Top Priorities for Staff Development in 2020

As you plan your 2020 staff training itinerary, consider addressing these important topics: Phase 3 staff training and competency requirements, advancing PDPM skills, and 5 Star Quality.

The Phase 3 SNF §483.95 Training Requirements went into effect on November 28, 2019. As part of the new requirements, nursing facilities are required to develop, implement, and maintain an effective training program for all new and existing staff; individuals providing services under a contractual arrangement; and volunteers, consistent with their expected roles. Each facility must use their facility assessment to determine the amount and types of training necessary based on their specific resident population and needs.

The Phase 3 Requirements require that at a minimum, training topics must include:

Effective Communications
Resident rights and facility responsibilities to properly care for its residents
Abuse, Neglect, & Exploitation (effective in Phase 1)
Mandatory training that outlines and informs staff of the elements and goals of the facility’s QAPI program
The written standards, policies, and procedures for the Infection Control & Prevention program
An effective way to communicate the Compliance & Ethics program’s standards, policies, and procedures through a training program or in another practical manner which explains the requirements under the program.
Annual Compliance & Ethics training if the operating organization operates five or more facilities.

In addition to these new Phase 3 requirements, there are multiple existing requirements that are already effective regarding training and competency of staff. In FY2018, there were 35 Immediate Jeopardy citations nationally at F726- Competent Nursing Staff. This highlights the significant risks that your facility and residents may face if you fail to ensure your staff are competent to meet the needs of your resident population. With the recent implementation of the new Phase 3 Requirements of Participation Training Requirements, it is an excellent time to evaluate your current training and competency assessment programs to identify weaknesses and put measures in place to protect your facility and residents from adverse events and potential negative survey outcomes related to poor training and competency evaluation processes.

Training to Drive Reimbursement Accuracy, Compliance and Quality

In addition to the phase 3 curriculum, staff education focused on driving mastery of the new SNF reimbursement model, PDPM, will be essential. Most facilities report that staff are now ready for training that moves beyond the basics of PDPM and toward advanced coding and operational skills. Proactive has introduced two webinar series that will begin in January to address these goals:

Train PDPM Leaders!

PDPM Master Class with Optional Certification targets advancing PDPM proficiency to lead clinical reimbursement accuracy and compliance. Proactive’s expert speakers will incorporate feedback learned from hundreds of SNF PDPM coding audits and review PDPM operation best practice to facilitate development of strong PDPM program leaders in your facility. This 12 month webinar series runs January-December 2020 and focuses on developing mastery of the skills required to successfully lead clinical reimbursement excellence under PDPM. Participants may register for each session individually or register for the full series at a discounted rate. Recordings of live sessions are included with the full series purchase. Optional Certification is available for individuals completing the entire series and passing the certification exam at the end of the completed series. The target audience includes Nursing Home Administrators, RAI Coordinators/MDS, Directors of Nursing, Nurse Managers/Staff and Leaders, QA Director, Social Services, Staff Development Coordinator, Rehabilitation Services, and Board Members. Join Proactive and the 20 participating state associations collaborating to offer this series in focused PDPM leadership training and register your team for the PDPM Master Class before the opening sessions January 7th and 8th.

Orient MDS Staff and Train PDPM Coders!

PDPM Assessment, Coding & Systems Orientation & Proficiency Series is a 6-week series that provides MDS section-by-section coding guidance under PDPM with insights for optimal data collection, supportive documentation, and consistent coding accuracy. Live sessions are completed weekly over 6 weeks and review key MDS sections under PDPM. Recordings are provided with a full-series purchase for ongoing on-demand access for new hire orientation and as a staff development resource. Reduce the learning curve for clinical reimbursement staff and drive PDPM coding accuracy and compliance with this MDS series taught by Proactive’s expert MDS coding instructors

Achieve 5 Star Success in 2020!

This 10-part webinar series begins in March 2020 and focuses on advancing results in the three domains of the CMS 5-Star Quality Rating System: Health Inspections, Staffing, and Quality Measures. Content will focus on analyzing facility data and implementing an effective action plan to achieve 5- Star status through practical facility application of QAPI elements.

Proactive Tools and Resources

Proactive’s Regulatory Experts can meet your needs for development and ongoing implementation of a SNF Training and Competency program. Let us ease the burden of interpretation and compliant implementation of the Final RoP, and help ensure that you are ready to meet the requirements with confidence with our competency toolkits which include inservice material and competency assessments for nursing skills, SNF-NF staff competency skills by department, ADLs, behavioral health and person centered care, cultural competency, changes in condition, infection control, restorative nursing, trauma informed care and others. (See quick links below.)

Proactive’s live and on-demand education sessions provide the practical education you need in an easy-access format, or contact Proactive to inquire about our customized training options.

Basic Nursing Skills Competency Tool-Kit

This Tool-kit is intended to supplement or enhance current SNF/NF educational programs for Restorative Nursing Programs to meet the intent of the new Requirements of Participation for competency based training. Click here to learn more about this product in our shop.