Scientific Data Documentation
Inventory of Long Term Care Places, 1986
DSN: CC36.ILTCP86
ABSTRACT
General Information
This material provides documentation for users of the micro-data
tape of the Inventory of Long-Term Care Places (ILTCP) Survey
conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in
cooperation with the National Center for Health Services Research
(NCHSR), and Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA).
Section I, "Description of the Inventory of Long-Term Care
Places", includes information on the history of the ILTCP, the
scope of the survey, data collection procedures, and editing
procedures. Section II provides technical details of the tape
(number of tracks, record length, etc.). Section III provides a
detailed description of the contents of each data record, by
location.
Introduction
This document is to be used with the 1986 ILTCP micro-data tape.
This ILTCP data tape contains approximately 26,500 nursing and
related-care homes and about 14,500 facilities for the mentally
retarded. The total number of homes on this tape is approximately
41,000.
History
The NCHS in cooperation with HCFA, and the NCHSR employed the
Bureau of the Census to conduct the 1986 ILTCP. The purpose of
the survey was to provide a current sampling frame for two
portions (nursing and related care homes, and facilities for the
mentally retarded) of the Institutional Population Component of
the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey.
Construction of ILTCP File
The file was constructed by the Long-Term Care Statistics Branch
(LTCSB) of NCHS. The starting point for nursing and related-care
homes was the final data tape from the 1982 National Master
Facility Inventory (NMFI) plus new facilities added through April
of 1984. The starting point for facilities for the mentally
retarded was a 1982 study by the University of Minnesota's Center
for Residential and Community Services (CRCS). There were
approximately 26,000 nursing homes, etc. and 15,000 mental
retardation (MR) facilities on these two original files.
To update the files, letters were sent to over 200 State and
national agencies in July of 1985 asking them to send LTCSB any
and all listings that they maintained for nursing and related-
care homes, and MR facilities. In September, the LTCSB sent
follow-up letters to those agencies that had not responded.
These follow-up letters would very often name the specific types
of facilities that each agency was known to license or regulate.
Additional contacts were made to nonresponding agencies during
October, November, and December.
The Minnesota CRCS file included places that were obtained
through contacts with local area MR sources. Because of
extremely tight time restraints, LTCSB was unable to contact all
of these local area sources. The only ones contacted were those
sources that were located in States where the number of MR
facilities reported by LTCSB sources was significantly lower than
the number reported by CRCS.
As the listings and directories of facilities were received, they
were manually matched against the 26,000 nursing homes or 15,000
MR facilities. Any facility that could not be found on these two
original files was considered "new" and was assigned a unique ID
number. This number along with the new facility's name and
address were added to the appropriate nursing home or MR file.
While working with the CRCS file, almost 1,500 places were found
with no names or addresses; they were merely given numbers (e.g.,
Home #78). The reason for this, apparently, was that certain
States wanted to keep the location of these types of places
confidential. To do this, the data was collected by the State
and given to CRCS with all identifiers removed. Without
addresses, these places were useless, so they were removed from
the MR file. (We believe that many of these 1,500 places were
picked up in the listings obtained from our State sources and
therefore added back onto the file as new MR facilities.)
Clean-up of File
After adding the new facilities, a matching process was begun for
removing duplicates from within and between the two files. The
nursing home file was sorted three different ways: 1) by State,
first 10 positions of city, and first 10 positions of address; 2)
by State, first 10 positions of city, and first 10 positions of
name; 3) by State, zip, and first 10 positions of address. (In
choosing only the first 10 positions of the name, address, and
city fields, more matches were created and more duplicates could
be caught and removed.) The same procedures were repeated with
the MR file. The nursing home and MR files were then merged and
the above procedures were repeated once again. If there were any
doubts as to whether two places were duplicates, both were kept
on the file. Whatever duplicates remained on the file would, in
theory, be reported by the respondents (per instructions on the
questionnaire).
Mailout
The first questionnaire mailout was begun by the Bureau of the
Census on February 14, 1986, and this was followed by a reminder
letter a week later. On March 14, a second questionnaire mailout
was sent to all nonresponding facilities, and on April 4 a third
mailout was sent to the remaining nonrespondents.
By the end of the third mailout, nearly 3,300 post master returns
(PMRs) had accumulated. These were reviewed to determine which
ones would or would not be eligible for the telephone and
personal interview follow-up. As a result of this review,
approximately 1,400 cases were declared eligible for follow-up,
while about 1,900 were declared ineligible. The 1,900 rejects
fell into three main categories:
(1) small residential and family care homes,
(2) unknown types of facilities from New Jersey, and
(3) places with incomplete names and addresses.
The first group, with names like "Jane Smith's Guest Home" and
"Douglas Family Home", had more than likely gone out-of-business.
More than 600 of these were located in California and Michigan.
These two States together had more than 8,500 of these small
residential care facilities on the 1982 NMFI file, and virtually
all of them were retained on the ILTCP file. (Only the
duplicates would have been removed). Experience has shown that
these types of places are constantly going in and out-of-
business. After a four year interval of not being contacted, it
is not surprising that 600 of the 8,500 showed up as PMR's. The
fact that the post office could not locate them even with
complete addresses led to the decision to treat them as out-of-
business and not subject to field follow-up.
The second group consisted of facilities that were originally
obtained from New Jersey's Bureau of Rooming and Boarding House
Standards. Their listing included everything from board and care
facilities (which were in-scope) to rooming houses and
dormitories (which were out-of-scope). While each facility had a
classification code, a sizeable number of them had been
classified as unknown (because they had not yet been visited and
classified). To avoid losing the board and care places in this
group, a decision was made to include all the unknowns and remove
the out-of-scope during the survey. Approximately 350 of these
unknown facilities were found among the PMR's and eliminated from
the field follow-up.
The third group consisted of places that simply had inadequate
and undeliverable names and addresses (e.g., "Resident, Fairfax
Street, Putnam, CT 06260" and "Group Home, Marietta, GA 30060").
The field follow-up was completed in July and the final overall
response rate was 96 percent.
Past NMFI Surveys
The inclusion of facilities for the mentally retarded in the 1986
ILTCP represented the first time since the 1976 NMFI that such
places were surveyed. All previous NMFI Surveys (1967 1/, 1969
2/, 1971 3/ 1973 4/, 1976 5/, 1978 6/, 1980 7/, and 1982 8/)
included nursing and related-care homes.
Scope of the Survey
This tape contains two broad categories of facilities - (1)
nursing and related-care homes, and (2) facilities for the
mentally retarded.
The first category includes skilled nursing facilities (SNF's),
intermediate care facilities (ICF's), licensed but uncertified
nursing homes, and residential care facilities (e.g., homes for
the aged, personal care homes, board and care homes). The tape
includes approximately 26,500 of these nursing and related-care
homes. Positions 131-132 on the tape contain the letters "NH" to
identify these homes, and positions 133 subclassifies the homes
into either "N" for nursing home, "R" for residential care
facility and "U" if the information reported did not permit a
distinct classification of either "N" or "R".
To determine if an 'NH' is also a SNF or ICF you need to check
for the existence of SNF beds (positions 156-159 for Medicare
SNF, positions 160-163 for Medicaid SNF), and ICF beds (positions
164-167). NCHS classifies any nursing home with SNF beds as a
SNF, and any nursing home with ICF beds but no SNF beds as an
ICF. Hospital-based nursing homes, which can be either SNF or
ICF, can be identified by an "H" that will appear in position 190
for these places only.
The second category, facilities for the mentally retarded,
includes intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded
(ICF-MR) and all other facilities for the mentally retarded.
Positions 131-132 contain "MR" to identify these homes, and
position 133 subclassified these into either "I" for ICF-MR's or
"R" for residential (all other MR).
Positions 141-155 give additional descriptions of each facility.
Since respondents were told to mark all that apply, those
facilities that provided multiple levels of service and those
that served both the elderly and the mentally retarded can be
identified here (every category that the respondent checked will
have a "1", all categories not marked will have a "0").
Editing
All nonresponding facilities were removed from this file. Also
removed were facilities that provided day care only, outpatient
care only, or served out-of-scope population (e.g., only served
blind or deaf, alcoholics, drug abusers, and unwed mothers).
Extensive work was done to unduplicate the file, but, inevitably,
some duplicates undoubtedly still remain. However, if you spot
what you think are duplicate facilities, do not remove any until
you have examined them thoroughly. (Very often two places with
the same address are not duplicates -they merely have the same
mailing address.) If this happens, check the name field to see
if they are labelled home #1 and home #2, or home A and home B,
etc. Compare also the set-up beds (positions 127-130), because
sometimes one address will have two buildings, one for nursing
care residents and one for residential care residents. When this
occurs the number of beds reported for each building will usually
be quite different - a strong indication they are not duplicates.
The facility classification codes in positions 131-133 were
created by using all available information from the
questionnaires. Numerous matrices were used in order to place
each facility into a category. Therefore, the facility
classification codes will not always appear to coincide with the
facility description in positions 141-155.
Edits were conducted to correct inconsistencies between data
items. For missing items, every attempt was made to impute data
from existing information, but when this was not possible, 1982
data was substituted when it was available.
RECORD LAYOUT
Introduction
Tape Record Format
This section consists of a detailed breakdown of each tape
record, providing a brief description of each item of data
included in the records. The data are arranged sequentially
according to their physical location on the tape record. Unless
otherwise stated in the Item Description, the data are derived
from the ILTCP survey form.
Tape Positions 1-143
Name Position Format Item Description and Codes
Identification 1-9 X(9) NCHS unique ID number
Facility 10-55 x(46) Facility name
name (left justified and blank
filled).
Street 56-91 x(36) Street or mailing address
Address (left justified and blank
filled).
City 92-109 x(18) City
(left justified and blank
filled).
State 110-111 x(2) State abbreviation
Zip Code 112-116 9(5) Zip code of the facility
Telephone 117-126 9(10) Area code and telephone
Number number (if reported).
Total beds 127-130 9(4) Total number of set-up
beds
Type of 131-133 x(3) NHN = Nursing care
facility code NHB = Board & Care
NUU = Unable to classify
MRI = ICF-MR facility
MRB = Board & Care
(Nursing Home = 'NH'
Mental Retardation = 'MR')
Type of 134 9(1) Type of ownership code:
ownership 1 = for Profit
2 = Nonprofit
3 = Federal Government
4 = State/Local
Government
Age group 135-138 9(4) Age group served
135 9(1) under 18
1 = reported
2 = not reported
136 9(1) 18-20
1 = reported
2 = not reported
137 9(1) 21-64
1 = reported
2 = not reported
138 9(1) 65+
1 = reported
2 = not reported
Types of 139-140 9(2) Types of persons served
persons primarily or exclusively:
served 01 = Mentally ill only
02 = Mentally retarded
or development
disabled only
03 = Mentally retarded
or mentally ill
04 = Other
neurologically or
physically
handicapped
05 = Blind or deaf
06 = Unwed mothers
07 = Alcoholics or drug
abusers
08 = Orphans or other
dependent children
09 = Terminally ill
10 = Some other special
group (specify)
00 = Does not serve one
special group
primarily or
exclusively
Type of (141-155) 9 (15) Description of facility
facility (mark all that apply)
141 9 (1) A skilled nursing
facility certified
under either Medicare or
Medicaid
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
142 9(1) An intermediate care
facility (ICF)
certified under Medicaid
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
143 9(1) An intermediate care
facility certified
by Medicaid for the
mentally retarded
(ICF-MR)
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
Tape Positions 144-167
144 9(1) A licensed but not
certified nursing home
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
145 9(1) A long-term care
wing/unit of a licensed
hospital
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
146 9(1) A nursing care unit of a
retirement center
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
147 9(1) A sheltered or custodial
care home, including home
for the aged, adult
foster care home, board
and care home
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
148 9(1) Some other kind of
nursing or personal care
home
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
149 9(1) A foster home for the
mentally retarded/
developmentally disabled
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
150 9(1) A group residence for the
mentally retarded/
developmentally disabled
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
151 9(1) A semi-independent living
program for the mentally
retarded/developmentally
disabled
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
152 9(1) A State institution for
the mentally retarded/
developmentally disabled
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
153 9(1) Some other kind of place
for the mentally
retarded/developmentally
disabled
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
154 9(1) Day care facility or
outpatient facility only
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
155 9(1) None of the above
1 = this facility type
was marked
2 = this facility type
was not marked
Medicare 156-159 9(4) Number of beds certified
skilled (SNF) by Medicare as skilled
beds beds
Medicaid 160-163 9(4) Number of beds certified
skilled (SNF) by Medicaid as skilled
beds
Medicaid 164-167 9(4) Number of beds certified
intermediate by Medicaid as
(ICF) beds intermediate care beds
Tape Positions 168-190
Medicaid 168-171 9(4) Number of beds certified
intermediate by Medicaid as
(ICF-MR) beds intermediate care beds in
a retarded/
developmentally disabled
(MR)
Admissions 172-175 9(4) Number of residents
admitted to homes in
1985. These data have
not been edited.
There tends to be an
overcount of admissions
reported for homes that
are part of another
health facility.
For example, when asking
for admissions for the
nursing care unit,
admissions reported
included not only the
count for the nursing
care unit, but also a
count for the health
facility which the
nursing care unit is
attached to.
Facility 176 9(1) In operation all of 1985
status 1 = yes
2 = no
Months in 177-178 9(2) Number of months in
operation operation if less than a
year
Total 179-182 9(4) Number of current
residents residents in facility
last night
Edit flags 183-189 9(7) (A blank in these edit
fields means no
imputations were made to
the field).
183 9(1) Edit flag for ownership
8 = used 1982 data if
available
1 = imputed a '1' for
all other
imputations
184 9(1) Edit flag for set-up beds
8 = Used certified
beds, residents, or
1982 data
185 9(1) Edit flag for SNF
Medicare beds
8 = Used 1982 data
1 = Rep1aced blanks
with zeros
186 9(1) Edit flag for SNF
Medicaid beds
8 = Used 1982 data
1 = Replaced blanks
with zeros
187 9(1) Edit flag for ICF beds
8 = Used 1982 data
1 = Replaced blanks
with zeros
188 9(1) Edit flag for ICF-MR beds
1 = replaced blanks
with zeros
189 9 1 Edit flag for residents
3 = used sum of age
groups if available
Hospital-based 190 X(1) A nursing home that is
nursing homes attached to nursing
homes a hospital
H = hospital-based
nursing homes
Filler 191-200 X(10) Blanks
REFERENCES
1. National Center for Health Statistics: Inpatient health
facilities as reported from the 1967 MFI Survey, by A. Sirrocco.
Vital and Health Statistics. Series 14, No. 4. DHEW Pub. No.
(HSM) 72-1065. Public Health Services and Mental Health
Administration. Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office,
June 1972.
2. National Center for Health Statistics: Inpatient health
facilities as reported from the 1969 MFI Survey, by A. Sirrocco.
Vital and Health Statistics. Series 14, No. h. DHEW Pub. No.
(HSM) 73-1801. Health Services and Mental Health Administration.
Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, Dec. '972.
3. National Center for Health Statistics: Inpatient health
facilities as reported from the 1971 MFI Survey, by A. Sirrocco.
Vital and Health Statistics. Series 14, No. 6. DHEW Pub. No.
(HSM) 74-1807. Health Services and Mental Health Administration.
Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, Mar. l974.
4. National Center for Health Statistics: Inpatient health
facilities as reported from the 1973 MFI Survey, by A. Sirrocco.
Vital and Health Statistics. Series 14, No. 16. DHEW Pub. No.
(HRA 76-1811. Health Resources Administration. Washington. U.S.
Government Printing Office, May 1976.
5. National Center for Health Statistics: Inpatient health
facilities as reported from the 1976 MI Survey, by J. F. Sutton
and A. Sirrocco. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 14, No.
23. DHEW Pub. No. (PHS) 80-1818. Public Health Service.
Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, Jan. 1980.
6. National Center for Health Statistics: Inpatient health
facilities as reported from the 1978 MFI Survey, by G. Strahan.
Vital and Health Statistics. Series 14, No. 24. DHHS Pub. No.
(PAS) 81-1819. Office of Health Resources Statistics and
Technology. Hyattsville, Md. U.S. Government Printing Office.
Mar. 1981.
7. National Center for Health Statistics: Nursing and related-
care homes as reported from 1980 NMFI Survey, by A. Sirrocco.
Vital and Health Statistics. Series 14, No. 29. DHHS Pub. No.
(PHS) 84-1824. Public Health Service. Washington. U.S.
Government Printing office, Dec. 1983.
8. National Center for Health Statistics: Nursing and related-
care homes as reported from the 1982 NMFI Survey, by D. Roper.
Vital and Health Statistics. Series 14, No. 32. DHHS Pub. No.
(PHS) 86-1824. Public Health Service. Washington. U.S.
Government Printing Office, Sept. 1986.
