A Call to Action: Long-Term Care Financing and Quality

David Grabowski, PhD, professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, sits down with Susan Ryan for his second episode of this podcast. This week, they examine recommendations made by the Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes, whether they went far enough in achieving the goals for improving quality and safety and what has happened since those recommendations were released in early fall 2020. In addition, Dr. Grabowski talks about his concept of aging in the "right" place and what that means for home- and community-based services, reimagining nursing homes, and why it's not an either/or solution. He shares his observations from a global perspective and the comparative healthcare spending patterns for long-term care among different countries. Dr. Grabowski recounts a visit he made to the Netherlands (pre-pandemic) where he was able to see a traditional nursing home and shares that experience, from the moment he walked in the door to the insights gained on the workforce and the built environment. Finally, Dr. Grabowski challenges us all to use our collective voice to be a part of generating the big changes that are sorely needed in eldercare.   Review the Coronavirus Commission report here: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/covid-final-nh-commission-report.pdf