Alaska resumed its dominance as one of America’s best nursing home states, climbing 13 spots to No. 3, reports Families for Better Care, a national nursing home resident advocacy group based in Austin. The group published its third state-by-state nursing home report card by analyzing eight federal measures to gauge nursing home quality.
Ranked as the top state in five of eight categories buoyed Alaska’s nursing home ranking.
Alaska is a nursing home staffing powerhouse.
“Alaskans should be proud of their continued nursing home success, especially in regard to staffing quality,” said Brian Lee, Families for Better Care’s executive director. “Alaska is a nursing home staffing powerhouse.”
According to the report card, Alaska scored superior grades in every staffing measure. In fact, 100 percent of Alaska nursing homes scored above average ratings in direct care staffing and professional nursing services, an unprecedented report card achievement.
Despite Alaska’s strong showing the report also exposed a glaring blemish.
“Dropping to No. 45 overall in the percentage of verified ombudsman complaints indicates some room for improvement,” Lee said. “If Alaska maintains its bold commitment to staffing quality, the rest of the nation will soon look to the Last Frontier State as how to achieve nursing home excellence.”
Alaska’s 2019 Nursing Home Report Card is available for download at http://www.nursinghomereportcards.com.
ABOUT FAMILIES FOR BETTER CARE
Families for Better Care, Inc. is a non-profit citizen advocacy group dedicated to creating public awareness of the conditions in our nation’s nursing homes and developing solutions for improving quality of life and care. For more information, visit http://familiesforbettercare.com.
