Mailing Letter #1 and FAQ

Attachment E-2 – Mailing #1 letter and FAQs

[NCHS Letterhead]

Date

Name of Director

Name of Community/Center

Community/Center Address

Community/Center city, state, zip code

Dear <NAME OF DIRECTOR>,

You are invited to participate in the 2020 National Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Study (NPALS), formerly known as the National Study of Long-Term Care Providers or NSLTCP). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics conducts NPALS.

To participate in this important study you may complete the questionnaire by web over a safe and secure network by going to this URL address and typing in your unique User ID and password:

URL:

User ID:

Password:

Benefits to completing by web include getting only the questions that apply to your community/center based on your responses—so it takes less time—and having the option to print a copy of your completed questionnaire for your records. However, if you prefer to use hardcopy, please complete the enclosed questionnaire and return it in the pre-addressed, postage-paid envelope provided.

Please submit your questionnaire by web or hardcopy by _______ to avoid receiving another questionnaire for this community.

Completing the questionnaire will take 30 minutes on average. Before starting, please consult or have your records available to be prepared to answer questions on the number of residents/participants (see question X), numbers of select types of staff (see question X), and the demographic distribution, activities of daily living, health conditions, and health care use of the residents/participants (see questions X-X).

NPALS data inform long-term care providers, planners, researchers, and policymakers about the important work your community/center does to meet the needs of your residents/participants and their families. Your participation in this survey is voluntary, but will assist greatly in helping to further our nation’s understanding of the long-term care needs of seniors and younger adults with disabilities. The information you provide will be used only for statistical purposes and held in the strictest confidence. See http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsltcp/nsltcp_products.htm for examples of products using NPALS data.

On the back of this letter are Frequently Asked Questions. If you need technical support or have questions, visit http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsltcp.htm or call (XXX) XXX-XXXX.

Thank you, in advance, for your help in this important study.

Sincerely,

Brian Moyer, PhD

Director, National Center for Health Statistics

2020 National Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Study (NPALS)

Residential Care Community Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why should I participate in this survey?

CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) recognizes that residential care communities are an important component of the long-term care spectrum in the United States. NCHS’ National Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Study (NPALS) (formerly known as the National Study of Long-Term Care Providers or NSLTCP) tracks changes, every two years, in the supply and use of seven major sectors of long-term care services—assisted living and similar residential care, adult day, home health, nursing home, hospice, inpatient rehabilitation, and long-term care hospital. When you participate in NPALS, you help ensure that the survey data for residential care communities and current residents are up-to-date and accurately portray your industry to health care planners and policymakers.

Should I participate if I participated a couple of years ago?

Yes. Your participation in this 2020 survey is important. NPALS is conducted every two years to obtain accurate, up-to-date information about residential care communities, other long-term care providers, and the people they serve to detect changes in the long-term care industry over time.

What other residential care communities are being contacted to participate in this survey?

The survey includes about 11,600 residential care communities. To protect the privacy of individual residential care communities, their staff, and the residents they serve, we do not release the names of these residential care communities to anyone.

Why can’t some other community take our place?

You represent other communities like yours. If you do not participate in NPALS, there is no guarantee that residential care communities like yours will be represented adequately and the representation of your community’s unique qualities may be lost.

Where did you get my name?

Individual state licensing agencies provided the names of all licensed, certified, or otherwise regulated residential care communities in their respective states.

Will the results be made public?

Yes. NCHS intends to publish reports using 2020 NPALS survey data starting in late 2021. Reports will be published at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsltcp.htm. If you would like to be notified when new NPALS products are available, please subscribe to the NCHS long-term care listserv by going to http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsltcp/longterm_listserv.htm and completing the steps. While results from this survey will be made publicly available, all data will be kept strictly confidential and aggregated, so that the names of the communities, staff, residents, and respondents will not be identifiable.

Who will see my information?

We take your privacy very seriously. The information you give us is used for statistical research only. This means that your information will be combined with other people’s information in a way that protects everyone’s identity. As required by federal law, only those NCHS employees, our specially designated agents (such as RTI International), and our full research partners who must use your personal information for a specific reason can see your list. Anyone else is allowed to use your data only after all information that could identify you has been removed.

Strict laws prevent us from releasing information that could identify your information to anyone else without your consent. A number of federal laws require that all information we collect be held in strict confidence: Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242m(d)), the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (Title III of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Pub. L. No. 115-435, 132 Stat. 5529)), and the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a). Every NCHS employee, contractor, research partner, and agent has taken an oath to keep your information private. Anyone who willfully discloses ANY identifiable information could get a jail term of up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

Who supports this study?

This survey is supported by the Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL), American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA), Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), LeadingAge, and the National Center for Assisted Living/American Health Care Association (NCAL/AHCA). The enclosed letter of support provides this specific information.

Where should I mail my completed questionnaire?

Please return your completed questionnaire in the enclosed pre-addressed, postage-paid envelope. The address is: ______

If I choose to complete the web questionnaire, can I stop partway through and start again, at a later time, where I left off?

Yes. The answers you entered will be saved, and you can pick up, at a later time, where you left off. You will not need to start the web questionnaire from the beginning again.

For more FAQS see [RCC participant webpage]

2020 National Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Study (NPALS)

Adult Day Services Center Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why should I participate in this survey?

CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) recognizes that adult day services centers are an important component of the long-term care spectrum in the United States. NCHS’ National Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Study (NPALS) (formerly known as the National Study of Long-Term Care Providers or NSLTCP) tracks changes, every two years, in the supply and use of seven major sectors of long-term care services—adult day, assisted living and similar residential care, home health, nursing home, hospice, inpatient rehabilitation, and long-term care hospital. When you participate in NPALS, you help ensure that the survey data for adult day services centers and enrolled participants are up-to-date and accurately portray your industry to health care planners and policymakers.

Should I participate if I participated a couple of years ago?

Yes. Your participation in this 2020 survey is important. NPALS is conducted every two years to obtain accurate, up-to-date information about adult day services centers, other long-term care providers, and the people they serve to detect changes in the long-term care industry over time.

What other adult day services centers are being contacted to participate in this survey?

The survey includes about 5,500 adult day services centers operating in the United States. To protect the privacy of individual centers, their staff, and the participants they serve, we do not release the names of these centers to anyone.

Why can’t some other center take our place?

You represent other centers like yours. If you do not participate in NSLTCP, there is no guarantee that adult day services centers like yours will be represented adequately and the representation of your center’s unique qualities will be lost.

Where did you get my name?

A nonprofit association of adult day services centers, under contract to NCHS, compiled a list of all adult day services centers in the U.S.

Will the results be made public?

Yes. NCHS intends to publish reports using 2020 NPALS survey data starting in late 2021. Reports will be published at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsltcp.htm. If you would like to be notified when new NPALS products are available, please subscribe to the NCHS long-term care listserv by going to http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsltcp/longterm_listserv.htm and completing the steps. While results from this survey will be made publicly available, all data will be kept strictly confidential and aggregated, so that the names of the centers, staff, participants, and respondents will not be identifiable.

Who will see my information?

We take your privacy very seriously. The information you give us is used for statistical research only. This means that your information will be combined with other people’s information in a way that protects everyone’s identity. As required by federal law, only those NCHS employees, our specially designated agents (such as _____), and our full research partners who must use your personal information for a specific reason can see your list. Anyone else is allowed to use your data only after all information that could identify you has been removed.

Strict laws prevent us from releasing information that could identify your information to anyone else without your consent. A number of federal laws require that all information we collect be held in strict confidence: Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242m(d)), the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (Title III of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Pub. L. No. 115-435, 132 Stat. 5529)), and the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a). Every NCHS employee, contractor, research partner, and agent has taken an oath to keep your information private. Anyone who willfully discloses ANY identifiable information could get a jail term of up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

Who supports this study?

This survey is supported by the National Adult Day Services Association (NADSA), LeadingAge, and the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD). The enclosed letter of support provides this specific information.

Where should I mail my completed questionnaire?

Please return your completed questionnaire in the enclosed pre-addressed, postage-paid envelope. The address is: ______

If I choose to complete the web questionnaire, can I stop partway through and start again, at a later time, where I left off?

Yes. The answers you entered will be saved, and you can pick up, at a later time, where you left off. You will not need to start the web questionnaire from the beginning again.

For more FAQS see [ADSC participant webpage]