Checking in…
I’ve been away for a bit, so I’m just checking in. As some of you may know, I still work in a facility as a nursing home administrator. With all the changes, regulatory updates, and cuts we’ve been facing, I’ve been quite busy. I did manage to get my annual survey in December. My team delivered their second straight deficiency-free survey!
It was my third in a row as I was at a different building 3 surveys ago. I am very thankful and humbled by the outcome. On top of this, we’ve had no complaints called in to the State for the past 2 years as well.
We also managed to maintain our 5 star rating and make a nice profit for the year exceeding budgeted expectations. It’s amazing how well a team can do when you get things going in the right direction.
One of the biggest contributing factors to a great survey outcome is to have happy residents. Obviously, there’s a lot that goes in to this – everything from hiring the right people, making sure that everyone understands the priorities in the building, having appropriate activities, getting staff to work in the snow, down to making menu changes for supper to keep the peace.
There are a few things I like to do differently than others when preparing for my survey as well as during the survey. I’m considering putting this in a guide for the subscribers of this blog. It’s always good to hear different ideas so you can create your own style of survey management. I can tell you not to believe everything that others tell you. Always, always, always look at the person telling you to do something for survey and ask yourself if it makes sense. For example, I never give the survey team my survey prep binder that I’m sure most of you also have. For those that might not be aware, we know the initial items the survey team will ask for as it’s laid out for you in the watermelon book. So, most companies tell the administrator to keep a binder updated with these items so that you can deliver it quickly. I also keep the binder but I don’t hand over anything until it’s asked for, and most of the time, they don’t ask for everything. There’s a few more reasons for this strategy but they would take up more than the space in this post.
Anyway, thanks for reading and wish you all the best in this new year!
It keeps you in compliance
2 Responses to “Checking in…”
Shipe on
Wow!!! That is fantastic! Many congratulations. That is an amazing accomplishment. I wish you were the Administrator at my facility.
Keep up the great work!
Mark on
Hey, thanks so much!! I think it’s a matter of keeping the residents happy. If they’re happy, all the other little issues don’t seem so important to the surveyors.