N Wellington Associates Discusses Phase 1 of the Final Rule, as Plans are Ongoing for Phase 2 of the Long Term Care Regulations
SILVER SPRING, Md., July 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- N Wellington Associates, a healthcare management consulting company for long term care facilities and small size organizations looks back at November 28, 2016 Phase 1 implementation. The long term care community is half-way through Phase 1, while planning and preparing for Phase 2.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) indicated that the comprehensive revisions to the long term care regulations were necessary "due to the substantial advances that have been made over the past several years in the theory and practice of service delivery and safety."1 Long term care providers and professionals have noted through the years that the patients/residents in skilled nursing facilities and in nursing homes have changed to more clinically complex and higher acuity.
Article titled: "Mega Rule Update: What it Means for You", noted that "The overall purpose of the Final Rule is to improve care, safety, and consumer protection for long term care facilities. The rule change targets very specific policies, in order to bring focus to reducing unnecessary rehospitalization, readmissions, and infections, as well as improving the quality of care and increasing the safety of residents."2
Phase 1 kept the existing regulations with additions of some minor changes. March 8, 2017 CMS issued a Revised State Operations Manual (SOM) for the nursing homes. Newly revised parts of the SOM are printed in red ink. Surveyors are currently using this SOM to survey all facilities during November 28, 2016 to November 28, 2017. Facilities at this time should have developed required policies and procedures and should continue continued in-service staff training. Areas of focus for staff:
New definitions for: "Abuse", "Adverse Event", "Exploitation", "Misappropriation of resident property", "Mistreatment", "Neglect", "Person-centered Care", "Resident Representative", "Sexual Abuse"
Resident Rights
Discharge planning process for all residents
Comprehensive Person-centered Care Planning by the interdisciplinary team; nurse aide taking care of the resident should be part of the care planning meeting when the resident's care planning is being discussed. PASARR should be part of the patient/resident assessment, care plan and discharge.
Behavioral health services.
Quality of Care, need to consistently remain a focus
All other areas of the regulations
Facilities should at this time be on top of Phase 1 requirements. Administrators, Directors of Nursing and staffs should keep abreast and stay abreast of the Final Rule Phase 1, to ensure quality of care; quality of life and safety are provided to meet residents' needs, because surveyors check for compliance. CMS' requirements for participation in the Medicare and Medicaid Programs need to be maintained through compliance with the regulations.
N Wellington Associates LLC assists our clients by providing interim leadership, educational in-services on regulatory compliance and policies and procedures, and monitoring tools for Quality and Safety, so they can provide quality services and outcomes for their clients and customers. We believe in and are committed to self-development and continued growth. We make a difference to help our clients make a difference in quality and safety.
Contact Information:
N Wellington Associates
Nora Wellington
[email protected]
(301) 933-9246
www.nwellingtonassociates.com
1 Federal Register/Vol. 81, No. 192/Tuesday, October 4, 2016/Rules and Regulations
2 American Association of Nurses Assessment Coordinators
SOURCE N Wellington Associates
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