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Healthcare reform legislation increases transparency in nursing homes and improves patient safety at home and in nursing homes, a U.S. non-profit group says.

Sarah F. Wells, executive director of NCCNHR, formerly the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, says the House of Representatives' passage of healthcare reform will create the most significant improvements and changes in long-term care in a generation.

The legislation incorporates several bills supported by NCCNHR -- including the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act, the Elder Justice Act and the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act. It includes provisions to improve training of the long-term care workforce and expand public coverage of long-term care outside nursing homes, Wells says.

"This is a momentous week for millions of Americans who need long-term care today, and the millions more who will need it in the coming years," Wells says in a statement. "The bill will give consumers more choices about where and how they receive long-term care and services and every long-term care setting -- from one's nursing home to one's own home -- will be safer when it is implemented."

The legislation provides consumers ready access to information that is currently unavailable or hard to obtain, such as accurate information about staffing levels and turnover rates, sanctions against facilities and inspection reports.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.  

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