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North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) has a new quality care initiative aimed at improving overall experiences and outcomes for North Dakotans who are residents of the state's nursing facilities.

The Nursing Facility Incentive Program, developed in partnership with the North Dakota Long Term Care Association and nursing facility providers, is an incentive-based quality improvement program. It provides an annual payment to facilities based on their performance in four Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services resident care and facility process measures: urinary tract infections, antipsychotic drugs, pressure ulcers and hospitalizations.

"This program invests in value and focuses on foundational practices for high-quality services in alignment with our agency's strategic priorities," said Medical Services Division Director Sarah Aker.

Facilities are assigned points for each quality measure and placed in tiers with tier one receiving the largest incentive payment. They can also get extra points if their facility completes a national quality training program offered by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living.

"The Nursing Facility Incentive Program offers valuable support to nursing facilities, allowing them to make meaningful improvements and be acknowledged for their efforts to enhance resident care. This initiative underscores the commitment of our providers to continuously improving the quality of care," said North Dakota Long Term Care Association President Nikki Wegner.

North Dakota lawmakers approved funding for the program during the 2023 legislative session. All Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities in North Dakota that have been open for at least 10 months are participating in the program.

Incentive payments

Earlier this year, HHS awarded $4 million in incentive payments to 58 nursing facilities in the state.

Four nursing facilities earned tier one status. They include: Fargo Elim Health Care Center, Fargo; Nelson County Health System Care Center, McVille; Sanford Hillsboro Care Center, Hillsboro and Woodside Village, Grand Forks.

There were 28 facilities that achieved tier two status and 26 facilities that were recognized with tier three status.

"These facilities have implemented many promising practices and made substantial changes to improve resident care over the past 14 months," Aker said. "We are committed to this partnership that will create better health outcomes for people and over time reduce health care costs."

The Nursing Facility Incentive Program is part of an overall quality improvement and value-based purchasing strategy that's outlined in the 2024-2025 HHS Business Plan: Transforming the Customer Experience - page 41.

To learn more about the Nursing Facility Incentive program, visit hhs.nd.gov/nursing-facility-incentive-program.

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