The latest New York State (NYS) Nursing Home Quality Initiative (NHQI) results have been released with Catholic Health Nursing Homes receiving top rankings. The health system’s Father Baker Manor in Orchard Park and Mercy Nursing Facility in Lackawanna ranked in the first of five equal tiers (quintiles) followed by McAuley Residence in Tonawanda and St. Catherine Labouré Health Care Center in the second tier. Facilities that rank in the top three quintiles receive additional quality incentive pool dollars as part of the State’s Medicaid Program.
The NHQI is an annual quality and performance evaluation project designed to improve care to residents in Medicaid-certified nursing homes across NYS. The current results are comprised of 17 performance measures based on quality, compliance, and efficiency from the previous calendar year. Measures include data sources such as percentage of agency staff, nurse turnover rates, avoidable hospitalizations, and fall rates. Points from the various measures are combined to create an overall facility score.
The state-wide scores are divided into five equal quintiles, from highest to lowest performing, with facilities in the top three quintiles receiving positive adjustments in their Medicaid payments from the Nursing Home Quality Pool (NHQP), while those in the bottom two receive negative adjustments.
“This is a way for the state to reinvest in those facilities that are working hard to improve overall quality and efficiency,” said Pat O’Connor, Catholic Health Vice President of Operations for Long Term Care. “We’re incredibly proud of our staff for the high quality care and service they provide to our residents and their families, and to be recognized among the top-tier nursing homes in New York State.”
In an effort to reward high-quality care, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) developed the NHQI as part of the 2010-2011 State Budget. The DOH works with industry experts to design and compute an equitable quality scoring system using existing data sources.
