What is the ALOS where you loved one is residing?

Hey Pam - are they actually publishing facility-specific data now? Or is it still just regional averages? I haven't looked in ages. We battled so hard to keep this out of the public's hands, since the data are so difficult to properly interpret and are always thrown off in areas where senior populations are heavy or light and of course the stats look terrible for facilities that end up with older patient bases. You really can't judge a facility's performance by its morbidity stats.

ALOS data should be available on your state DOH website.

allegro2008, what happens if you turn out not to be "average"? What happens if between now and when you need it the "average" numbers have changed significantly.

Knowing the ALOS for nursing homes or assisted living places in a general way might be useful information. But I can't imagine that knowing it for a specific facility would tell the consumer anything useful.

Ouch, you're stepping onto another of the health care industry's secrets. No one wants their morbidity statistics released, which is why they are consolidated and issued as averages. I doubt any administrator would voluntarily disclose that kind of information to anyone, and if she/he did, she/he would not be employed for much longer. Think of this as being absolutely TOP SECRET, and there are some good reasons -- the stats aren't always fair or accurate depictions of the facility's true performance. So many variables have to be taken into consideration to make these stats have any real value, and they are of little value to the end-market consumers.

I think that is a very good quon to ask an administrator at a SNF/nursing home if you are shopping for long-term care insurance. The answer woild give you a good estimate of how much time (in years) to purchase the policy for. For example, in theory, if the average stay in a nursing home is 5 years- why purchase a policy for 10 year benefits. Those policies are expensive enough. I am currently exploring Long-Term Care Insurance and that is indeed a top question on my to either research or ask an administrator.

i dont think the answer of that question would be much of an indicator of how well patients were cared for . too many variables . i think a bright eyed and polite poa ( and other family members ) who listens to the patient and relays the concerns to staff is the best way to keep staff on their toes . it tells them that your paying attention .
ive observed it firsthand . nh patients with minimal family envolvement recieve minimal consideration / attention by staff .. be your LO's advocate but in a spirit of kindness and teamwork .

I know I've seen this statistic for the average for all SNFs, but not for individual ones.
What would be the benefit of knowing this?

I never asked, since when we moved Mom, post stroke, post hip fracture repair, in, over a year ago, we didn't expect her to last till Thanksgiving! Is this metric found on the Medicare.gov website?