items from the Minimum Data Set can be organized to screen for depression in nursing-home residents. Further testing of the instrument is now needed.

Patients admitted to postacute skilled nursing facilities with delirium are more likely to experience complications, rehospitalization, and death than patients without delirium. These findings support the need for improved case finding and management of delirium in postacute care.

The data from this study provide strong preliminary evidence that, in patients newly admitted to post-acute care facilities from acute care hospitals, delirium symptoms are prevalent, persistent, and associated with poor functional recovery. Educational efforts are warranted to help post-acute facility staff recognize and manage this common and morbid condition.