LeadingAge NY Attends LTC Provider Association Meeting with DOH

LeadingAge NY staff recently attended the bimonthly long term care (LTC) provider association meeting with the Department of Health (DOH).

KellyAnn Anderson, head of Surveillance and Operations, Division of Adult Care and Assisted Living, Office of Aging and Long-Term Care (OALTC), is working with IPRO-QIO to provide Quality Assurance improvement trainings and operationalizing a quality improvement committee. The Division recently provided medication management training and will soon provide infection control training. Dietary training is also being planned.

Top survey concerns are medication management, maintenance and sanitation, resident rights, and dietary services.

Stephanie Paton, head of Surveillance and Operations, Division of Nursing Homes and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID), OALTC, stated that DOH is setting consistent benchmarks to get rid of the backlog of surveys due to the COVID pause. They are also increasing training efforts and teaming with IPRO on infection control and refining a resource library to enhance consistency.

Kristen Pergolino, head of the Bureau of Adult Care Facility and Assisted Living Licensure, stated that the Department is receiving complaints through central intake for all providers.

The Department stated that it will be carrying out Quality Assurance improvement cross-training for providers.

Carol Rodat encouraged associations to ensure provider compliance with the 2022 Licensed Home Care Services Agency (LHCSA) Statistical Report. This includes the 2024 registration process. The deadline is Dec. 31, 2023. Failure to comply with registration will result in a penalty of $500 per month. If a LHCSA opened in 2022, that agency should only submit the agency form and registration for 2024.

Mark Furnish, head of the Certificate of Need Division for all facilities, stated that staffing challenges are affecting DOH. The ACF Division is particularly challenged at this time. The Department is actively hiring. DOH will also be losing its Director of Nursing Home Licensure soon.

Carol Rodat promised the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State (HPCANYS) a list of Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) plans that will close because they do not have a Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP). She also promised to provide an adult day health care closure/open list to the Adult Day Health Care Council (ADHCC).

Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871