Primary Listings
Medicare's Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home (pdf)
Guide contains checklists and ideas for how to find a nursing home that is right for you or your family member. Includes glossary of terms, Resident Rights information and more. Federal Government Publication by CMS (CMS-02174), last revised in November 2008, is 68 pages.
Nursing Home Average Costs, 2009 (MetLife Survey)
MetLife surveyed nursing homes in 83 major markets in all states and DC. in July-Oct. 2009. Average daily rate for nursing home care found to be equivalent to $72,000 to $80,000 per year (range by city for private room, from $100 in parts of Missouri and Okla. to $870 per day in Alaska). Example of city rates: Chicago nursing home Semi-Private daily rate ranged from $125/day to $209/day, with an average of $159. Report includes Assisted Living and home care costs. Easy to read report, published October 2009
Nursing Home Trends in Publicly Reported Quality Measures - July 2009 (pdf)
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) shows trends in percent of residents with pain, pressure sores, weight loss, depression, increase in ADL (activities of daily living), mobility decline, catheter, incontinence, urinary tract infection (UTI), and more, using recent data from the federal CMS Nursing Home Compare
Nursing Home Use Trends through 2004 (pdf)
Administrative report by The Lewin Group uses data from the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey to examine nursing home trends and use rates by frail older adults. Latest data show 3.6% of adults ages 65+ were in a nursing home. At ages 85+, the percent in nursing homes was 13.9, down from over 21% in 1985. Disability rates, use of post-acute rehabilitation stays, and growth in residential and assisted living facilities are also discussed. 28-page report published Nov. 2006
Nursing Homes - US Profile, 2000 Fact Sheet (CDC)
Fact Sheet based on a 1997 survey by the National Center for Health Statistics (CDC), shows of the 17,000 nursing homes in the United States, 67% are proprietary. Almost 80% of nursing homes are certified by both Medicare and Medicaid. Read more, including average costs, although 12-year old prices are not particularly helpful
Nursing Homes: Challenges Remain - GAO Report December 2005 (pdf)
Report discusses findings on the adequacy of state surveys on nursing home quality and safety, and the oversight by CMS. Accuracy and reliability of data presented on CMS' Nursing Home Compare website are important considerations for consumers making decisions and choosing a nursing home. This 81-page report by the Government Accounting Office (GAO 06-117) is meant more for healthcare leaders and policy-makers, than for consumers. See Table 11 (page 65) to find out how your state compares to the nation's 15.5% of nursing homes cited for actual harm or immediate jeopardy. Over half of Connecticut's nursing homes received this cheerless distinction
Other Helpful Listings
Health Fact Sheets - 100 topics
Short easy-to-read fact sheets on over 100 health topics, including standard public health topics. Sample: breast cancer, cervical cancer, Choosing a Nursing Home, chronic fatigue, domestic violence, eating disorders, fibromyalgia, gout, hepatitis, incontinence, lung cancer, MRSA, prostate cancer, west nile virus. Prepared by Illinois Department of Public Health
Long-Term Care Data (AARP) 2009
Statistical report by AARP (Across the States 2009: Profiles of Long-term Care and Independent Living) includes home health and nursing home utilization data from 2007 and average 2008 prices for home health, nursing home and assisted living facilities (p. 33). States with Green House projects shown on p. 25. Individual state detail. Full report is 368 pages