A GREAT WAY FOR NURSING HOME ABUSE ATTORNEYS TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT FACILITIES SFF- SPECIAL FOCUS FACILITY PROGRAM
| A new webpage from CMS offers a list of nursing homes that have a history of serious quality issues. The Special Focus Facility program has been developed in order to stimulate improvements in the quality of care in these facilities. Most nursing homes have deficiencies as cited by CMS; the average is six to seven nationwide. Some are minor, causing very little to no harm, and others are more serious, causing harm or posing risks to residents.
The program works with the Five Star Quality Rating System https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/NursingHome analyzing three health survey cycles (yearly) and complaint surveys and assigning points based on the number of deficiencies and how severe they were; more deficiencies equal more points. The facilities with the most points per state become candidates for the SFF program with a minimum of five and maximum of thirty per state. States (on behalf of CMS) also look at staffing levels and turnover rates to determine what facilities should be in the program. Once placed on the list, the state conducts onsite inspections every six months and recommends penalties including paying money or denying Medicare payment. The facility “graduates” from the program after it has had two consecutive surveys with twelve or fewer deficiencies. CMS is establishing criteria that could result in termination from Medicare/Medicaid if the facility remains deficient and in the program for a prolonged period of time. The list of SFF Facilities includes those on the list currently, those that have graduated, those that are terminated by CMS from Medicare/Medicaid and those that are candidates for being in the program. The State Agencies are responsible for entering survey information into the CMS database and providing updates to ensure timeliness and accuracy. The current list can be found here: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/provider-enrollment-certificationOnPoint’s Geriatric Program has specialized nurses and experts who are familiar with nursing home standards of care – and can assist with your nursing home abuse cases.
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