Nursing Home Engagement
Human-Centered Design (HCD) is the process CMS uses to understand the experiences of people who interact with our programs and services. Instead of making decisions based only on what we think people need, we directly involve clinicians, patients, third-party vendors, federal partners, and CMS employees to collaboratively understand the context of their work and engagement with CMS. Through this collaborative approach, CMS gathers insights that directly shape our policies and programs. This ensures CMS services aren’t just technically correct but genuinely helpful in people’s everyday lives.
In late 2017, CMS initiated the Nursing Home Human-Centered Design Customer Engagement to understand the fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare skilled nursing facility (SNF) customer experience and identify burdens the SNF customer faces. By conducting interviews and onsite visits, CMS collected firsthand insights from a wide range of external customers — including facility administrators, nursing staff, social services, MDS coordinators, residents, and their caregivers — to capture their lived experiences in skilled nursing settings.
As a product of our research, we co-created the “The Nursing Home Journey” illustration with our external customers to represent the complex realities of daily life in nursing homes, highlighting the interconnected experiences, challenges, and needs of both residents and staff across the care continuum.
The Nursing Home Customer Engagement supports CMS’ efforts to improve quality of care and reduce unnecessary burden in long-term care settings, a priority for CMS.
The Nursing Home Journey
"The Nursing Home Journey" maps the full experience of delivering and overseeing care in a skilled nursing facility, from resident admission to discharge or program termination. It highlights the interconnected responsibilities of nursing home staff, including daily care, clinical services, quality reporting, billing, and compliance with state and federal requirements.
Page Last Modified:
07/31/2025 08:18 AM