Nursing Home Annual Infection Prevention Audits to Begin

The Department of Health (DOH) will begin notifying nursing homes this month of their deadline to submit their annual online infection prevention survey. The notices will be distributed on a phased basis to a group of facilities at the beginning of each month, until all nursing homes have received a notice. Facilities will be required to respond to the online "Drupal" survey within 30 days. Facilities that have low ratings on inspections, quality measures, or staffing; Special Focus Facilities; and Special Focus Candidates will be prioritized for surveys early in the year.

The online survey form was previewed in a Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) and a webinar held last month. Notices informing each facility of its deadline to submit will be sent via email to the administrator of the facility and possibly one other facility leader.

Facilities that successfully complete the survey will receive a letter of compliance. If the DOH staff identify incomplete or incorrect elements, facilities will be asked to resubmit corrections within a specified period of time.

More information is available here and here. DOH has indicated that it will be posting "frequently asked questions." Questions may be submitted to DOH here.