Washington Post Profiles Nursing Homes Using New Ways To Boost Resident Satisfaction

The Washington Post on July 16 examines new approaches being used by nursing homes nationwide to increase residents' satisfaction. Some "pioneering" nursing homes are adopting a less "institutional" design, increasing resident choice and using "plants, pets and regular interaction with children to enliven and give meaning to the lives" of their residents. These facilities, which provide such services at approximately the same cost as traditional facilities, judge quality on both medical outcomes, including fewer patient falls and bedsores, and patient satisfaction, the Post reports. About 1.5 million people currently reside in the nation's 17,000 nursing homes, and approximately 40% of U.S. residents are expected to "spend some time" in a nursing home in the future, prompting a demand for improving the nation's nursing home facilities, according to University of North Carolina researcher Philip Stone. Still, most nursing homes have yet to adopt some of the new approaches. According to Rosemarie Fagan, executive director of the Pioneer Network, a coalition of providers and family members established to help "reinvent" nursing homes, less than 1% of facilities nationwide have implemented strategies aimed at improving patient satisfaction. However, some experts believe the approaches will "catch on" because they make "good business sense." Some facilities that have focused on patient satisfaction have seen their occupancy rates increase (Baker, Washington Post, 7/16).