CAHF Responds to President Clinton's Recommendations on Improving Nursing Home Care

Serving People Through the Continuum of Long-Term Care

CAHF Responds to President Clinton's Recommendations on Improving Nursing Home Care
Statement of Gary Macomber, Executive Vice President of the California Association of Health Facilities

Sacramento, Calif. (July 22, 1998) President Clinton's July 21 statement regarding nursing home care recognizes that the long-term care industry has made tremendous progress in the area of quality service during the past decade. It also notes the need for continued improvement.

California's nursing facility industry is committed to continuing that improvement. In fact, many of the initiatives announced by the president are steps already being taken in California, which has one of the most aggressive survey systems in the nation.

In 1997, the California Department of Health Services budgeted $24.7 million for licensing and certification of California's health facilities; almost 70 percent of that devoted specifically to nursing facility enforcement.
The industry supported legislation which was passed this year to require criminal background checks of all certified nurse aides (CNAs) in California's long-term care facilities. Our CNAs also undergo 150 hours of initial training – twice the federal requirement, as well as twice the number or continuing education hours.
California was one of the first states to institute a best practices program which identifies exemplary practices in long-term care facilities and encourages their replication. We strongly support Health Care Financing Administration's efforts to work with experts to share best practices for good patient care and additional training for staff in critical nutrition and hydration functions.
The Quality Care Health Foundation (QCHF), CAHF's education foundation, has already provided more than 42,000 training hours to facility employees this year in such topics as infection control, restraint reduction, abuse investigation and fingerprinting, fraud prevention, rehabilitation services and behavior intervention methods.

Although strong enforcement is essential, it is not the only answer. We urge policy makers to look deeper into the survey and enforcement issue to develop a model survey process based on quality improvement and measurement of positive outcomes.

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The California Association of Health Facilities (CAHF) is a non-profit professional association founded in 1950 to serve as a statewide organization for long-term care providers. CAHF's membership is comprised of more than 1,550 licensed nonprofit and proprietary long-term care facilities serving a wide spectrum of needs in settings which include skilled nursing, intermediate care, subacute, mental health, rehabilitation, residential care facilities for the elderly and services for persons with developmental disabilities.

California Association of Health Facilities | 2201 K St., PO Box 537004
Sacramento, CA 95853 | 916.441.6400 | Fax 916.441.6441