Call to action: APRNs in U.S. nursing homes to improve care and reduce costs.

BACKGROUND: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Center sponsored the initiative to reduce avoidable hospitalizations among nursing facility residents.

PURPOSE: Missouri Quality Initiative (MOQI) designed inter-professional model in nursing homes with advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs).

METHOD: MOQI APRN model was implemented for 4 years in 16 nursing homes in a metro area of the Midwest. Hospitalizations were reduced (40% all-cause, 58% potentially avoidable), emergency room visits (54% all-cause, 65% potentially avoidable), Medicare expenditures for hospitalizations (34% all-cause, 45% potentially avoidable), and Medicare expenditures for emergency room visits (50% all-cause, 60% potentially avoidable) for long-stay nursing home residents.

DISCUSSION: Success of the MOQI model reinforces decades of research demonstrating that care provided by APRNs is cost-effective, safe, and associated with positive health outcomes and patient satisfaction.

CONCLUSION: Nursing homes can implement and benefit by hiring APRNs. However, changes in the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR 483.40) are necessary to improve patient access to care and encourage hiring APRNs in US nursing homes.