Pneumonia due to other specified organism (483)

The first reporting period is just around the corner in mid-June. On May 11, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an interim final rule that includes a new provision: Long-Term Care (LTC) Facility Vaccine Immunization Requirements [...]

Question: With a change in administration, are the waivers enacted during the public health emergency (PHE), particularly concerning training exemptions for nurse aides, still in place? New Mexico Subscriber Answer: As of publication, there has been no word from Centers [...]

Understand updated rules for PHE extension, in-person visits, infection control incentive payments, and more. Multiple government agencies have released updates that directly affect skilled nursing facilities, including issuing guidance that is different from what SNFs were previously told. With the [...]

Through waivers and other means, CMS is trying to let facilities focus on care. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is easing certain requirements during the public health emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. From staff training to reporting, [...]

Prioritize infection control measures, but consider ways for residents to interact safely, too. As nursing homes and communities move to lessen various restrictions, state survey agencies are instructed to adjust their survey expectations again to abide by the White House [...]

CMS is carrying on with some regular updates and introducing others specifically to deal with COVID-19. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that it will now be enforcing already established requirements surrounding the reporting of infection [...]

Question: What nursing credentials does a facility staff member need to serve as the infection preventionist? New Mexico Subscriber Answer: In responding to comments on a proposed rule that prescribed that the infection control and prevention specialist or infection preventionist (IP) must [...]

Hint: Generally, CMS plans to ease burdens on facilities and physicians. For the past couple years, your facility has perhaps gone headlong into preparations for the various changes in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Requirements of Participation [...]

Fully understand these expert tips so you can play by surveyors’ rules. If a facility has identified an issue under the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) umbrella and made a good-faith attempt to correct it, surveyors won’t give citations [...]

Question: I work for a skilled nursing facility and we have a resident transferring to another SNF. Do we need to prepare and send care plan the resident upon discharge from our facility? Indiana Subscriber Answer: Yes, otherwise you may [...]