Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #104819

Camile Williams, MPH and Jill Kelly, BS, Nursing Home Division, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), 7500 Security Blvd., Mailstop S2-12-25, Baltimore, MD 21244, (410)786-9359, camile.williams@cms.hhs.gov

There are no empirical studies to date which describe nursing home enforcement actions undertaken in response to noncompliance of regulatory standards of care. Absent a centralized enforcement tracking system database, researchers have had to rely on deficiencies as a proxy for enforcement. But deficiencies are just the beginning of an enforcement process, a process that may, but often does not, result in any enforcement sanction. Utilizing a newly available enforcement database, Enforcement Tracking System (ETS), this analysis will describe; 1) state and national high-level deficiency trends; 2) state and national trends of actual enforcement actions; 3) trends in imposing sanctions, given a high-level deficiency was received. Results from this study may provide a basis in determining the effectiveness of the nursing home enforcement process on the quality of care.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the nursing home regulatory process that ostensible ensures public accountability for quality standards;
• Describe state differences and major trends in nursing home enforcement;
• Assess whether this system of enforcement is actually working as intended.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.