Abstract
Many nursing home residents enter skilled nursing facilities (SNF) for rehabilitation services. For many residents, return to the community is an important outcome. The IMPACT Act of 2014 requires the development and reporting of a measure of community discharges (CD) among SNF residents. We developed a risk-adjusted measure of successful CDs within 100 days of the start of a nursing home episode, which CMS incorporated into the Five-Star Quality Rating System in 2016. We used information on discharge date and status from the MDS to measure episode length and identify CDs. Overall, 62.5% of episodes resulted in a successful CD within 100 days. Average risk-adjusted rates were higher at facilities with better overall, staffing, and inspection ratings, but not quality ratings. Risk-adjusted rates were higher among facilities that are smaller, non-profit, and in a hospital. We will present trends on the measure’s performance during its first year of public reporting.