I only stay in 4-5 Star Nursing Homes?

Not too long ago, one of the doctors that I work sent me a message asking me to find a 4-star nursing home/skilled nursing facility (SNF) for a patient. When I saw it, all I could do was to laugh incredulously. A 4-star SNF?, I thought. Does that mean one with a concierge and a flat screen TV? Seriously, I thought the doctor was either pulling my leg or ready for a vacation. So before I actually said anything to him about it, I did a little research. What I found made me privately eat a little crow. Actually the US Government, through Medicare, began to rate SNFs, on a scale from 1-5 stars, since December 2008. Apparently this update isn't widely known, but a patient's family had asked the doctor about it and this is how the subject came to me. This again emphasizes the benefits of patients and families being their own advocate and becoming educated about what is out there.

We are all familiar with hotel star ratings. Well, because of that familiarity, Medicare decided to use the same rating system with SNFs. What you need to know though, is that the rating criteria is very different than that of a hotel. Instead of a rating based on things like on-site restaurant, free wi-fi, or a swimming pool, the SNFs are rated on things like State health inspection results, staffing, and quality measures such as if residents are given their flu shots or how many are underweight, etc. The 5-star rating system is broken down into the following:

Nursing homes are rated overall and on health inspections, nursing home staffing and quality measures. More stars are better.*

Much Above Avg.
Above Avg.
Average
Below Avg.
Much Below Avg.

You can find a SNFs rating, and other detailed information about it, at Medicare's Nursing Home Compare website. www.medicare.gov/nhcompare/ Although this system is very helpful to the consumer looking for a facility, it doesn't take the place of touring the facility, talking to the administrator as well as the staff and other residents. Personal recommendations are also helpful.

I learn from my patients all of the time. I appreciated the one that made me aware of this. Hey, pass it on to others that you know that might find it helpful. It is information that is difficult to find elsewhere. Every administrator will tell you that their facility is the best. Now you will really know.

Knowledge is power.

* star chart taken from medicare.gov