THE IMPORTANCE AND VALUE OF PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP OF NURSING HOME ADMINISTRATORS.

This study examines the association between nursing home administrators (NHAs) professional membership, certification, and fellow status with quality indicators in nursing homes. Membership, certification, and fellow information (representing increasing levels of participation) originated from the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA). ACHCA is a professional association which represents long-term care administrators. The Quality Measures reported on the Nursing Home Compare web-site, and facility information from the On-line Survey Certification of Automated Records (OSCAR) were used. The period of interest was 2010 and a total of 19 quality indicators were examined. Data were analyzed through multivariate analyses using negative binomial regression. The results indicate NHAs who are members of ACHCA are associated with better quality in 6 of the 19 quality indicators examined; ACHCA certified member fellows are associated with better quality in 7 of the 19 quality indicators examined; ACHCA fellows are associated with better quality in 10 of the 19 quality indicators examined; and, ACHCA members (excluding certified, certified fellows, and fellows) are associated with better quality in 13 of the 19 quality indicators examined. These findings support the value of professional membership, as well as voluntary certification or fellow credentialing of NHAs with respect to quality improvement.