Current News
August 4, 2009
Marquis Companies Weighs in on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s Five-Star Quality Rating System for the Long-Term Care Industry
Rating System Serves as a Great Resource for Consumers Making Long-term Care Decisions
Marquis Companies, a skilled nursing, assisted living and home health care company, recognizes that the decision to place a loved one in a long-term care facility can be daunting and disconcerting for families. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid created a ranking system, called The Five-Star Quality Rating System, to help consumers make these difficult decisions.
The Five-Star Quality Rating System is the first tool that Marquis has seen that establishes a playing field and serves as a great resource to aide consumers during their decision making process. “Most families are faced with this important decision with a very steep learning curve and very little time to research and make a decision that could impact their loved one’s quality of life,” said Phil Fogg, Jr., president and CEO of Marquis Companies. “This system serves as great starting point for consumers making long-term care decisions.”
The Five-Star Quality Rating System is one more resource for families, but it shouldn’t be the only decision-making factor. As with any big decision, families should make this one based on a variety of criteria such as in-person visits to the facility, observing the quality of staff at the facility. They should ask questions such as what are the facility’s qualifications, turnover rate, attitude, professionalism, customer service standards and resident family and friend feedback.
According to The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, “The Five-Star Quality Rating System is not a substitute for visiting [a facility]. This system can give you important information, help you compare nursing homes by topics you consider most important, and help you think of questions to ask when you visit the [facility].
About The Five-Star Quality Rating System
The Five-Star Quality Rating System was created to help consumers, their families and caregivers navigate the long-term care industry by comparing nursing facilities. This rating system is based on continued efforts as a result of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA '87), a nursing home reform law, and more recent quality improvement campaigns such as the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes, a coalition of consumers, health care providers, and nursing home professionals.
The ranking is a direct result of an evaluation conducted that takes three factors into account including State Health Inspections, Quality Measures and Staffing. Following are a few elements of The Five-Star Rating System that are important for consumers to understand:
• The rating system provides an opportunity for facilities to dialogue and track the quality of care and documentation accuracy as it relates to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s specified quality measures.
• It helps facilities measure themselves against other like facilities in its state.
• Lower stars on The Five-star Rating System does not equate to lower care. This system could appear to consumers as similar to the rating system for hotels and restaurants, however it is very different. The difference lies in the fact that these facilities are often serving critically ill individuals. The health of which will decline despite stellar care and services because of a disease or aging process, regardless of the amount of facility intervention provided.
• This system is only one of many tools that consumers can use when considering where to place a loved one. Though it is a starting place, it is not all inclusive and only touches on elements that are documented. Its does not reflect the heart and soul of countless caregivers who work tirelessly everyday to provide quality care to the individuals that they serve.
For more information about The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and the Five-Star Quality Rating System, visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov /.
About Marquis Companies
Marquis Companies provide skilled nursing, long-term care, assisted living and Alzheimer’scare throughout its 26 facilities in Oregon, California, Montana, Idaho and Nevada. Marquis’ sister company, Consonus, provides pharmacy, rehabilitation, staffing and consulting to the long-term care community. Both family-owned companies share the mission to promote the vitality within everyone each company serves and its employees – and created its Vital Life Foundation to fulfill that mission.
