Proposed is a four-year project aimed at dissemination of evidence-based practices in nursing homes and adult care facilities through provision of training modules. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is joining in partnership with the Research Division of the Hebrew Home for the Aged (RDHHAR), with representatives of the Columbia University Stroud Center and with two national organizations representing nursing homes and adult care facilities (board and care homes), and the state government inspectors responsible for surveillance and quality assurance in these facilities: the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the Association of Health Facilities Survey Agencies (AHFSA). Finally, representatives from the Foundation for Long-Term Care (FLTC), the research arm of the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (LNYAHSA), a recipient of an AHRQ grant to further develop quality indicators in long-term care, will provide consultation. Representatives from these institutions will form a multi-disciplinary Advisory Group to: (a) identify effective training modules, based on findings from studies completed and published by the NYSDOH Dementia Grants promgram, AHQR-funded studies, and from the Columbia University New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI) and the Columbia University Geriatric Education Centers (GEC) training programs; (b) evaluate the methods for dissemination of best practices guidelines, including a program to train surveyors in best practice; and (c) disseminate the programs to the facilities that, collectively,are representative of a target population of several million individuals with chronic health and mental disorders.
