Profile Definitions and Methodology

Identification

SNF Name, address, telephone number, and website

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.  (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 Ownership

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.