Transfer of residents to hospital prior to cardiac death: the influence of nursing home quality and ownership type

OBJECTIVES We hypothesised that among nursing home decedents, nursing home for-profit status and poor quality-of-care ratings, as well as patient characteristics, would lower the likelihood of transfer to hospital prior to heart disease death. METHODS Using death certificates from a large metropolitan area (Tampa Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area) for 1998-2002, we geocoded residential street addresses of heart disease decedents to identify 2172 persons who resided in nursing homes (n=131) at the time of death. We analysed decedent place of death as an indicator of transfer prior to death. Multilevel logistic regression modelling was used for analysis. Cause of death and decedent characteristics were obtained from death certificates. Nursing home characteristics, including state inspector ratings for multiple time points, were obtained from Florida's Agency for Healthcare Administration. RESULTS Nursing home for-profit status, level of nursing care and quality-of-care ratings were not associated with the likelihood of transfer to hospital prior to heart disease death. Nursing homes >5 miles from a hospital were more likely to transfer decedents, compared with facilities located close to a hospital. Significant predictors of no transfer for nursing home residents were being white, female, older, less educated and widowed/unmarried. CONCLUSIONS In this study population, contrary to our hypotheses, sociodemographic characteristics of nursing home decedents were more important predictors of no transfer prior to cardiac death than quality rankings or for-profit status of nursing homes.