CMS Seeks Workgroup Participants Related to Staffing Evaluation

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) asked LeadingAge for assistance in identifying individuals to serve on a workgroup that will help guide the process for electronic payroll-based nursing home staffing data collection.

CMS is seeking workgroup participants in the following three categories:

1. Facilities with “sophisticated, automatic time & attendance (T&A) systems” (e.g., Kronos, ADT, etc.).\
2. Facilities with automated time & attendance systems that are from a smaller company/with smaller distribution or that the  provider has developed on its own.
3. Facilities with no  automated T&A system (using e.g., punch-clock, timecards, manual process).

Participants will be asked to join in three to four one-hour conference calls to provide suggestions and/or guidance to CMS to aid in the development of a tool for obtaining payroll-based staffing data. Included also, will be feedback on current systems and procedures, and the challenges and needs to be met in achieving successful implementation. Volunteers will not be required to provide any specific staffing-related data about their respective facilities.

Please note that some representatives have been identified for category 1, and while LeadingAge is still seeking members in this category, the association is particularly interested in identifying and nominating members who are able to represent LeadingAge from the persectives of Categories 2 and 3. CMS anticipates pilot testing and electronic submission on a voluntary basis in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, with nationwide reporting by all nursing homes by the end of FY 2016.

If you are interested in participating in this CMS Workgroup and working with the national LeadingAge team and CMS on this effort, please respond to Evvie Munley at emunley@leadingage.org or by phone at 202-508-9478. Please inlcude all contact information, name, title, address and a brief background description/bio.

Contact: Michelle Synakowski, msynakowski@leadingageny.org, 518-867-1323