News ReleaseFor Immediate ReleaseDate: 4/30/02Contact: Mary Dolheimer, 717-337-6801, [email protected]
Bush administration nursing home data flawed, Gettysburg College prof says
GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- The Bush administration's recently released data on the quality of care at more than 2,500 U.S. nursing homes is flawed, according to Gettysburg College Psychology Professor Robert Bornstein.
"It is good consumer information -- and certainly better than nothing at all -- but it is flawed in at least two respects," he said.
The report, unveiled by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson last week, included six types of information: the proportion of residents who have bedsores, who are in physical restrains, who have lost too much weight, who are suffering pain, who have certain types of infections and who need more help with daily activities.
The first problem with the report, according to Bornstein is that it doesn't control as well as it could for differences in patient dysfunction. "As a result, those nursing homes that take on the most challenging clients could end up looking worse than they deserve, just as hospitals that do the riskiest operations may sometimes have higher-than-expected death rates, even though they give the best care," he said.
Bornstein also believes that a better consumer index than number of problems and complaints is the nursing home's record of responding to them. "No nursing home is perfect; all have at least minor violations," he said. "The best nursing homes are those that respond quickly and completely to problems that arise. Nursing homes must document these response plans, and the good ones will make them available to anyone who asks."
Bornstein, a member of the Gettysburg College faculty for 15 years, co-authored (with psychologist Mary Languirand) "When Someone You Love Needs Nursing Home Care" (New Market Press, 2001). Bornstein is also the author of the book "The Dependent Personality" and has published more than 100 articles and 30 book chapters on psychological diagnosis, testing and treatment. His research has been funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation.
With a student body of approximately 2,400, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park. The college was founded in 1832.
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