It was unfortunate, but unsurprising, to see that in a recent Gallup poll, a plurality of those surveyed gave SNFs either a D or an F grade on overall quality of care. We say unsurprising not because we agree with that for the majority of facilities, although there are certainly those guilty of providing subpar care, but because of the general negative perception the public has on SNFs. Cases of bad care will always spread in the media and by word-of-mouth faster than the many instances of good care, and only 9% of respondents gave SNFs either B (good) or A (excellent) grades in the survey.
That is not good, but let’s face it, the skilled nursing business is also a thankless business, dealing with the harsh realities and difficult choices in what often amounts to end-of-life care for frail and medically complex seniors. Another term we’ve used for the business is long-term hospice. It’s an uphill battle for the sector to expect many positive emotions to manifest from either the patients themselves or their loved ones.
But the knock on “quality,” which was the top reason behind respondents’ reluctance to live in a nursing home, is concerning. A total of 70% of respondents cited that, followed by cost at 49% and the negative effect on mental and emotional health at 45%. A plurality, 41%, also did not believe nursing homes were a safe place for older adults. Only 26% believed they were.
Despite the lack of positive feelings surrounding skilled nursing care, the industry needs to keep pushing back on its perception around competence and safety. That also means doing more to push the bad apples out, and keep them out. But to actually turn around public opinion when mistakes at the facility level will inevitably be made, will be exceedingly difficult, and may never happen. Mislabeling seniors housing as nursing homes, as media can sometimes do, could cause the perception to stick to assisted living as well.
