Staffing in nursing homes substantially impacts the quality of care and outcomes that residents experience. There is a direct correlation between staffing and quality of care. To learn more, Qsource’s Linzie Bugg, Quality Improvement Advisor on the LTC Team, discusses staffing and the impact on residents in nursing homes and the long-term care survey process.
The Qsource Culture of Safety Center (CSC) supports and enhances a culture of safety in nursing homes. It provides education and promotes the adoption of evidence-based interventions that improve the reliability, safety, and quality of care residents receive. Participants are brought together each year at an annual summit that features nationally recognized experts in the fields of quality, safety, and customer experience. The 2023 Annual Summit is scheduled for August 3, 2023, at the Crowne Plaza Downtown Knoxville.
Operational and patient-facing programs implemented in nursing homes/long-term care facilities say a lot about the organization at large. If some programs fall short of full compliance, the entire system is in danger of scrutiny from regulatory commissions. Qsource works with your staff to develop audit tools and act as the chair at Quality Assurance meetings, leveraging our extensive Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement experience. We help monitor newly implemented QAPI programs to ensure they are fully engaged and working as intended by the development team.
On April 3, 2023, CMS announced substantial revisions related to the MDS 3.0/RAI Manual. Per the IMPACT Act, standardized data is required and will enable cross-setting data collection, outcome comparison, exchangeability of data, and comparison of quality within and across PAC settings. Additionally, the language of the manual has been updated throughout to be gender-neutral.
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections are a serious cause of illness and death for adults 65 years of age or older in the United States. Strong infection prevention and control practices are critical to stopping GAS transmission and preventing outbreaks in long-term care facilities. You can now download a toolkit for investigating Group A Strep in LTC facilities.
The Lab Web Portal (LWP) is a website that allows facilities to submit colonization test orders to the state lab for Antibiotic Resistance Lab Network (ARLN) organisms. Anyone who may submit requisition forms or needs access to see records for your facility needs to sign up. To get started, register here or email ARLN.health@tn.gov (include your name, facility name/address/phone).
COVID-19 Reporting
Under §483.80(g), long-term care facilities are required to report COVID-19 cases in their facility to the CDC National Health Safety Network (NHSN) on a weekly basis. CDC and CMS will use information collected through the new NHSN Long-term Care COVID-19 Module to strengthen COVID-19 surveillance locally and nationally; monitor trends in infection rates; and help local, state, and federal health authorities get help to nursing homes faster.
Our podcasts offer clinical information that is relevant and timely. The new podcast area has features designed to be user-friendly that allow you to access the episodes whenever you want, wherever you want. You can sort by topic and download podcasts from any of the popular podcast services like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Want to keep up with the latest news, quality improvement projects and resources from Qsource? If your facility has a new administrator and/or DON, please send us their name, title, email address, fax number and phone number (if not the same as the facility's main number).
