Nursing facility residents are frequently admitted to the hospital, and these hospital stays are often potentially avoidable. Such hospitalizations are detrimental to patients and costly to Medicare and Medicaid. In 2012 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched the Initiative to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations among Nursing Facility Residents, using evidence-based clinical and educational interventions among long-stay residents in 143 facilities in seven states. In state-specific analyses, we estimated net reductions in 2015 of 2.2-9.3 percentage points in the probability of an all-cause hospitalization and 1.4-7.2 percentage points in the probability of a potentially avoidable hospitalization for participating facility residents, relative to comparison-group members. In that year, average per resident Medicare expenditures were reduced by $60-$2,248 for all-cause hospitalizations and by $98-$577 for potentially avoidable hospitalizations. The effects for over half of the outcomes in these analyses were significant. Variability in implementation and engagement across the nursing facilities and organizations that customized and implemented the initiative helps explain the variability in the estimated effects. Initiative models that included registered nurses or nurse practitioners who provided consistent clinical care for residents demonstrated higher staff engagement and more positive outcomes, compared to models providing only education or intermittent clinical care. These results provide promising evidence of an effective approach for reducing avoidable hospitalizations among nursing facility residents.

Background Qualitative studies of the nursing home work environment have long suggested that such attributes as leadership and communication may be related to nursing home performance, including residents' outcomes. However, empirical studies examining these relationships have been scant. Objectives This study is designed to: develop an instrument for measuring nursing home work environment and perceived work effectiveness; test the reliability and validity of the instrument; and identify individual and facility-level factors associated with better facility performance. Research Design and Methods The analysis was based on survey responses provided by managers (N=308) and direct care workers (N=7,418) employed in 162 facilities throughout New York State. Exploratory factor analysis, Chronbach's alphas, analysis of variance, and regression models were used to assess instrument reliability and validity. Multivariate regression models, with fixed facility effects, were used to examine factors associated with work effectiveness. Results The reliability and the validity of the survey instrument for measuring work environment and perceived work effectiveness has been demonstrated. Several individual (e.g. occupation, race) and facility characteristics (e.g. management style, workplace conditions, staffing) that are significant predictors of perceived work effectiveness were identified. Conclusions The organizational performance model used in this study recognizes the multidimensionality of the work environment in nursing homes. Our findings suggest that efforts at improving work effectiveness must also be multifaceted. Empirical findings from such a line of research may provide insights for improving the quality of the work environment and ultimately the quality of residents' care.

Context The proportion of US deaths occurring in nursing homes (NHs) has been increasing in the last two decades and is expected to reach 40% by 2020. Despite being recognized as an important setting in the provision of end-of-life care (EOL), little is known about the quality of care provided to dying NH residents. There has been some, but largely anecdotal evidence suggesting that many US NHs transfer dying residents to hospitals, in part to avoid incurring the cost of providing intensive on-site care, and in part because they lack resources to appropriately serve the dying residents. We assessed longitudinal trends and geographic variations in place of death among NH residents, and examined the association between residents’ characteristics, treatment preferences, and the probability of dying in hospitals. Methods We used the Minimum Data Set (NH assessment records), Medicare denominator (eligibility) file, and Medicare inpatient and hospice claims to identify decedent NH residents. In CY2003–2007, there were 2,992,261 Medicare eligible nursing home decedents from 16,872 US Medicare and/or Medicaid certified NHs. Our outcome of interest was death in NH or in a hospital. The analytical strategy included descriptive analyses and multiple logistic regression models, with facility fixed effects, to examine risk-adjusted temporal trends in place of death. Findings Slightly over 20% of decedent NH residents died in hospitals each year. Controlling for individual level risk factors and for facility fixed effects, the likelihood of residents dying in hospitals has increased significantly each year between 2003 through 2007. Conclusions This study fills a significant gap in the current literature on EOL care in US nursing homes by identifying frequent facility-to-hospital transfers and an increasing trend of in-hospital deaths. These findings suggest a need to rethink how best to provide care to EOL nursing home residents.

BACKGROUND Work environment attributes - job design, teamwork, work effectiveness - are thought to influence nursing home (NH) quality of care. However, few studies tested these relationships empirically. OBJECTIVE We investigated the relationship between these work environment attributes and quality of care measured by facility-level regulatory deficiencies. METHODS Data on work environment were derived from survey responses obtained (in 2006-2007) from 7,418 direct care workers in 162 NHs in NYS. Data on facility deficiencies and characteristics came from the OSCAR database. We fit multivariate linear and logistic regressions, with random effects and probability weights, to models with the following dependent variables: presence/absence of quality of life (QL) deficiencies; number of quality of care (QC) deficiencies; and presence/absence of high severity G-L deficiencies (causing actual harm/immediate jeopardy). Key independent variables included: work effectiveness (a 5-point Likert scale score); percent staff in daily care teams and with primary assignment. The work effectiveness measure has been demonstrated to be psychometrically reliable and valid. Other variables included staffing, size, facility case-mix, and ownership. RESULTS In support of the proposed hypotheses, we found work effectiveness to be a statistically significant predictor of all three measures of deficiencies. Primary assignment of staff to residents was significantly associated with fewer QC and high severity deficiencies. Greater penetration of self-managed teams was associated with fewer QC deficiencies. DISCUSSION Work environment attributes impact quality of care in NHs. These findings provide important insights for NH administrators and regulators in their efforts to improve quality of care for residents.

OBJECTIVES To describe the longitudinal patterns and the within- and across-facility differences in hospice use and in-hospital deaths between long-term nursing home decedent residents with and without dementia. DESIGN Retrospective analyses of secondary datasets for CY2003–2007. SETTING Nursing homes in the USA. PARTICIPANTS A total of 1,261,726 decedents in 16,347 nursing homes were included in CY2003–2007 trend analysis and 236,619 decedents in 15,098 nursing homes in CY2007 were included in the within- and across-facility analyses. MEASUREMENTS Hospice use in the last 100 days of life, and in-hospital deaths were outcome measures. Dementia was defined as having a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and/or dementia other than AD, based on the Minimum Data Set (MDS) health assessments. RESULTS Overall hospice use increased from 25.6% in 2003 to 35.7% in 2007. During this time, hospice use for decedents with dementia increased from 25.1% to 36.5%, compared to an increase from 26.5% to 34.4% for decedents without dementia. The rate of in-hospital deaths remained virtually unchanged. Within the same facility, decedents with dementia were significantly more likely to use hospice (OR=1.07, 95% CI: 1.04–1.11) and less likely to die in a hospital (OR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.74–0.78). Decedents in nursing homes with higher dementia prevalence, regardless of individual dementia status, were more likely to use hospice (OR=1.67, 95% CI: 1.22–2.27). CONCLUSION Nursing homes appear to provide less aggressive end of life care to decedents with dementia compared to others. Although significantly more decedent residents with dementia now receive hospice care at the end of life, the quality evaluation and monitoring of hospice programs have not been systematically conducted, and additional research in this area is warranted.