Impact of dementia special care units for short-stay nursing home patients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Improving quality of care provided to short-stay patients with dementia in nursing homes is a policy priority. However, it is unknown whether dementia-focused care strategies are associated with improved clinical outcomes or lower utilization and costs for short-stay dementia patients.

Methods

We performed a national survey of nursing home administrators in 2020-2021, asking about the presence of three dementia-focused care services used for their short-stay patients: (1) a dementia care unit, (2) cognitive deficiency training for staff, and (3) dementia-specific occupational therapy. Using Medicare claims, we identified short-stay episodes for beneficiaries residing in surveyed skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) with and without dementia. We compared clinical, cos

SUBMITTER: Chen AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10947952 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature