National Study Contradicts Common Belief of Low Satisfaction in Nursing Homes

Wausau, WI – May 21, 2008 – My InnerView—an independent research firm—today released a report that reveals a majority of both consumers (82%) and employees (70%) rate their nursing home as “excellent” or “good,” and would recommend the nursing home as a place to receive care. The report, 2007 National Survey of Consumer and Workforce Satisfaction in Nursing Homes, includes responses from 146,382 nursing home residents and their family members and 161,908 nursing home employees in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2007.

“The report provides consumers with a statistical snapshot of the current state of nursing home performance,” notes Neil Gulsvig, Chief Executive Officer, My InnerView, “from the perspective of those who know best—residents, their family, and the people who work there. It gives consumers a more accurate picture of nursing homes and the people living and working there. It can also help consumers determine what to look for when assessing a nursing home. What the data clearly show is that residents and their families say a caring and competent staff is most important, and that a nursing home with a satisfied workforce, is a nursing home with satisfied residents and family members.”

While consumers report modest improvements in resident quality of life and quality of care, the quality of services (such as meals, laundry, cleanliness and management responsiveness) showed a slight decline. Data indicate that despite the demands of the profession, employees rank their ability to make a difference in people’s lives as the most satisfying aspect of their job. Data also show, however, that nurses and nursing assistants have the lowest levels of job satisfaction in the profession.

The report provides direction for the profession to work toward in order to provide a stable, satisfied workforce that ultimately will care for the growing elderly population. “For example,” notes Gulsvig, “we’ve found that the extent to which facility management listens to and cares for the needs of its employees is critical to employee satisfaction. Leadership of the nursing home clearly drives satisfaction of the nursing home workforce.”

For a copy of the 2007 National Survey of Consumer and Workforce Satisfaction in Nursing Homes, visit www.myinnerview.com, or call (715) 848-2713.

-end-

My InnerView
500 Third Street
Wausau, WI 54403
Media Contact: Elizabeth Knight
Phone: 715-848-2713
Email: eknight@myinnerview.com

My InnerView is the nation’s leading provider of knowledge management applications for the senior care profession. By maintaining the profession’s largest private database of quality customer and workforce satisfaction metrics, My InnerView is able to provide leaders in assisted living, senior housing, and skilled nursing professions with the information to properly align their operational sectors in an effort to improve performance enterprise-wide. My InnerView provides resources to more than 7,400 senior care providers across the nation.

This release was published on openPR.