NATIONAL COALITION LAUNCHES ACTION PLANS TO IMPROVE NURSING HOME QUALITY

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Jul 18, 2023, 12:19 ET

Comprehensive action plans outline concrete steps for collaboration with government, providers, and advocates to address major nursing home quality issues

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A large group of diverse stakeholders advocating for better nursing home care announced a series of actions to improve nursing homes over the next 12 months.

The national Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition released nine detailed action plans today to improve quality of life for residents and quality of work for staff in nursing homes. Each plan outlines specific goals, steps to achieve them, and the partners and infrastructure required along the way.

Comprised of more than 120 individuals and organizations focused on nursing home reform, the Coalition launched in September 2022 to act on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality. During the past year, the Coalition engaged long-term care advocates, nursing home leaders and residents, federal and state policymakers, and other advisors to develop action plans based on the areas of greatest need and biggest potential impact on resident quality of life, including:

Addressing residents' goals, preferences, and priorities
Strengthening resident councils
Improving Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) wages and support
Expanding CNA career pathways
Enhancing surveyor training on person-centered care
Designing a targeted nursing home recertification survey
Increasing transparency and accountability of ownership data
Developing a nursing home health information technology readiness guide
Financing new nursing home models that are smaller with private rooms

"The time for talking is over and our network is ready for action. These plans represent reforms that stakeholders can advance to create nursing homes in which lives are nurtured, residents are empowered, and where people want to work," said Alice Bonner, PhD, RN, chair of the Moving Forward Coalition. "It's time for providers, policymakers and advocates to pull the needed levers to achieve broad, sustainable change in nursing homes."

Coalition leaders say several of the plans are already in progress, including the analysis of more than 10,000 older adults' preferences, which will be used to inform the care planning tool to better assess progress toward residents' care goals.

Over the next few months, the Coalition will host Coalition Conversations detailing specifics about each action plan and ways for interested people and organizations to get involved and advance progress. A full list of conversations is available at https://movingforwardcoalition.org/taking-action/.

"These plans are long overdue—they are actionable and absolutely imperative declarations of what must happen to ensure quality and safety in the care of people in nursing homes," said Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, president of The John A. Hartford Foundation. "We need the nation to coalesce around these action plans and help make them a reality. Everyone should see themselves as a vital part of the solution to improve our country's nursing homes."

The Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition is funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation, and draws on leadership from LeadingAge, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, other national organizations and advisors.

CONTACT: Jameson Roth, [email protected], 443-717-3508

RSVP for the next Coalition Conversation on July 19 from 2:00 – 3:00pm ET at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/657582947297

About the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition The Moving Forward Coalition is a diverse group of individuals and organizations that came together in July 2022 to prioritize recommendations from the 2022 National Academies report on nursing home quality. The Coalition's purpose is to develop and promote action plans to address those priorities in partnership with national, state, and local organizations, including professional associations, nursing home providers, clinicians, researchers, advocates, long-term care Ombudsmen, Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organizations, and others. The Coalition is funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation, a national philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults. Nearly 1,000 people have signed up as Coalition participants at movingforwardcoalition.org.

SOURCE The John A. Hartford Foundation