ALBANY – Thirty-seven long-term care providers will share in $1.5 million in grants to improve the quality of the nursing home experience, announced State Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines. The Long-Term Care Quality Improvement Initiative supports projects that demonstrate sustainable improvements that benefit nursing home residents.

Awardees represent every region in the state, and include long-term care partnerships, hospitals and nursing homes.

Projects will run for a maximum of 18 months. Applicants will implement projects that improve the quality of care, the quality of life, the use of data in decision-making and cross-provider communication and information sharing. Types of projects include culture change in the nursing home; staff education for increased responsibilities and specialized knowledge; electronic record-keeping; and enhancement of the dining, bathing, and end-of-life experiences.

Grantees were selected from 111 applications submitted pursuant to the Long Term Care Quality Improvement Initiative Request for Proposals.

"Quality of care is one of the Health Department's most imperative issues," Commissioner Daines said. "We want to raise the bar for quality for our nursing home residents. Our staff will work with the awardees to support their projects and learn which efforts most improve this stage of life for New Yorkers in full-time institutional care."