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

Abstract #109181

Christopher M. Kelly, PhD, Institute on Aging, University of North Carolina, 720 Airport Road, CB # 1030, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1030, 919-843-8065, ckelly@schsr.unc.edu and Paul Wing, D Engin, Center for Health Workforce Studies, University at Albany, 1 University Place, Rensselaer, NY 12144-3456.

Since 1967, the Federal government has required states to license nursing home administrators as a means of enhancing the quality of care in nursing homes. However, there has never been a systematic review of the different standards for nursing home administrators in the 50 states or of the effects of these standards on quality. This study explores the relationship between state requirements for nursing home administrators and nursing home quality by examining the effects of state licensing criteria for administrators on the extent of state nursing home regulatory activity. We created a standard numerical index to compare licensing criteria across the 50 states and found significant interstate variations in areas such as education, examination, and experience. Using state inspection information from CMS's OSCAR database, we examined the effect of these criteria on the volume and severity of state nursing home deficiency citations, controlling for key factors such as state nursing home surveying agency funding, political party of elected officials, and percentage of residents aged 85 and older. Linear regression revealed that state licensing requirements for administrators did not predict the volume or severity of deficiency citations. These findings suggest that at the state level, the different statutes and regulations to license nursing home administrators neither decreases nor increases the extent of regulatory activity. However, we believe that further examination of licensing criteria at the individual nursing home level may find that greater administrator expertise may lead to fewer, and less severe, quality of care problems.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Identify patterns in the licensure requirements for nursing home administrators in the 50 states
• Recognize the lack of a relationship between nursing home administrator licensing criteria and regulatory outcomes at the aggregate state level
• Discuss the possible relationship between licensing ctiteria and regulatory outcomes at the individual nursing home level

Keywords: Nursing Homes, Regulations

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.