CMS Instructs State Survey Agencies On Compliance Dates

A State or two in Region VI appear to be confused about what compliance date to assign when a facility clears on a revisit. Thus, CMS recently sent a Regional Survey And Certification Letter to all State Survey Agencies to clarify the issue. Click here to see the letter. It is suspected that the letter [...]

Change In New Mexico IDR Practice

Until recently, the New Mexico Survey Agency allowed providers to file only the Informal Dispute Resolution request- without your rebuttal information- by the tenth day after receipt of the 2567. The agency then permitted additional time for filing the rebuttal information as long as it was received two weeks prior to a meeting of the [...]

A Little CMS Bird Chirps In My Ear About Inservices

I have received some insights from a source from CMS in Dallas about how your inservices could be improved that may help you when you are dealing with survey issues. The holding of an inservice in and of itself is not compelling evidence that you are fixing problems before (as part of Quality Assurance) or [...]

Ms. Manners For Surveyors

Representative Deshotel has filed a bill which mandates that surveyors treat nursing facility staff with courtesy during inspections. It reads specifically: Sec. 242.0447. DUTIES OF REPRESENTATIVES. The department shall adopt written policies requiring representatives of the department to treat the residents of an institution and the institution’s staff with courtesy, consideration, and respect during an [...]

Double Penalties

If you have a pending nursing home Civil Penalty case based on a survey that predates September 1, 2003 and you have already paid a Federal Civil Monetary penalty, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals has rendered a favorable decision. The case is The State of Texas v. Haltom Medical Investors, L.L.C. d/b/a Haltom Convalescent [...]

« Previous Page