Although nursing homes’ new survey routine seems to be going smoothly, infection prevention problems continue to undermine quality care delivery.

That was a key message from Evan Schulman, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’deputy director for the Division of Nursing Homes, while speaking at the American Association of Directors of Nursing Services’ annual meeting in late June.

Schulman said that infection prevention is the leading deficiency under the new survey, just as it was during the prior process. There are upward of 3 million healthcare-acquired infections each year, he noted.

“It’s a very, very challenging problem,” he said. He gave the example of one facility that was cited after an employee failed to wash up or change gloves when handling fecal matter.

“Really, that basic,” he said. “We have got to do better on handwashing.”