Injuries, infections, behavioral incidents and family insistence often drive hospital admissions among nursing home residents, and a new study finds many of those transfers are unavoidable.
The study highlights the challenges faced by 16 Missouri nursing facilities participating in a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-backed initiative to reduce hospitalizations.
“The reality is that not all hospitalizations can be avoided, and payers realize this,” Amy Vogelsmeier, Ph.D., R.N., of the University of Missouri, told McKnight’s. “Nursing homes will continue to face accidents and inference, which places more impetus on their obligation to investigate, understand and mitigate underlying causes of transfers that might otherwise be avoided,” added Vogelsmeier.
Full findings appear in July’s Journal of Nursing Care Quality.
