The Mega Rule and YOU!
Skilled Nursing in Wisconsin
Mount View Care Center is fully compliant with the Mega Rule, a new quality standard set forth by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to improve health and safety for residents in skilled nursing facilities.
What is the Mega Rule?
In November of 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued something called the Mega Rule. The Mega Rule makes major changes to improve the care and safety of long-term care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs which includes Mount View Care Center.
Why the Changes?
As the first comprehensive update since 1991, the Mega Rule will bring best practices for resident care to all facilities, implement a number of important safeguards that have been identified by resident advocates and other stakeholders, and include additional protections required by the Affordable Care Act. The policies in this Mega Rule are targeted at reducing unnecessary hospital readmissions and infections, improving the quality of care, and strengthening safety measures for residents in these facilities.
What changes will be made?
- Strengthening the rights of long-term care facility residents.
- Ensuring that long-term care facility staff members are properly trained in caring for residents with dementia and in preventing elder abuse.
- Ensuring that long-term care facilities take into consideration the health of residents when making decisions on the kinds and levels of staffing a facility needs to properly take care of its residents.
- Ensuring that staff members have the right skill sets and competencies to provide person-centered care to residents. The care plans developed for residents will take into consideration their goals of care and preferences.
- Improving care planning, including discharge planning for all residents with involvement of the facility’s interdisciplinary team and consideration of the caregiver’s capacity, giving residents information they need for follow-up after discharge, and ensuring that instructions are transmitted to any receiving facilities or services.
How will this affect me and my loved one?
The changes that CMS has called for will help ensure your loved one gets the highest quality care by the most qualified staff at Mount View Care Center. The care your loved one receives now will not change, but the process by which the surveyors complete their assessment will. Therefore, you and/or your loved one may be asked more questions than in the past during their survey visit. Please use this as an opportunity to share your thoughts with them and give feedback. With the new process, they will take the opportunity to get to know all our residents and families.
Feel free to contact any of our care team with any questions or concerns this may bring up.
What kind of things will they ask me?
Here are some sample questions we have received from the surveyors that will give you an idea of what they may ask you and/or your loved one about.
- How did the facility involve you in care plan development, including defining the approaches and goals?
- Does staff set up your meal, assist with eating, or encourage you as needed? If not, describe.
- Do the activities offered here reflect your (or the resident’s) preferences and choices? If not, please explain.
- Do you experience pain during therapy services? If so, what does staff do to help you relieve your pain and is this effective?
- Do you have any dental concerns that have not been addressed to your satisfaction? If so, describe.
If at any time you feel uncomfortable or unsure of the answer to a question that surveyors may ask, please let them know this. They understand this process is new and may be overwhelming at first.
Who can I ask for information or where can I look?
If you would like more information on the Mega Rule and all it entails you can visit the CMS website at www.cms.gov. The website is tailored for care facilities and may be more difficult to understand.
When you visit Mount View Care Center, watch for bulletin boards outside the 1st floor dining room and in the Link hallway near Legacies by the Lake. Each week we will share new information.
Please reach out to our Mount View Care Center Management Team also. They are here for all our residents and families as a resource and can help answer any questions you may have.
Kim Gochanour, Mount View Care Center Administrator 715.848.4490 kgochanour@norcen.org
Connie Gliniecki, Mount View Care Center Director of Nursing 715.848.4303 cgliniecki@norcen.org
If you would like to print out our information flyer on the Mega Rule, please click here.