"Blue-ribbon" commission to address LTC quality.

Some big names have entered the campaign for long-term care quality. Cochaired by former Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the National Commission for Quality Long-term Care, launched by the National Quality Forum (NQF), is charged with tracking, evaluating, and reporting on overall LTC quality. Besides Kerrey and Gingrich, other commission members include Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner and Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, who made long-term care the centerpiece of his agenda while head of the National Governors Association.

"This commission is committed to transforming the long-term care industry into one of healthy, active aging," said Gingrich, who is founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Health Transformation.

The commission has five goals:

* To recommend national goals and objectives for LTC quality improvement

* To report on LTC quality indicators and measures, in order to determine progress in achieving national improvement goals, judge improvement efforts, and assess stakeholders' commitment to improvement

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* To provide a public forum for dialogue among stakeholders (such as through comment sessions at meetings or written comments)

* To review quality-related legislative and CMS policy proposals

* To recommend a national policy agenda for LTC quality improvement (specific legislative proposals are possible, according to a spokesperson)

Acknowledging that discussions of quality inevitably bring up questions regarding LTC financing, Phil Dunn, NQF vice-president of communications and public affairs, told Nursing Homes/Long Term Care Management, "The commission's focus is on quality. But many commissioners believe it is impossible to discuss quality of care without discussing financing of care, so we anticipate that financing issues will garner a great deal of attention."

The commission's first meeting was scheduled for earlier this month, and two or three meetings are planned for 2005. Initial funding for the commission is provided by the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, and the American Health Care Association, but the commission intends to broaden its financial base.

This was a point seized upon by the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (NCCNHR) in its response to the commission's debut. "This [financial] relationship raises strong concerns about the objectivity and independence of the commission's work," NCCNHR said in a statement. "We are concerned that the commission not become another tool of an industry that spends millions for political influence but cannot afford enough nurse aides to provide minimum care for the elderly and disabled."

For more information visit www.qualitylongtermcarecommission.org.

BY DOUGLAS J. EDWARDS, ASSISTANT EDITOR