Long-Term Care Survey Alert

This subacute facility knows where to collect info for the form quickly.

Facilities with lots of short-stay residents find themselves on a short leash when trying to complete the CMS-802 after surveyors arrive.

If the MDS team hasn't yet completed an MDS on a resident, it has to collect the information for the CMS-802 (roster, sample matrix) by hand, notes Nathan Lake, RN, an MDS expert in Seattle. And that can be a challenge if you have a lot of short-stay residents who may not have MDSs in the system at any given time. "It's very difficult to keep the CMS-802 current" in that type of scenario, says Sheryle Thomas, RN, RNC, MDS coordinator for Superior Woods Healthcare Center, a subacute nursing facility in Ypsilanti, MI. In fact, the facility staff doesn't prepare the CMS-802 until surveyors arrive, but they know where to collect the information and quickly. The staff collects some information at admission from the resident's medical record. They also use CareTracker, which provides access to information about continence status and ADLs in real time. And it maintains some information about residents' status using a HIPAA-compliant board in the nursing station. Staff also glean information from shift report sheets and the medication administration and treatment records.

Don't pass the buck: The MDS team has designated one person to complete the form in about an hour, "although we may have to correct it to accommodate admissions and discharges," says Thomas. "The surveyors are usually understanding because they know we have so many short-stay residents," she adds.