Multiple DALs and Updates for ACFs
LeadingAge NY met with the Department of Health (DOH) last week regarding adult care facility (ACF) and assisted living issues. The Department has also issued several Dear Administrator Letters (DALs). Below is a summary of those updates.
Plan of Correction Checklist
On Nov. 21st, DOH issued this DAL announcing a new checklist to guide providers in submitting Plans of Correction (POCs). DOH has developed the checklist to reduce erroneous submissions. Administrators and those assigned to the Health Commerce System (HCS) POC Submitter role should review the documents and refer to them when developing a POC.
DOH ACF/BNE Statement Regarding Accepting Controlled Substances
On Nov. 18th, DOH shared the below statement via email:
The Division of Adult Care Facilities along with The Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement have collaborated to issue the following policy statement in response to recent inquiries received by both program:
Adult Care Facilities that have Class 3A licenses and are authorized to take possession of resident medications should ensure the validity of residents’ controlled substance medications brought into the facility from the outside. Absent an onsite pharmacist to provide verification, it may be difficult for a facility to ensure validity of all medication(s) through other means. As such, the Department recommends that ACFs only accept resident medications that are delivered directly from a pharmacy when admitting new residents to a Class 3A licensed facility.
The Department recognizes that circumstances may necessitate acceptance of a residents outside medication supply; however, we encourage the Facility and Resident/Family to work in conjunction with the prescribing practitioner and pharmacy to explore alternative options.
The Facility should develop policies and procedures accordingly to be consistent with the needs of their resident population.
Please note that this guidance does not apply if an ACF does not have a Class 3A license and does not take possession of resident medications.
Thank you.
DOH Data Updated
DOH has retired the online ACF Directory to align with other long term care programs. ACF data is posted online here and here.
Each licensed facility’s operating certificate number is located here, and its capacity is located here. To retrieve both sets of data, a user must download both referenced datasets with the understanding that the common delineator is the Facility ID, a site-specific identification assigned to each licensed ACF. Downloaded data will contain all licensed ACFs and can be filtered in a variety of ways at the user’s discretion.
Also available is the ACF Profile page, which provides facility-specific information.
Questions may be directed to DOH via the “Contact Dataset Owner” box on each page.
SSI COLA
For members who serve residents who are eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or the State Supplement Program (SSP), we want to ensure that you saw this Intelligence article regarding the 2023 cost of living adjustment (COLA). While DOH has yet to issue the DAL announcing the new rates, this will provide information you need to give residents notice of an increase.
SNALR Voucher Demonstration Program Update
On Nov. 18th, DOH issued a DAL informing Special Needs Assisted Living Residences (SNALRs) who participate in the Special Needs Assisted Living Voucher Demonstration Program of their need to review and submit the program’s attestation form to DOH by forwarding to ALTCteam@health.ny.gov by Dec. 5th. Questions can also be sent to that email. SNALR members should review the DAL, as it also contains important reminders regarding requirements.
Coming Soon
DOH will soon be providing a Heat Producing Appliance Assessment Tool to assist providers in submitting a waiver application for use of these devices. The tool will assist providers in considering the safety issues and protocols that should be taken into consideration.
DOH will also be doing another education program for emergency medical services (EMS) and ACF providers, likely in December.
LeadingAge NY speaks with DOH regularly regarding member interests and concerns. Please let us know what questions and concerns you have so that we can address them accordingly.
Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828