SNFdata

Profile Definitions and Methodology

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Identification

SNF Name, address, and telephone

The skilled nursing facility's name, address, telephone number, and website are taken from three sources according to the following precedence:

  • Information may be collected and updated as the result of direct communications with facilities, news items, etc.  Such information has highest precedence over other sources.
  • Information may be collected or updated directly from a facility's website or from a system's website.
  • Information for facilities without websites may be taken from their most recent Medicare cost report and/or the Nursing Home Compare database.  (Data for these facilities are updated as new versions of these files become available.  Data from these sources are only used when information is not available from a website or through direct communications.)
Provider Number
All facilities that participate in the Medicare program are assigned a federal Medicare Provider Number.  This number identifies a facility for claim processing, cost reporting etc.
Geographic Information
A facility's county and Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA), and geographic coordinates are determined through commercial geocoding based on the physical address.  Please note that CBSA replaced Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) upon implementation of new standards in 2000.
Certified Beds
Skilled Nursing Facilities can have a combination of Medicare, Medicaid, and/or private pay beds.  Certified beds represent the number of Medicare and/or Medicaid beds.  The number of certified beds is taken from a facility's most recent Medicare cost report (W/S S-3, Part I, column 1, line 1).  If a cost report is not available for a facility, the number of certified beds is taken from the Nursing Home Compare database.
Type of Control

A facility's type of control is taken from its most recent Medicare cost report (HCRIS file). If a cost report is not available for the facility, the type of control is taken from the Nursing Home Compare database. (Note that some categories are modified to enable compatibility among sources.) Types of control reported are:

  • Voluntary Nonprofit, Church
  • Voluntary Nonprofit, Other
  • Proprietary, Individual
  • Proprietary, Corporation
  • Proprietary, Partnership
  • Governmental, City
  • Governmental, City-County
  • Governmental, County
  • Governmental, Federal
  • Governmental, Hospital District
Notes
Notes are continually updated to reflect important information regarding mergers, new ownership, changes in operations, etc.

Survey Information

Survey information is taken from Nursing Home Compare, a U.S. government website maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The site contains detailed information about every Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing home in the country. http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare

Health Survey Date - Score
A team of trained health inspectors conduct onsite health inspections, on average, about once a year. Inspectors look at the care of residents, the process of care, staff and resident interactions, and the nursing home environment. The data from the last three standard health inspections and all complaint inspections that have been conducted in the last three years were used to calculate the rating. When looking at the five-star ratings, more stars are better. Five (5) stars are the most a nursing home can get. One (1) star is the fewest.
Fire Survey Date - Deficiencies
Fire safety specialists evaluate whether a nursing home meets Life Safety Code (LSC) standards set by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA). The fire safety inspection covers a wide range of fire protection concerns, including construction, protection, and operational features designed to provide safety from fire, smoke, and panic. A Fire Safety Deficiency indicates that a facility failed to meet one or more Federal fire safety requirements.
Staffing Measures

Several types of staff are included in the nursing home staffing information collected by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):

  • Registered Nurse (RN)
  • Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
  • Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)
  • Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

Each facility reports its staffing hours to its state survey agency. These staffing hours are from a two-week period just before the state inspection. CMS obtains staffing data from the states and converts the staffing hours reported by the nursing home into a measure that shows the number of staff hours per resident per day. The staffing hours per resident per day are reported by type of staff, and all staff combined as a total. Staffing hours are evaluated and reported as a five-star rating where more stars are better. Five (5) stars are the most a nursing home can get. One (1) star is the fewest.

Quality Measures
Facilities routinely collect assessment information on all their residents using a form called the Minimum Data Set. The information collected includes the resident health, physical functioning, mental status, and general well being. Nursing homes self-report this information to Medicare and some of the assessment information is used to measure the quality of certain aspects of nursing home care. (e.g. whether residents have gotten their flu shots, are in pain, or are losing weight). Quality information is evaluated and reported as a five-star rating where more stars are better. Five (5) stars are the most a nursing home can get. One (1) star is the fewest.
Participation
Facilities can participate in Medicare, Medicaid or both. A facility participating in the Medicare program can care for people with Medicare who meet certain requirements for skilled care. Generally Medicare covers short stays. A facility participating in the Medicaid program can care for people with Medicaid. If a nursing home doesn’t participate in the Medicaid program or no longer participates in the Medicaid program, and a resident runs out of other funds/coverage, the resident will have to move to another nursing home if he/she wants to be on Medicaid.
Located Within a Hospital?
Skilled nursing beds may be within a hospital unit or may be within a free-standing Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF).

Day and Discharge Statistics

Utilization statistics are taken from the facility's most recent Medicare cost report.

Beds
Bed size is taken from the facility’s most recent Medicare cost report (W/S S-3, part I, column 1, line 9).
Inpatient Days
The number of Inpatient Days is taken from the facility’s most recent Medicare cost report (W/S S-3, part I, column 7, line 8).
Discharges
The number of Discharges is taken from the facility’s most recent Medicare cost report (W/S S-3, part I, column 12, line 8).
Average Length of Stay
The Average Length of Stay is computed by dividing total Inpatient Days by the total Discharges.
Beds
Bed size is taken from the facility’s most recent Medicare cost report (W/S S-3, part I, column 1, line 9).
Inpatient Days
The number of Inpatient Days is taken from the facility’s most recent Medicare cost report (W/S S-3, part I, column 7, line 9).
Discharges
The number of Discharges is taken from the facility’s most recent Medicare cost report (W/S S-3, part I, column 12, line 9).
Average Length of Stay
The Average Length of Stay is computed by dividing total Inpatient Days by the total Discharges.