Robert Weech-Maldonado

Evidence-based reasons for why some nursing homes serving Medicaid-heavy populations outperform others will soon be available.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has awarded researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Health Professions $1.25 million to assess the factors associated with high performance among nursing homes with Medicaid populations at or above 85%. Management practices and marketing strategies will be among the elements investigated.

 “Nobody has taken a mixed-methods look at why some high-Medicaid nursing homes perform well and others do not,” said Robert Weech-Maldonado, Ph.D., who is leading the five-year study. In all, more than 1,000 facilities will be examined, he said.

“We want to learn what management practices and market factors explain these differences in performance,” he added.