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May 30, 2023
In this Issue:
- New Study Finds Widespread Underreporting of Falls and Pressure Ulcers on Care Compare
- Submit a Proposal for a Session at the Consumer Voice Conference by this Friday
- New Podcast Episode on The Value of Being Heard: Loneliness and Social Isolation in Long-Term Care
- National Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters Makes Recommendations, Including Expanding Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
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New Study Finds Widespread Underreporting of Falls and Pressure Ulcers on Care Compare
A new study from University of Chicago found widespread underreporting of major injury falls and pressure ulcers on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Care Compare website. Researchers looked at hospitalization data for Medicare beneficiaries from 2011-2017 and compared this information with data that nursing homes were self-reporting to CMS about falls and pressure ulcers. The study found that about 40% of major injury fall hospitalizations and 32% of severe pressure ulcer hospitalizations that appear in Medicare claims data were not on Care Compare, which calls into question the overall accuracy of data reported to CMS by nursing homes. Researchers also found that underreporting varied based on the racial composition of residents at a nursing home. Lead researcher and assistant professor of public health sciences at the University of Chicago Prachi Sanghavi said, "Nursing homes that have more white residents have more falls and report falls more accurately, and don't report pressure ulcers as accurately. And the opposite happens with nursing homes that have more Black residents."
Read the study.
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Submit a Proposal for a Session at the Consumer Voice Conference by this Friday
 Join us for the 2023 Consumer Voice Conference October 30-November 1, 2023 at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor.
Consumer Voice's Annual Conference educates and empowers long-term care consumers and consumer advocates. The conference covers long-term care issues, including current trends, best practices, advocacy opportunities, and new research. Attendees have the opportunity to learn, network, and exchange ideas with advocates from all over the country.
Call for Proposals - Proposals are due this Friday!
We are looking for proposals that create an engaging, informative conference agenda that provides resources, tools, opportunities for discussion, and strategies our attendees can incorporate in their life and/or advocacy.
Two easy steps to submit a proposal:
1. Review the Call for Proposals and Presenter Requirements.
2. Submit your proposal via Survey Monkey. NOTE: You will not be able to save incomplete submissions in SurveyMonkey, so you may want to review and print or save the PDF version of the proposal questions so you can plan your responses prior to starting the submission.
Proposals are due by June 2, 2023. Late or incomplete proposals will not be considered.
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New Podcast Episode on The Value of Being Heard: Loneliness and Social Isolation in Long-Term Care
 In the newest episode of the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care podcast, we speak with Dr. Susan Wehry, a nationally recognized keynote speaker and workshop facilitator on depression, dementia, and healthy aging, about the impacts of severe isolation and extreme loneliness many residents have experienced, not just during the pandemic, but before and after. Dr. Wehry discusses the value of being heard and ways staff, family members, and friends can work to help combat loneliness in long-term care moving forward.
Subscribe to the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. You can also listen on YouTube, SoundCloud, Facebook, or our website.
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National Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters Makes Recommendations, Including Expanding Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
On May 25, 2023, the National Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters (NACSD) unveiled the four recommendations it will be making to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The recommendations revolve around three primary goals: improving community readiness, infrastructure, and behavioral health initiatives related to seniors and disasters. Particularly noteworthy was a recommendation to expand the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCO) - “Capitalize upon the opportunity to expand the existing Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program with dedicated resources and additional employees to advocate for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery planning across the long-term care continuum.”
The LTCO recommendation received significant support during the NACSD meeting. Multiple comments were submitted in support of expanding the LTCO program. Further, no voting members of the NACSD voiced opposition to the recommendation. Implementing this recommendation will increase the role of the Ombudsman in preparing and responding to disasters and public health emergencies. Further, adoption of this recommendation will help Ombudsman programs be more effective advocates for long-term care residents.
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