Facilities using state data to improve quality

A tool originally designed to help Ohio consumers and their families evaluate skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and assisted living facilities (ALFs) to see which ones would best meet their needs increasingly is a useful resource for long-term care (LTC) facility leadership and staff members, says the state’s LTC ombudsman.

The Ohio Department of Aging recently released the results of its 2013 Long-term Care Resident Satisfaction Survey. “The new priority index included in this survey helps facilities focus their quality improvement efforts on areas that matter most to residents,” says Beverley Laubert, the ombudsman whose office directed the survey.

More than 27,000 SNF residents in 953 facilities and more than 11,000 ALF residents in 598 facilities participated in the survey, which was conducted from August 2013 to January 2014. Residents rated their satisfaction with their facilities’ environment, activities, administration, staff, laundry, meals and dining, social services and therapy as well as their general satisfaction.

SNF residents gave their facilities an 87.5 average overall satisfaction rating, and ALF residents gave their providers a 92.3 score. (Find facility-specific scores and other information here: www.ltc.ohio.gov.)

“The results…are incredibly meaningful because they come from the most important audience: the individuals being served in Ohio’s skilled nursing and residential care facilities,” says Steve Wermuth, interim president and CEO of LeadingAge Ohio, an organization advocating for not-for-profit providers serving older adults. Not-for-profit facilities outperformed their for-profit counterparts, according to the organization.

More than 50 percent of the top 25 SNFs in the state, according to the surveys, are not-for-profit, although they represent just 22 percent of all such facilities statewide, Wermuth says. Also, almost one-third of the top 25 ALFs are not-for-profit, even though they represent less than 25 percent of such facilities in Ohio, he adds.

This year, Ohio will survey the families SNF residents about their satisfaction with the care their loved ones receive. In 2015, the state will survey residents of SNFs and ALFs again.

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