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Debra DeShong Reed, 202-528-4214
Amy Weiss, 202-203-0448

New ‘My InnerView’ Study Shows Solid Progress on Nursing Home Quality Improvement Efforts

Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care: Nursing Home Resident, Family Satisfaction Surveys Integral to Quality Improvements; Funding Adequacy Remains Critical Component of Ongoing Success

Washington, DC – In praising a new report on consumer and workforce satisfaction in America’s nursing facilities, the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care said that satisfaction surveys will better assist consumers in evaluating the increasingly diverse array of care options available.  My InnerView, an applied research company, issued its statistically based report, the “2007 National Survey of Consumer and Workforce Satisfaction in Nursing Homes,” today. 

“Customer satisfaction clearly is highly relevant to the actual experiences of real people who receive care and services in nursing facilities, yet it is an element almost wholly omitted from the approaches government takes to evaluating quality in nursing facilities,” stated Alan G. Rosenbloom, President of the Alliance. “This report demonstrates how powerful satisfaction information can be to consumers, their families and providers, and how important it is that regulators find ways to include this information in assessing the quality of nursing facility care.”

In addition to noting that “funding adequacy was and always will be a critical component of ongoing facility improvement efforts,” Rosenbloom said the report reflects improvements in consumer satisfaction in many key areas, and also complimented the development of workforce satisfaction data. Observing that more than 25% of nursing facilities now voluntarily participate in the My InnerView survey process -- a number that has increased each year -- Rosenbloom stated: “Participation in the My InnerView survey process is just one of several efforts America’s nursing homes have undertaken themselves or in partnership with other stakeholders that reflect a consistent commitment to quality improvement.”

Concluded Rosenbloom: “The joint federal-provider Nursing Home Quality Initiative (NHQI), the provider-driven Quality First  program and the more recent Advancing Excellence campaign -- an unprecedented collaboration among consumers, caregivers, direct care professionals and paraprofessionals, nursing facilities and government -- all underscore this shared commitment.” 

The report is based on the largest dataset ever assembled about resident, family and employee satisfaction in America’s nursing homes. The size of the national consumer satisfaction database increased 106 percent between 2005 and 2007. Between 2006 and 2007, the size of the workforce satisfaction database grew 52 percent. A total of 146,382 nursing home residents and their family members, and 161,908 nursing home employees in all 50 states and the District of Columbia responded to the national survey in 2007.

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The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) represents nearly 11,000 non-profit and proprietary facilities dedicated to continuous improvement in the delivery of professional and compassionate care provided daily by millions of caring employees to 1.5 million of our nation’s frail, elderly and disabled citizens who live in nursing facilities, assisted living residences, subacute centers and homes for persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities.  For more information, please visit www.ahca.org.

The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care (“The Alliance”) is a coalition of 16 national long term care provider organizations that care for approximately 300,000 elderly and disabled patients each year in nearly 1,800 facilities across America. The Alliance is dedicated to improving the quality of nursing home care in the United States through measured results and outcomes and to assuring the government resources necessary to provide high quality care and services.