More than a year after a national report condemned nursing homes for not providing the kind of safe and caring environments residents require, a coalition is readying nine action plans to address inadequacies.
The Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition has gathered more than 100 government leaders, experts, clinicians and consumer advocates to develop the actionable projects that came out of concerns raised by the National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality report from the National Academies.
That report made seven broad goals and numerous recommendations for how to improve the quality of care and operational conditions in nursing homes. The action plans, taking their cues from those goals and recommendations, will focus on issues such as culture changes, care planning, financial and ownership transparency and accountability, and health information technology.
“Our vision is that every nursing home is a community in which lives are nurtured, residents are empowered, and where people want to work,” coalition chairwoman Alice Bonner in an interview with McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. “It might be that some of the action plans are going to take longer to get all the way to outcomes, and for some of them, we might be able to do more in the short-term.”
As part of its work, the coalition formed resident focus groups and is also talking with managers, direct caregivers and others at facilities.
Organizers said they were partnering early on with states that had infrastructure or funding for nursing home pilot projects. In Michigan, for example, the coalition is partnering with the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to address quality improvements throughout the state, including creating stronger career pathways for certified nurse assistants. The coalition has also developed a partnership with the Jewish Healthcare Foundation in Pennsylvania on a project that looks at developing teaching programs in nursing homes.
“The coalition work at a national level is only going to be sustainable if we have strong state teams,” Bonner said. “It has to be relatable to local homes, workers and residents.”
The coalition’s action plans are expected to be released in mid-July.
