The Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research at Brown University is pleased to announce the launch of www.LTCfocUS.org , a new long-term care research and policy website.  The website is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging funded Shaping Long-Term Care in America project housed at the Brown University Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research.  LTCFocUS.org is an exciting new resource for long-term care researchers and policy analysts because users can interact with the website in two ways: 1) by creating interactive maps and tables and, 2) by downloading all data available on the site.

LTCfocUS.org incorporates professional and graphically sophisticated maps, tables, and other visualizations of data related to nursing home care in the United States.  It provides users with research abstracts and publications and allows users to create linked maps to gather information about states, counties, or individual nursing homes. All data provided on the website are also available to download.

The website provides data gathered from existing federal sources including Medicare reimbursement claims, Online Survey Certification And Reporting (OSCAR) data, Minimum Data Set (MDS) data, as well as our own survey of state Medicaid policies. The goal of the website is to allow researchers to trace clear relationships between state policies and local market forces and the quality of long-term care. Policy-makers will also be able to use the information to craft state and local guidelines that promote high-quality, cost-effective, equitable care to older Americans.