Though some provisions in phase three of the Requirements of Participation have been delayed for a year, there are still several critical aspects operators need to be prepared for by their November 28 deadline.
LTC facilities and nurse administrators should still be prepared to implement several provisions by the original deadline, such as requirements for trauma-informed care, training and the infection preventionist role.
Most providers will be ready to add an infection preventionist, but they may struggle with knowing the amount of time they should dedicate to the role, Amy Stewart, vice president of curriculum for the American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing, believes.
She said providers could use the role to assess their facilities, know how many and what kinds of infections their facility has dealt with in the past, and learn whether those infections were facility-acquired or if residents were admitted with them and develop prevention efforts.
“If they’re not ready, they could be risking survey citations,” Stewart told
McKnight’s. “Focusing on those areas that are not delayed is key to survey success.”
From the September 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
