October 12, 2015
Contact: Eric Kiehl, 717-221-7935

PHCA: ‘PA Nursing Homes Rank Among Best For Quality’

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. —  With a focus on enhancing treatment services and improving residents’ overall experience, Pennsylvania’s nursing homes rank among the best in the nation for quality of care, said Stuart H. Shapiro, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA).

That was the message delivered at PHCA’s 2015 Annual Convention and Trade Show at Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia. The show finished today as one of the largest exhibitions in the association’s history, with more than 600 attendees and 200 vendors, including a strong focus on quality initiatives headlined by regional and national figures.

The convention featured nearly 100 speakers, including a panel, “Quality Care and Compassion: Beyond the Data and Measures,” led by Danielle Snyderman and Erica Goldblatt Hyatt. Dr. Snyderman specializes in geriatric and palliative care at Jefferson University Hospitals and has gained acclaim for her interviews with elderly patients to better assess their physical and social needs. Dr. Goldblatt Hyatt, is the department chair of psychology at Bryn Athyn College, is recognized nationally for her end-of-life studies and is the author of “Grieving for the Sibling You Lost.”

Their session explored the importance of a compassionate, high-touch culture in nursing, assisted living and personal care home facilities, and built upon other discussions on the importance of quality measurements and improvement. In several sessions, panels of experts talked about the important work being done to identify the role that communication, listening, compassion and respect play in the provision of high-quality care, and focused on the value that tracking resident, family and staff satisfaction has in creating a culture of quality.

“Our caregivers are amazing people who provide high-quality care day in, day out at facilities across the commonwealth,” Dr. Shapiro said. “More and more people are coming to appreciate and understand the role they play not only in keeping residents healthy and safe, but also in providing peace of mind to the family and loved ones of those we care for.”

Each and every day, Pennsylvania’s 700-plus nursing homes provide high-quality, compassionate care to more than 81,000 frail elderly and disabled residents who need around-the-clock support for clinically complex medical conditions and more than 1,200 assisted living and personal care home providers provide care to more than 45,000 residents.

Dr. Shapiro said the state’s skilled nursing centers continue to surpass major quality milestones. Pennsylvania nursing homes receive fewer deficiencies than the national average, and rank the lowest in serious deficiencies, which means that the state’s nursing homes rank better than all other 49 states.

From the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2015, Pennsylvania nursing homes improved on 10 of 11 quality measures, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ five-star rating system, and now rank better than the national average on 8 of the 11 measures.

Pennsylvania nursing homes are continually improving clinical outcomes, with reductions of urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers, use of antipsychotic medication, resident pain and more.

Each nursing home is licensed and subject to unannounced inspections by the Department of Health at least once a year. These on-site surveys ensure centers are meeting strict regulatory guidelines for quality, operational integrity and staffing.

Additional information about the high quality of care provided by Pennsylvania’s nursing homes can be found at http://www.paforqualitycare.org.

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