The number of skilled nursing facilities receiving a CMS five-star rating has increased from 11.8 percent in 2009 to 19.9 percent in 2013, while the overall percentage of facilities with a CMS four- or five-star rating stands at 49.6 percent, according to The American Health Care Association's 2013 Quality Report.
Member AHCA institutions have also made progress in reducing unnecessary rehospitalizations under the ACHA's quality initiative, preventing 17,000 rehospitalizations in the first year of the program.
Other important skilled nursing center trends identified in the report include:
- Increased numbers of direct care hours per resident per day from nursing staff in response to an increasing level of dependence for skilled nursing center patients.
- A rising demand for short-term rehabilitation with more short-stay, post-acute care than long-term care.
- A trend toward payment for outcomes, and a potential tripling of states with Medicaid managed care, from eight in 2012 to 27 in 2014.
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