LeadingAge NY Meets With DOH OALTC Leadership
LeadingAge NY participated in a meeting with Department of Health (DOH) Office of Aging and Long-Term Care (OALTC) leadership on July 27th. The primary focus of the meeting was on what the Department characterized as a “concerning trend of [Immediate Jeopardies (IJs)] and high level citations” for DOH-regulated entities overseen by OALTC, specifically nursing homes, adult care facilities (ACFs), home care, and hospice. LeadingAge NY was able to obtain the following details from the Department:
Nursing Homes
In nursing homes, the Department reported three recent IJs. The Department reports multiple serious violations in single facilities. Most violations are related to F-tag F689: Free of Accident Hazards/Supervision/Devices. Other issues noted include incidents of unsafe smoking, elopements, and facilities not following their policies and procedures for elopements. The Department noted care planning issues, indicating that the plan should reflect the needs of the resident and the care plan should be followed to protect safety and wellbeing.
ACFs
In ACFs, the Department reported seeing environmental physical plant issues, fire safety and life safety issues, elopements, failing to follow their own policies and procedures, and medication management issues. They also noted the importance of staff knowing who is in charge when the Administrator is out.
Members may recall that the Department has long been working on a New Administrator training for ACFs, and we have repeatedly urged them to offer that, given the turnover we are seeing in the field. The Department reported that the training should be available “soon.” They are also updating survey checklists, which they indicated they would share.
Home Care
In home care, the Department reported that they are seeing a higher level of issues, including lack of a care plan and lack of documentation of supervision.
DOH indicated a willingness to consider streamlining home care reports and invited specific recommendations. The Department is also in the process of developing a Home Care 101 training. Lastly, DOH reported that a home care Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) should be released soon to provide clarification and updates on COVID-19 screening; we have been urging DOH to provide these long-awaited updates repeatedly.
Cross-Continuum Issues
LeadingAge NY urged DOH to relieve providers of administrative burdens such as the Health Emergency Response Data System (HERDS) survey, particularly given the ongoing staffing shortages. We also urged continued reporting of survey trends and education regarding those issues.
LeadingAge NY has also been raising concerns with DOH over the past several months regarding reported delays in the Criminal History Record Check (CHRC) process. While we have had discussions with DOH leadership regarding these issues, OALTC leadership also stated that the CHRC program is bringing on staff to address issues more expeditiously and is working through the backlog. They reported that the best way to communicate is via the CHRC email: chrc@health.ny.gov or chrclegal@health.ny.gov.
Lastly, DOH reported that Kristen Pergolino has been promoted to the position of Director, Division of Operations, Center for LTC Survey and Operations, within OALTC.
LeadingAge NY continues to meet with DOH on a regular basis and will continue to bring member concerns and perspectives to these discussions.
Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828