New information is expected soon from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on how nursing homes can comply with regulators’ Requirements of Participation.
Specifics on how to meet infection preventionist, ethics, care planning and other requirements were anxiously awaited at press time. Experts urged providers to actively prepare for them and start working with a staff infection preventionist.
The rules were fundamentally rewritten and implemented in three phases starting in 2016 but still have not been fully realized.
Interpretive guidance would have been out “months ago” if not for a mid-year rise in COVID-19 cases, an official said in October. Rules were initially set to be enforced starting Nov. 28, 2019.
Phase 3 requires resident care plans to include specialized or rehab services; ensuring residents receive trauma-informed care if needed; more Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement program elements; an infection preventionist; new compliance and ethics standards; bedside call systems; and formalized training programs.
From the December 2021 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
