OHCA Spring/Summer 2019

The Oregon Caregiver SPRING/SUMMER 2019 www.ohca.com 12 • Retention of direct care staff, • Compliance with staff training standards, • Resident falls that result in injury, • Use of antipsychotic medications for non-standard purposes, • Results of annual resident satisfaction survey conducted by an independent third-party entity, and • A quality of life measure. “I am excited to have the voice of the resident officially included in the overall quality scorecard of assisted living and residential care communities in Oregon,” said Mauro Hernandez, CEO of Con- cepts in Community Living and a member of the Quality Measurement Council. “Studies show that customer satisfaction is directly linked to quality and this will quantify their input in the quality equation.” Oregon is the first state in the country to formally adopt a quality measurement program with multiple aims for both consumers and providers. The primary intents of the program are to: • Promote proactive self-assessment and quality improvement in assisted living and residential care communities, • Publicly report quality measures to help consumers understand and compare the overall state of assisted living and residential care in Oregon, and • Provide data about individual communities to inform their decisions. The quality measurement program also enhances existing Oregon assisted living and residential care community licensing requirements. However, a standardized QUALITY I n our sector, providers have long been measured and compared based on survey data. While effective regulatory oversight is critical to resident safety and quality, past oversight in Oregon has failed to provide one of the most valuable indicators of clinical care—how residents actually feel about their own care. Customer satisfaction is the cornerstone of any successful organization. In long term care, information about resident and family satisfaction gives providers essential insights into how residents perceive the care they receive. This information is invaluable to those seeking care. OHCA’s national affiliate, the American Health Care Association (AHCA), recently polled Oregonians and asked the question “When choosing a nursing home/skilled nursing facility for a loved one, which factor has the most influence on your decision?” Out of the total 800 respondents, 71% said they rely on “friend or family recommenda- tions.” Only 9% said they rely on “govern- ment ranking websites.” Facilities already know how important satisfaction surveys can be, which is why they are used so often. According to the 2017 Portland State University “Commu- nity Base Care Resident and Community Characteristics Report for Assisted Living and Residential Care,” 60% of Oregon assisted living and residential care communities conducted a satisfaction survey of residents or families. Now, regulators are going to be gathering and reporting on this data as well. Starting mid-year, the Oregon Depart- ment of Human Services starts providing education, followed by the initial implementation requiring all Oregon assisted living and residential care communities to conduct and report back on annual resident satisfaction surveys. This is part of the comprehensive community-based care quality measure- ment program adopted by the Oregon State Legislature in 2017 as part of House Bill 3359, now ORS 443.46 and 443.447. The law directs a governor-appointed Qual- ity Measurement Council to formulate quality metrics collection and reporting guidelines for each of these measures: Measuring Resident Satisfaction By Linda Kirschbaum, Oregon Health Care Association Source: American Health Care Association 2017 Oregon Voter Opinion Survey Seven in ten Oregonians rely on family or friend recommendations when choosing care. When choosing a nursing home/skilled nursing facility for a loved one, which factor has the most influence on your decision? 71% 9% 1% 19% Friend or family recommendation Newspaper articles/advertisements Government ranking websites Hospital case managers/discharge planners