CMS Wants You to Succeed
Surveys and inspections can feel like an attack, but they aren’t. CMS want you to do well. For you to do poorly on your survey means that your residents and/or employees aren’t in a safe environment. CMS hates that. While it may seem that the surveyor is there to take note of all your failings and slap you with a fine, they actually want to work to make your facility better. They want to ensure that your facility stays open to continue serving the seniors under your care. They also want to make sure that your facility is at its highest standard of care when it is serving those residents.
How Are You Supposed to Make Compliance Without Harming Your Business?
In most cases, getting the necessary time or accommodations to fix your violations without being imposed upon by CMS remedies is simply a matter of asking for help. CMS has a variety of waivers that can be used to give you more time to fix a non-compliant element of your facility, waive the non-compliant element all together, or notate an accommodation that would allow for your non-compliant element to become an allowed variation. These waivers can include:
1. Waiver of the 7-Day Registered Nurse Requirement
If your facility falls under the necessary criteria, such as living in a rural area with an insufficient supply of RNs, you can speak with CMS about filling out the necessary waivers to help with this requirement.
2. Variations in Resident Room Size and/or Capacity
If your facility can prove that your residential room variation causes no harm or strain to the residents’ health and safety, there is a waiver to ensure you do not have to be Survey Compliant.
3. Temporary “Fix-It” Waivers
If you feel that you can fix a violation in an appropriate time-frame, the surveyor will allow you to apply for a waiver. These waivers will give you a reprieve from the enforced remedies while the installation of a new sprinkler or fixing an obstructed exit takes place.
MyFieldAudits Can Help Keep You Informed About Waivers You May Need
Our standard health inspection forms, audits, and checklists will keep you organized. With the ability to share the forms with your staff, you can make sure that everyone and everything in your facility is in line with CMS Survey protocols and standards. Real-time access to all your forms will keep you up to date on any issues that have cropped up that you may not be able to fix in time, giving you the option stay ahead of the surveyor and apply for a waiver before they have a chance to comment on your non-compliance. To learn more about MyFieldAudits, contact us today at info@MyFieldAudits.com