29% Of Hospitalizations Among Long-Stay Nursing Home Residents Found To Be Avoidable

Approximately 29% of hospitalizations among long-stay nursing home residents were avoidable, according to a root cause analysis. The top risk factors of an avoidable hospitalization that were identified in advance of the transfer included: hospitalization with the last six months (45% of transfers), heart failure (29% of transfers), and dementia with behavioral problems (29% of transfers).

These findings were reported in “The Optimizing Patient Transfers, Impacting Medical Quality and Improving Symptoms (OPTIMISTIC): Transforming Institutional Care Approach: Preliminary Data from the Implementation of a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Nursing Facility Demonstration Project” by Kathleen T. Unroe, M.D . . .