Now Available: Nursing Home Five Star Quality Rating System Updates, Nursing Home Staff Counts and Frequently Asked Questions
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) works to ensure the health and safety of nursing home residents by enforcing the standards required to help each resident attain or maintain their highest level of well-being. In light of the recent spread of COVID-19, CMS has taken several actions to help control and prevent the spread of the virus.
In a recent memo to State Survey Agencies, CMS announced that the inspection domain of the Nursing Home Compare website will be held constant temporarily due to the prioritization and suspension of certain surveys, to ensure the rating system reflects fair information for consumers.
In addition, CMS is releasing information that shows the average number of staff each nursing home has onsite, each day (nursing staff and total staff), and aggregated by state and nationally. Nursing homes are required to report direct care staffing information through the PBJ system (per 42 CFR 483.70(q)). To date, this information has been used to calculate staffing measures and staffing ratings for each nursing home. However, this information is also capable of supporting the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Five-Star Quality Rating Information
CMS also released a list of FAQs to clarify some of the topics and content in the materials released. These topics include:
- Individuals entering and leaving nursing homes, such as visitation, the use of civil money penalty (CMP) funds for communicative devices, health care workers, and residents leaving for appointments;
- Surveys and the Infection Control Self-Assessment;
- Waivers of Federal Requirements; and
- Resident cohorting, separation, and admission, including admitting residents discharged from hospitals.
Frequently Asked Questions [page 4 of the CMS memo]