Providers were scrambling at deadline to meet the first requirement of the new federal staffing mandate: completing a beefed up facility assessment that gives more weight to residents’ behavioral health needs and better tracks acuity to help determine caregiving needs.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in June issued surveyor guidance governing enforcement of the new assessment standards, which were set to go into effect Aug. 8. Some providers, however, said the rule and the guidance left unanswered major questions such as what should trigger a new assessment and what kind of evidence to use in evaluating patient and staff needs.
“The assessment of the resident population should drive staffing decisions and inform the facility about what skills and competencies staff must possess in order to deliver the necessary care required by the residents being served,” CMS said in its June 18 memo.
The assessment is meant to underpin broader staffing requirements and could push a building’s required hourly levels above what’s included in the rule finalized May 10.
Some provider advocates have warned it could trip up operators who fail to take into account new criteria or don’t reassess conditions often enough to meet a requirement to update their documents when patient conditions change.
From the July/August 2024 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
