Resident outcomes of Medicaid-funded community residential care.
OBJECTIVE
Washington State's initiatives to increase the availability and quality of community residential care presented an opportunity to describe clients entering adult family homes, adult residential care, and assisted living and to identify outcomes of care.


METHODS
We enrolled 349 residents, 243 informal caregivers, and 299 providers in 219 settings. We conducted interviews at enrollment and 12 months later, and we collected data from state databases.


RESULTS
The average resident was a 78 year old woman reporting dependence in two of six activities of daily living. Residents in adult family homes demonstrated significantly more disability. Seventy-eight percent of residents survived at the 12-month follow-up. In analyses that controlled for differences at enrollment, residents in the three types of settings were very similar in health outcomes at follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
State policies should reflect the wide range of needs of residents seeking care in these settings. Choices among type of setting can be based on the match of needs to individual preferences.
Hedrick
Susan C
SC
HSR&D (152) VA Puget Sound Health Care System, 1660 S. Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108, USA. susan.hedrick@med.va.gov
Sales
Anne E B
AE
Sullivan
Jean H
JH
Gray
Shelly L
SL
Tornatore
Jane
J
Curtis
Michael
M
Zhou
Xiao-Hua Andrew
XH
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D040561:Assisted Living Facilities / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D003153:Community Health Services; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D013221:State Health Plans; D014481:United States