow through directly for caregiving. The dollars follow the caregiver should be the mantra.

We strongly discourage using the star system as a definitive measure of a home's care - the ratings can be skewed by, for example, a one-time occurrence that was immediately remedied and plans put in place to prevent reoccurrence. Even with high scores in the other categories, a single event can pull an excellent home down to one or two stars, and there's no explanation to the consumer.

CMS and providers need to provide guidance to consumers on other factors like using a five-senses test when visiting a nursing home, relying on community reputation, observation of staff-resident interactions and availability of senior management to address resident and family concerns.

There is absolutely no substitute for visiting the nursing home yourself and using your five senses to form your own impression, using these questions as a guideline:

  1. Is the facility well-maintained, pleasing, cheerful?
  2. Does the staff seem friendly, caring and accommodating to residents and visitors?
  3. Do the residents appear comfortable, well-groomed and involved in meaningful activities?
  4. Are amenities such as private rooms, individual televisions and private telephones available? At what cost?
  5. What activity programs and special events are held at the facility?
  6. What excursions are planned for those able to take advantage of them?
  7. What religious activities are offered?
  8. Have your questions about financial options been answered? Were the options explained clearly and to your satisfaction?

NYAHSA welcomes media queries on this controversial new system and can provide interview sources.