Washington, D.C. – The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) today revealed a new resource to its assisted living members, the AL Cost Calculator. Powered by Prime Care Technologies, the AL Cost Calculator is web-based, enhanced resident assessment tool that allows assisted living providers to assess how costs are allocated across residents.
“With resident acuity on the rise and workforce availability shrinking, assisted living providers face increasing pressures to efficiently and effectively meet consumer demands,” said Chris Mason, CEO of Senior Housing Managers and NCAL Immediate Past Chair. “The AL Cost Calculator will allow assisted living providers to better understand the full needs of their residents, so they can put the right staff with the right skills in the right place at the right time.”
The AL Cost Calculator allows an assisted living community to assess costs by completing an assessment with 25 possible health and service categories for each resident. Users then enter in wages for licensed and unlicensed staff, and then the AL Cost Calculator computes the average monthly costs for each resident and the overall monthly costs for the community. Other anticipated monthly costs, such as taxes and benefits, may also be factored in to total costs. The platform offers customizable graphs of the cost data and allows multi-facility organizations the ability to compare costs between multiple assisted living communities within each company.
“This data is imperative in today’s value-based marketplace,” said NCAL Executive Director Scott Tittle. “As managed care companies, accountable care organizations, and other health care providers look to partner with high-quality, low-cost providers, assisted living communities could use the AL Cost Calculator to help demonstrate their value. NCAL is pleased to offer yet another data solution to help assisted living providers stay ahead of the curve.”
The AL Cost Calculator is a software tool available exclusively to NCAL member communities at no additional cost. Members must register for the tool through the association’s website. NCAL does not utilize the AL Cost Calculator to analyze or compile data regarding the costs/revenues of any assisted living communities.
To learn more about the AL Cost Calculator, please visit www.ALCostCalculator.com.
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) represent more than 13,000 non-profit and proprietary skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, sub-acute centers and homes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. By delivering solutions for quality care, AHCA/NCAL aims to improve the lives of the millions of frail, elderly and individuals with disabilities who receive long term or post-acute care in our member facilities each day. For more information, please visit www.ahca.org or www.ncal.org.