What You Missed – July 13, 2022 National NH Stakeholder Call

Posted in INDUSTRY NEWS, Long-Term Care

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP 
Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare

Another National Nursing Home Stakeholder Call was held the afternoon of Wednesday, July 13, 2022.

There was an overview of the new surveyor guidance issued on June 29, 2022. (Reference this blog post; also this blog post for CMS training resources.)  This overview highlighted the key components of Appendix PP (currently available only in advance copy format). CMS noted that it received more than 3,000 provide/stakeholder comments regarding the request for minimum staffing information in the FY2023 SNF PPS proposed rule.  CMS is working through those comments. CMS answered a stakeholder question from the Q&A box regarding the facility Infection Preventionist still being required to be part-time.  CMS replied, rather ambiguously I thought, that facilities may need more than 1, possible 2 or more … indicating that it depended on what the individual facility needed (those needs are identified in your Facility Assessment).  I cite this from page 775 of the updated Appendix PP as food for thought:

A representative from CDC spoke to Enhanced Barrier Precautions updates made on July 12, 2022. Implementation of Enhanced Barrier Precautions in Nursing Homes Presentation (PowerPoint training slide deck) is available (this was played during this national call).  The script is found beneath each slide, for example:

CMS is very concerned with the number of nursing home residents colonized with MDROs.  The link to the PDF document is found here:  Implementation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Use in Nursing Homes to Prevent Spread of Multidrug-resistant Organisms (MDROs). This document is 7 pages in length.

CMS representatives, including Evan Shulman, addressed the updating of the Five-Star Staffing Measures for the July Care Compare Refresh (see blog post).

This Stakeholder call ended after 45 minutes.  I did ask, via the Q&A box, if these Stakeholder calls would be replacing Open Door Forums for SNFs/LTCs (the last such ODF was April 28, 2022).  The CMS representative that answered my question said that there would still be ODFs with the next one scheduled for 2pm ET on Thursday, August 4, 2022. As of this writing, that SNF/LTC ODF has not been posted so mark a placeholder on your calendar for it then watch for my blog on the details when they’re available.