KDADS Contracts with Healthcare Management Solutions to Expedite Meeting Federal and State Survey and Inspection Requirements
TOPEKA – Secretary Laura Howard announced today the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) has entered into a contract with Healthcare Management Solutions (HMS) that will help the agency expedite completion of focused infection control surveys (FICS) in federally certified nursing facilities as required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and inspection of all adult care homes in the state as mandated in Kansas House Bill 2016.
On March 4, 2020, CMS called for states to conduct focused surveys in Medicare/Medicaid certified facilities on infection control related to the COVID-19 pandemic. CMS document QSO-20-31-All, released June 1, 2020, requires states to complete 100 percent of FICS by July 31, 2020, to maintain full FY 2021 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocations.
Since the March 4 directive was received from CMS, 57 full-time KDADS surveyors have completed surveys in 169 of the state’s 332 certified, licensed facilities. KDADS has secured a contract with HMS to ensure Kansas facilities receive onsite targeted FICS in the required timeframe while existing and ongoing abuse, neglect and exploitation complaint investigations, required follow-up inspections and responses to identified positive cases of COVID-19 are also conducted.
“We believe partnering with HMS will allow us to better manage the critically important workload our surveyors have been tackling since March,” Secretary Howard said. “They have a good reputation for helping state survey agencies ensure facilities are in compliance and we’re certain they can assist us as we continue working to ensure nursing facility residents receive safe, quality care.”
States that complete 100 percent of their nursing home FICS by the July 31 target date will be able to request their entire FY 2020-FY2023 CARES Act funding allocation (at their discretion) and can also apply for redistributed funding from states that fail to meet CMS performance goals.
In addition to completing the FICS of nursing homes, CMS is also requiring states to implement the following COVID-19 survey activities:
- Perform onsite surveys (within 30 days of this memo) of nursing homes with previous COVID-19 outbreaks, defined as:
- Cumulative confirmed cases/bed capacity at 10% or greater; or
- Cumulative confirmed plus suspected cases/bed capacity at 20% or greater; or
- Ten or more deaths reported due to COVID-19.
- Perform onsite surveys (within three to five days of identification) of any nursing home with 3 or more new COVID-19 suspected and confirmed cases in the since the last National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) COVID-19 report, or 1 confirmed resident case in a facility that was previously COVID-free. State Survey Agencies are encouraged to communicate with their State Healthcare Associated Infection coordinators prior to initiating these surveys.
- Starting in FY 2021, perform annual Focused Infection Control surveys of 20 percent of nursing homes based on State discretion or additional data that identifies facility and community risks.
Under HB 2016, passed during the 2020 Special Legislative Session, KDADS is also required to conduct infection control inspections at all adult care homes licensed by Kansas including those that are state licensed only. State licensed only facilities rely solely on state funding and oversight without federal dollars, to include assisted living facilities, Home Plus, Adult Day Care and Residential Health Care facilities. To be in compliance with the legislative mandate, inspections of these facilities are to be completed within 90 days of the effective date of HB 2016, or about September 30. Again, having HMS surveyors available will also help KDADS balance the demands between state licensed only facilities and federally certified nursing facility survey staff.
HMS employs federally certified nursing facility surveyors and has collaborated through contracts with KDADS and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to provide services in Kansas previously.
For more information on COVID-19, please visit the KDHE website at www.kdhe.ks.gov/coronavirus.