ATLANTA, Jan. 15, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Georgia holds the unique distinction of having the longest-running experience of regular satisfaction measurement for residents, families, and employees of nursing homes, according to a new analysis of data collected during the past 11 years by the Georgia Quality Initiative, a collaborative quality measurement and improvement program for the state's skilled nursing care centers.
The Georgia Quality Initiative was created in 2003 and has been sustained through the cooperative efforts of the state Department of Community Health, Alzheimer's Association, Georgia Chapter of the AARP, Georgia Office of Long Term Care Ombudsman, Georgia Medical Care Foundation, and the Georgia Health Care Association.
As part of the work of the Georgia Quality Initiative, the perceptions of key stakeholder groups are tracked alongside more technical measures of healthcare service quality. The initiative later evolved into an incentive-based performance measurement program that pursues a continuous focus on driving better outcomes for more than 30,000 Georgians who are served by the state's nursing homes every day.
National Research Corporation is honored to support this effort through its My InnerView satisfaction and quality measurement surveys and performance improvement tools. More than 95 percent of the state's nursing homes participate in the program. What's more, several other states have looked to this innovative model as a guide to developing new strategies for performance measurement and Medicaid value-based purchasing.
"National Research applauds the achievements that have been realized through the Georgia Quality Initiative and the Quality Incentive Program and recognizes the outstanding achievements in empowering customer-centric healthcare and improvement in this vital care segment," said Mary Oakes, senior vice president of post-acute for National Research. "We are proud to participate in this program as it focuses on representing the true voices of long term care customers and putting residents and families first."
In 2007, the Georgia Quality Initiative became the Quality Incentive Program. This "value‐based" purchasing program began using My InnerView satisfaction survey and workforce data from National Research in combination with clinical outcomes results from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as the basis for awarding small additional payments to facilities that meet pre-determined performance targets. A point scoring system calculates these data to determine eligibility for quarterly incentives. The Quality Incentive Program plays a small but important role in Medicaid reimbursement in the state of Georgia, applying a positive influence with minimal additional expense to the Medicaid program.
Georgia Health Care Association President and CEO Jon S. Howell placed the achievements of the past 11 years in their historical context. "The Georgia Quality Initiative, and now the incentive program, was not the commitment of one year or 11 years, but a permanent commitment to quality improvement grounded in continuous learning and continuous application of things learned, undertaken not only by the men and women of our profession, but by them in partnership with all Georgians who value how our frailest citizens are served."
Over the 11 years of the program, measureable improvements have been documented in virtually all the clinical, workforce, and satisfaction indices that make up the initiative. Georgia nursing homes overall exceed national rates of satisfaction among its customers and employees, including steadily increasing numbers of residents and families who rate their experience at the excellent level. In 2013, 90 percent of residents and families statewide rated their nursing homes as either excellent or good. This percentage reached its high in 2011 and has been maintained at very high levels over the past two years. This statistic is in alignment with national Quality Initiative put forth by the governing body of the Georgia Health Care Association, the American Health Care Association (AHCA). One provision in the Quality Initiative aims to increase customer satisfaction in the "willingness to recommend" category to 90 percent by March 2015. Through their dedicated efforts, Georgia is setting the pace nationally.
Family members also gave high marks. 89 percent of family survey respondents gave an overall rating of excellent or good, with the same percentage also indicating a strong willingness to recommend to others the facility where their loved one was receiving care.
Lastly, 75 percent of employees would recommend their facility as an excellent or good place to receive care. And this number has been growing steadily—the overall satisfaction of employees in 2004 was 59 percent and today it's 63.
See the exclusive Executive Report of the GHCA resident, family, and employee data.
To find a skilled nursing care facility near you visit the Resources page of www.GHCA.info or www.Facebook.com/GHCA.info.
About National Research Corporation
For more than 30 years, National Research Corporation (NASDAQ: NRCIA and NRCIB) has been at the forefront of patient-centered care. Today the company's focus on empowering customer-centric healthcare across the continuum extends patient-centered care to incorporate families, senior housing residents, communities, employees, and other stakeholders.
My InnerView by National Research helps improve quality, resident and family experiences, and employee engagement for skilled nursing homes, assisted living communities, continuing care retirement communities, and independent living communities.
Recognized by Modern Healthcare as the largest patient satisfaction firm in the U.S., National Research is dedicated to representing the true voice of patients and other healthcare stakeholders. This integration of cross-continuum metrics and analytics uncovers insights for effective performance improvement, quality measurement, care transitions, and many other factors that impact population health management. For more information, call 800-388-4264, write to info@nationalresearch.com, or visit www.nationalresearch.com.
About Georgia Health Care Association
Founded in 1953, the Georgia Health Care Association is a not-for-profit organization representing long-term and post-acute care providers located throughout the state of Georgia. The association is dedicated to enhancing the ability of providers to provide competent and compassionate care and advocates for quality care and services for frail, elderly and disabled Georgians. GHCA's more than 350 members serve more than 58,000 individuals annually. For more information visit: www.GHCA.info.