ORC Advice

Advice for Ombudsmen in Preparing
for the Nursing Home Quality Initiative

April 19, 2002

  The following ideas were developed by the National Long Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center  in conference calls with ombudsmen in the pilot states and are intended to assist ombudsman in preparing for increased calls due to the Nursing Home Quality Initiative:

1 – Be prepared for questions about this initiative from residents, consumers and the public.  Check out the ombudsman website (www.ltcombudsman.org) for a list of resources.  State ombudsmen in the six pilot states are working with the QIO’s to coordinate consumer education (this varies significantly from state to state). State ombudsmen in the pilot states are working to develop training for local ombudsmen.  The Ombudsman Resource Center has coordinated several conference calls to provide current information and discuss successes and barriers in this initiative.

2 – Refamiliarize yourself with the current information on Nursing Home Compare at www.medicare.gov so that you can effectively provide information to consumers who contact your program. Remember, the quality measures in the 6 pilot states are different than the resident characteristics posted in the other states. The new quality measures will probably be posted April 24, 2002.

3- Make sure that you have an ample supply of fact sheets, booklets or whatever resources you currently use to educate the public about how to select a nursing home and about how to look for quality care in a facility.  Remember that the Quality Measures are one piece of the puzzle to look at for selecting a facility and be prepared to talk about other factors such as facility visits, surveys, sanctions against a facility, staffing, etc.

4 – Try to get the word out about this initiative to ombudsman volunteers, citizen groups and other interested persons so that they are aware of this initiative.  (We know this is happening very quickly and we will do our best to keep you posted on any changes.)

5 – Be prepared to track calls related to the QI Initiative including the length of the call.  Your state ombudsman will be discussing this more with you; however, you should make every effort to track these calls even if specific plans are not in place so that the information can be used for evaluation purposes.  As this project continues, your observations about consumer reaction to the initiative will be very important.