LeadingAge will work to identify and advance the most actionable nursing home reform recommendations from a landmark national report using a $1 million dollar grant. 

The John A. Hartford Foundation on Tuesday awarded the organization the grant to further the recommendations made by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes.

The long-awaited report was released in early April and found that the way the United States finances, delivers and regulates nursing home care is “ineffective and unsustainable.” Providers called the report a “piercing wake-up call.” 

LeadingAge plans to convene a coalition of organizations, which will include providers, nursing residents, advocacy groups and policymakers, to advance the NASEM report recommendations.

The group plans to identify the most immediately actionable recommendations from the NASEM report and develop strategies to “bring them to fruition through the collective action of stakeholders to influence policy and practice change.” The strategies will stem from an actionability index developed by LeadingAge and the project coalition. 

LeadingAge also will offer direct training and support to nursing homes through virtual education opportunities and activities with local organizations.

Overall, the grant is worth nearly $1.2 million over the course of two years. The effort will be led by LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan and Alice Bonner, PhD, RN, a geriatric nurse practitioner and senior advisor for aging at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.  

“It is time for action — and we’re excited to take the lead on this ambitious effort to implement the NASEM recommendations to ensure older adults and their families can access safe, high-quality care,” Sloan said in a statement Wednesday.