7/21/2008 12:00:00 AM - More than two-thirds of respondents to the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey believe it is important that the health reform plans of the presidential candidates address the quality and financing of long-term care.
Data Brief
6/20/2008 12:00:00 AM - This Commonwealth Fund-supported article examines U.S. efforts to improve outcomes for elderly residents in long-term care facilities, and finds valuable lessons for New Zealand.
In the Literature
5/15/2008 12:00:00 AM - In invited Congressional testimony, the Fund's Mary Jane Koren explained how the Quality Improvement Organization program, in conjunction with two voluntary initiatives, are moving nursing homes to a higher level of performance.
Testimony
5/9/2008 12:00:00 AM - The first national survey to measure "culture change" within the U.S. nursing home industry finds positive signs that long-term care facilities are beginning to transform themselves from institutional settings into more homelike facilities where residents' needs and preferences come first.
Fund Report
2/22/2008 12:00:00 AM - Despite their effectiveness, many nursing home consumer advocacy groups are "constantly operating on the edge of organizational failure," according to the authors of a new Commonwealth Fund-supported study.
In the Literature
2/15/2008 12:00:00 AM - A Fund-supported study concludes that nursing home residents who have private rooms have better psychosocial and clinical outcomes than residents in shared rooms. And while construction costs are higher, the extra funds are likely to be recouped because of private rooms' greater market appeal.
In the Literature
2/13/2008 12:00:00 AM - This Commonwealth Fund report discusses results of a 12-month evaluation of a resident-centered care initiative in one of the nation's largest nursing home chains.
Fund Report
11/6/2007 12:00:00 AM - Better prevention and treatment of pneumonia and other common ambulatory conditions in nursing homes could reduce avoidable hospitalizations for residents while saving Medicare and other public programs money, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study in the journal Health Affairs.
In the Literature
11/6/2007 12:00:00 AM - Nursing homes that empower their frontline workers to make decisions regarding patient care achieve better performance from certified nurse aides (CNAs), improved resident care, and other positive effects, say the authors of a Commonwealth Fund-supported study.
In the Literature
11/5/2007 12:00:00 AM - When deciding on a nursing home for a family member, consumers often rely on information from ranking systems that are based solely on quantitative measures of questionable importance, say the authors of this Commonwealth Fund-supported article
In the Literature
9/11/2007 12:00:00 AM - A new Commonwealth Fund-supported study shows that poorer quality of care in nursing homes is linked to racial segregation. Black residents are more likely than whites to live in poor-quality nursing homes marked by significant deficiencies on inspection reports, substantial staffing shortages, and financial vulnerability.
In the Literature
8/21/2007 12:00:00 AM - In the first in-depth look at seniors' experiences with Medicare's prescription drug benefit, a new survey finds that the majority of seniors who lacked drug coverage in 2005--before the establishment of the benefit--obtained it in 2006. Even with Part D coverage, however, many seniors reported relatively high out-of-pocket spending in 2006.
In the Literature
8/16/2007 12:00:00 AM - A new study finds that Green House nursing home residents experience better quality of life, with the same or better quality of care than those in traditional nursing homes.
In the Literature
8/2/2007 12:00:00 AM - A new study looking at QIOs' work with nursing homes suggests that, based on measurable improvements in residents' quality of life, the QIO program is a sound investment of health care dollars.
In the Literature
7/12/2007 12:00:00 AM - A new Commonwealth Fund-supported study by Harvard Medical School researchers finds that chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries who were previously uninsured used health services more intensively and required costlier care compared with their previously insured counterparts.
In the Literature