Office of Inspector General, Division of Health Care

Office of Inspector General, Division of Health Care Newsletter

 

 

 

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Want to Know Kentucky's Top 10   Citations for Nursing Homes?

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CMS 5-STAR Results

 

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October 2011 Results

To learn more about the 5-STAR program click the link ==>  Overview of CMS 5-STAR System  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIFE SAFETY CODE - Top 15 Deficiencies and Tips for Compliance

Life Safety Code

Click the link to view the Top Deficiencies and Tips. 

 

 

 

 

 

Trimming the Tree & Decking the Halls

Stockings on Mantle

Practice Safety Tips When Decorating for the Holidays 

Holiday decorating is a special tradition. But many decorations also create fire hazards.  Putting fire safety first assures that the holiday spirit lasts until the holidays pass.


Click here to read more....

 

 

Office of Inspector General Holiday Schedule

The staff at the Office of Inspector General would like to wish you a Happy Holiday Season!

The office will be closed in observance of these holidays on November 24 - 25, 2011 for Thanksgiving; December 23-26, 2011 for Christmas, and December 30, 2011 - January 2, 2012 for New Year's.


 

 

 Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of Inspector General, Division of Health Care Leadership Team 

* Mary Reinle Begley, Inspector General

 

 
 

Dudley Ellis, Pharmacy Consultant 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Unbridled Spirit

 

 

 

Issue: # 2011-4th Quarter       

                 November/2011

Welcome to the Office of Inspector General, Division of Health Care's 
4th Quarter 2011 edition of the Long Term Care Provider Newsletter.  This newsletter is a valuable vehicle to update you on current events affecting Long Term Care.  

Please feel free to share this newsletter with anyone you think would benefit.  To continue receiving this newsletter, be sure to join our mailing list by clicking the link to the left of this article.  We look forward to serving you through this communication vehicle.

Srubba Dub Dub! 

Clean Those Glucose Meters!

Federal regulation 483.65 (F441) Infection Control states "The facility Bath Tubmust establish and maintain an Infection Control Program designed to provide a safe, sanitary and comfortable environment and to help prevent the development and transmission of disease and infection".  One of the components of an Infection Prevention and Control Program is ... Click Link to

Read More.....

 

Developing an Allegation of Compliance (AoC)
Focus of AOC
The focus of the Allegation of Compliance (AoC) is to remove the immediacy of the Immediate
Jeopardy (IJ), in order to ensure residents are not a risk. The facility's first action would be to
identify the root cause of the Immediate Jeopardy.

OIG Brings NBC Programming to a Long Term Care Provider Near You

CriminalNot your normal NBC programming with the Today Show's Matt Lauer or others! Instead, the Office of Inspector General is bringing its own version of NBC programming to Kentucky's Long Term Care Providers. As you may know, the Centers' for Medicare and Medicaid sponsors the National Background Check (NBC) Program and it is currently being implemented in Kentucky. Kentucky's own comprehensive, fingerprint supported background check program is called the Kentucky Applicant Registry and Employment Screening program, or the "KARES" program. Implementation of the KARES program remains in the preliminary design and development phase. 

 

Soon employers will be able to visit a one-stop-shop web based portal on the OIG-KARES website. Here, registered employers will be able to

Click Link to Read More...

 

Kids, Restrain Yourself!!!

Well Maybe Not That Way.......

 

Okay, so we're not talking about restraining yourself from holding hands.  But on a more serious note, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in accordance with the Government Performance Results Act (GPRA), a United States Law enacted in 1993, established plans and goals for Nursing Homes to have a reduction in resident use of physical restraints. This is a national campaign that continues to be a focus for CMS which requires the state survey agency to review each facility's compliance related to physical restraint regulations during all standard surveys. While Kentucky's nursing home provider's statewide average use of physical restraints has improved, decreasing from 5.9% in 2007 to 4.1% in the 3rd quarter of 2010, the state of Kentucky providers are still well above the national average of 2.6% for the 3rd quarter of 2010. CMS has set the national goal for each state to have an average of 2% or less of residents restrained in nursing homes.

 

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Just How Do We Measure Up Anyway?

Measure UpRead About How Kentucky Citations Compares to Other States 

 

Click the link ==> to reveal data which reflects the Top 5 Citations During the 2011 Fiscal Year.  The data compares Kentucky with other states in our Region (Region IV) as well as the nation.  Region IV is comprised of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina.   

OIG Welcomes New Pharmacy Consultant
Meet Dudley Ellis

 

We are excited to welcome Dudley Ellis, RPH to the Office of Inspector General , Central Office Team.   

 

Dudley attended Morehead State University, and graduated from the University Of Kentucky College Of Pharmacy with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy.  He practiced as a community pharmacist for approximately 25 years.  Dudley also served as a Pharmacist Consultant/Inspector with the Office of Inspector General for nearly 20 years prior to his retirement in July 2010.  The majority of his experience involves Long Term Care surveys and complaint investigations.  He holds memberships in the Kentucky Pharmacists Association, the Bluegrass Pharmacists Association, and the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. 

 

Dudley will be available on a part-time basis as a pharmacy consultant.  Surveyors and Providers may contact him to assist with pharmaceutical related questions.  He can be reached at (502) 564-7963 x3251 or [email protected].  We are extremely pleased to have Mr. Ellis rejoining the Office of Inspector General in this part-time capacity.

 

CMS Medicare News 

   

Recent Survey and Certification Letters

Memo-1

Below you'll find links to survey and certification letters issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pertaining to Long Term Care facilities.  Please take a look and determine how these may impact your facility.

 

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The Office of Inspector General is Kentucky's regulatory agency for licensing all health care, day care and long-term care facilities and child adoption/child-placing agencies in the commonwealth. 

If you would like more information, visit our website at http://chfs.ky.gov/os/oig/default.htm.
 
If you have an idea for a future article, e-mail Terri Cook at [email protected].