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Understanding the Choose Well Score
About the Choose Well Score
Only facilities who have volunteered to be rated will have a Facility Profile Page that displays a Choose Well Score. You can see any volunteer's Choose Well Score by clicking the Choose Well Score tab from the Facility Profile Page.
Choose Well Scores have a range of 1 to 100. Choose Well scores are not higher than 100, and scores below 70 are not published. Volunteer facilities scoring a 69 or below, receive a Participant designation instead of a numerical score. Facilities who are newly licensed, and do not have a public document history are shown as Newly Licensed. Once the newly licensed facility receives a visit by the state that generates a public document, their Choose Well Score will be computed.
- Choose Well Score: The higher the Choose Well Score, the better the facility's compliance with state regulations or Health and Safety Code as they relate to the 11 Quality Measures. The Choose Well Score is a computed score.
- Quality Measure Counts: The Quality Measure Counts next to each Quality measure area a count of the number of citations received on related state regulations. The lower the number the better the facility's compliance with regulations or Health and Safety Code in that Quality Measure. performed in the QM.
The Choose Well Score: All Choose Well Scores have been calculated using the RRS Algorithm Scoring Device, Version 2.1 initiated 1/15/2018. Version 2.1 contains and reflects the Enhancements authorized by the county in 2017.
More About the Public Records Score
The Choose Well Score uses a facility’s state compliance history with Title 22 regulations to calculate their score. 94 Title 22 regulations and Health and Safety Codes have been assigned to one of the 11 Quality Measures; it has also been assigned a weight. A regulation or code that is more important to a resident's health and safety is assigned a heavier weight than a regulation that is less serious to a resident's wellbeing.
The Choose Well Scoring Device collects the Title 22 regulations and Health and Safety Code citations that the state has issued to the facility. The Choose Well scoring device computes a score based on the number of citations received by the facility, multiplied by the weight assigned to each citation. The total weighted citation score is subtracted from a perfect score of 100. The more citations a facility has received, the lower their public records score.
Quality Measure Counts
Quality Measure Counts are the number of Title 22 citations or Health and Safety Code received in each Quality Measure. In this way, you can see the number of citations in the areas of care that matter to you.
The best way to understand a Choose Well Score is to know what care and services your loved one needs. You want to match these needs with what the facility can provide. If you review the 11 Quality Measures, you can better match your resident's needs with the care a facility provides.
For example, if you know your loved one needs help with medications, then you want to know the number of citations a facility has received in Quality Measure 11 (Medical Needs and Responsiveness). This Quality Measure tells you how well the facility assists with medications, among other services. If your resident has dementia and wanders in the evening, then you want to know the number of citations in Quality Measure 7 (Staffing), and Quality Measure 9 (Specialty Care). These Quality Measures tell you about these aspects of care.
What do the Quality Measures tell you?
Choose Well's 11 Quality Measures tells you how well the facility is providing care, measured by the number of Title 22 and Health and Safety Code citations a facility has received in the Quality Measure. For example, if a facility has a score of ‘0’ in Quality Measure 1 – Activities and Socialization, that means the facility has not been cited by the state for any deficiencies related to Activities and Socialization. Another example is that a facility has a score of ‘3’ in Quality Measure 6 – Resident Rights. That means that the facility has received three citations related to violating resident rights.
QM #1 Activities and Socialization
This QM looks at how well the facility provides activities and interesting things for residents to do.
QM #2 Emergency Disaster Planning
Is the facility prepared for an emergency, and do they regularly conduct fire drills and evacuation planning? You want to know if the facility is prepared for helping your family member during an earthquake or a fire evacuation.
QM #3 Facility Maintenance & Safety
This QM assesses how the facility is maintained (cleanliness, good repair, good lighting), fire safety equipment and practices, and making sure the facility doesn't take more residents than it is authorized to have. The facility is supposed to provide closet space for residents and access to the telephone.
QM #4 Food & Nutrition
This QM assesses if a facility serves the required three nutritious meals a day, snacks and enough for the residents to drink. The facility also has to have enough food on hand to last a few days. The facility kitchen is supposed to use safe food handling rules. And, if your resident needs a special diet, or needs to have food chopped, cut, or pureed, this QM assesses if the facility does that.
QM #5 Non-Compliance Conference Summary Status
If a facility goes out of compliance with state regulations or Health and Safety Codes, the state inspectors will call a special conference with the assisted living owner to find out why. These special meetings are intended to impress on the provider the importance of taking care of people the right way and reminds facilities they must be compliant with the state regulations or Health and Safety Codes.
QM #6 Resident Rights
Every resident of an assisted living has many Personal Rights. There are also many Resident Rights. This QM looks at how well the facility is protecting and honoring those rights including the resident's right to be treated with kindness and dignity, to have his valuables protected and whether the facility follows the rules when a resident is being relocated.
QM #7 Staffing
This QM looks at how well the facility is staffed during the day and at night and that all staff have the required training. Also, whether the facility administrator has a current certification. Another staffing responsibility of the facility owner is making sure that staff know how to care for a resident's specialized care needs. A facility owner also has to take special care to make sure staff all have the required criminal background clearances before working in the facility.
QM #8 Civil Penalties
This QM is not included in the Choose Well score but you can see how much money the facility has been fined. Violations of some regulations or Health and Safety Codes are more serious than others, and when they are more serious, the facility will be fined.
QM #9 Specialty Care
If your resident needs special types of care for dementia, hospice, and/or if your resident requires total care or is bedridden, you will have special interest in this Quality Measure. Each regulation or Health and Safety Code in this Quality Measure assesses how well the facility follows the rules for these areas specialty care.
QM #10 Basic Resident Care and Supervision
This QM includes the regulations or Health and Safety Codes that state what basic services and care the facility has to give to residents. The basic services include pre-admission appraisals and reappraisals, medical assessments, observation to monitor changes in condition. This category also includes the requirements for a compliant Admissions Agreement, and facility reporting requirements to the state.
QM #11 Medical Needs and Responsiveness
This QM covers regulations or Health and Safety Codes about medication administration, following physician orders, and letting the responsible parties know about falls and injuries. This regulation also tells about how well facilities store and record resident medication, and how they respond to medical emergencies including calling 9-1-1.
If you want to know which Title 22 regulations or Health and Safety Codes are in which Quality Measure, ask the Choose Well Program Team at Contact Us. We'll be pleased to share that information with you.
