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Have a suggestion for a future topic? Click the link below and submit your suggestion.
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| Have You Notified Your Residents?
Click the link below to download and/or print the contact list for various agencies.
REQUIRED Agency Contact Information for Residents of LTC Facilities |
| Which Enforcement Branch is Serving You?
To provide the highest level of service, the Division of Health Care operates through four regional offices. Knowing the appropriate Enforcement Branch to contact with questions and concerns will ensure you receive maximum service in minimum time. Review links below for detailed information.
Regional Map Contact Information |
| LTC Facility Self-Reported Incidents & Complaints 
New email addresses have been established for all email communications regarding LTC Facility Self-Reported Incidents and for use by residents and the general public to report possible violations of regulatory requirements.
Each DHC Enforcement Branch has an assigned email address to receive this information. Review the map in the above article to determine the appropriate Enforcement Branch. Click Here for new email addresses and additional contact information.
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|  CMS Survey and Certification memoranda, guidance, clarifications and instructions to State Survey Agencies and CMS Regional Offices. Survey and Certification Letters |
| Kentucky's Top 10 Citations for Nursing Homes |
| Health Care Life Safety Code |
| FIND AN OMBUDSMAN
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The Kentucky LTC Ombudsman Program recently updated the LTC Ombudsman Directory. The directory includes contact information for each of the 15 districts.
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Transfer/Discharge Hearing Appeals
Please
submit your requests for transfer/discharge hearing appeals to Secretary Glisson, Cabinet for Health and Family Services by emailing:
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| Surveyor Training Website
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Enter Here
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This CMS website provides training information to include the preceptor manual, the State Operations Manual and other documents.
As always, the survey and certification process is a collaborative effort between CMS and providers. This website will allow providers the opportunity to take the same courses as surveyors.
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Division of Health Care Leadership Team
Acting Inspector General
Assistant Director
Assistant Director
Pharmacy Consultant
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Long Term Care
Provider Newsletter
September
2017
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Hello Everyone,
Time is flying by and I can't believe it is already time for the September LTC newsletter to go out. So much information on new regulations and the new survey process is coming at us (and you, too) that it is hard to know what to read or do first.
I will start by letting you know that we are working extensively with your LTC Associations to secure their help in providing venues and other assistance for two provider training sessions on the new LTC survey process and the new regulatory requirements. These will be two-day sessions open to all providers, and the training will be provided by OIG staff, and will most likely include CMS staff who may conduct a portion of the training, and who will be available to answer questions and provide clarification where needed. The trainings will most likely be held during November or very early December. Stay tuned to upcoming newsletters for further information. Also, I want to express my appreciation for the willingness of the LTC Associations to work with OIG on this project and the resources they are providing to get venues secured within a short timeframe!
There is another issue I would like to discuss briefly. It has been brought to our attention that there may be some confusion as to what constitutes an incident of "severe bodily injury" that would be required to be reported within 2 hours to the survey agency. An example was given of a resident who is just walking down the hall and trips over her own feet, falls, and sustains a hip fracture or severe head injury. The fall was witnessed, and there was no abuse or neglect involved. Would it be required to report this severe bodily injury?
The regulations regarding reporting of "severe bodily injury" start with the phrase "In response to allegations of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or mistreatment, the facility must: ...Ensure that all alleged violations involving abuse, neglect, exploitation or mistreatment, including injuries of unknown source and misappropriation of resident property, are reported immediately, but not later than 2 hours after the allegation is made, if the events that cause the allegation involve abuse or result in serious bodily injury...".
Therefore, regarding the scenario of the witnessed accidental fall with serious injury, there would be no requirement to report within two hours as there was no allegation or suspicion of abuse, even though there was serious bodily injury unless neglect related to the fall was suspected or alleged and resulted in serious bodily injury.
So, to try and summarize as simply as possible in a single sentence, if there was no abuse or neglect alleged or suspected, or a reasonable suspicion of a crime, and there was an accident that resulted in serious bodily harm, then the facility would not be required to report it. I hope this explanation provides some clarification on this issue.
All our survey and management staff have participated in the live CMS webinar on the new LTC survey process during the last week of August. The process is quite different and there is much for us to learn. This means our staff will be extremely busy during the next 2 months participating in additional training sessions, while trying to keep up with survey schedule timeframes and complaint investigations. We know all of you are also in overdrive mode as you work to learn and implement all the new regulations, so perhaps we can all share a kind smile with each other as we struggle through these changes together.
Sandra Houchen, Director
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CMS Releases MDS Rules
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 On October 1, 2017, the MDS 3.0 RAI Manual v1.15 will be updated to support CMS' focus on person-centered care and better align the Minimum Data Set (MDS) with the Reform of Requirements for Long-term Care Facilities (aka the Mega-Rule) and the advance copy of Appendix PP, "Guidance to Surveyors for Long-term Care Facilities," of the State Operations Manual (SOM).
Article by Caralyn Davis. Reprinted with permission from the American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordination (AANAC).
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Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program
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Review and Correct Reports & Confidential Feedback Reports
 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) providers were recently notified of two issues affecting the SNF QRP Review and Correct Reports & Confidential Feedback Reports. Click here for more information.
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A Message from the KY LTC Ombudsman Program
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Transfer/Discharge Notices to the Ombudsman Program
CMS issued a Survey and Certification memo (
17-27-NH
) on May 12, 2017, that provides clarification regarding copies of transfer and discharge notices to the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. These notices should be emailed to nhoa@ombuddy.org.
Read More
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A Message from Kentucky's QIN - QIO
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The Office of Inspector General is pleased to provide information from the CMS funded QSource and atom Alliance, the Quality Innovation Network (QIN) - Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) for Kentucky.
Click link below
to read a message from
Kentucky's QIN-QIO:
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* Attention Long Term Care Providers *
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QIO Offers Valuable Training
The Office of Inspector General encourages you to read Kentucky's QIO announcement regarding several excellent training modules they have developed, which have been well-received by facilities for whom the QIO has provided training. If your facility has received an Immediate Jeopardy level deficiency or has been selected as a Special Focus Facility, Kentucky's QIO can provide valuable and FREE assistance and training.
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Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 - Basic Training
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This two day training has been scheduled for November 6-7, 2017 and is open to Kentucky providers only. The training will be held at Four Points by Sheraton, 1938 Stanton Way, Lexington, KY.
Register on the KY TRAIN website
- Search for Course ID: 1070962. Each attendee will need to register individually in order to receive credit for attending. Online registration is open until October 31, 2017.
The Kentucky Board of Nursing has approved 11.50 contact hours for RNs and LPNs. Kentucky Administrators will also receive contact hours. Participants MUST stay for the entire course in order to receive CEUs.
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Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 -
Advanced Training
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This one day training has been scheduled for November 9, 2017 and is open to Kentucky providers only. The training will be held at Four Points by Sheraton, 1938 Stanton Way, Lexington, KY.
Register on the KY TRAIN website
- Search for Course ID: 1071593. Each attendee will need to register individually in order to receive credit for attending. Online registration is open until October 31, 2017.
The Kentucky Board of Nursing has approved 7.00 contact hours for RNs and LPNs. Kentucky Administrators will also receive contact hours. Participants MUST stay for the entire course in order to receive CEUs.
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ACCOMMODATIONS
FOR MDS TRAININGS
F
or overnight accommodations, contact Four Points by Sheraton at 888-627-8157 or make online reservations by clicking Basic MDS or Advanced MDS. A discounted rate is being offered to attendees under the Office of Inspector General Room Block. The cut off date for making reservations is October 18, 2017.
TRAINING CONTACT INFORMATION
Please contact Melissa Richard or Jami Biggs at 502-564-7963 for assistance with KY TRAIN or for more details about any of our training opportunities.
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New CMS Training Videos
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LTC Survey Process Phase 2
 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has created the Long Term Care Survey Process SME videos that outline essential topics related to changes in the LTC regulations scheduled to be implemented for Phase 2. The training videos review the highlights of 11 key topics for the Interpretive Guidance including for example, person-centered care, sufficient and competent staff, pharmacy services and infection control. Additionally, these videos review key components of the regulation requirements. The course is available on the
Integrated Surveyor Training Website (ISTW)
.
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MDS/RAI UPDATES
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During the previous system downtime, CMS made several updates to their applications involving MDS data.
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MDS/RAI CONTACT INFORMATION
Jennifer Smith - MDS Assessment/Coding
Rhonda Littleton-Roe - Transmission or Technical
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