Compliance Perspective: It is the Compliance Officer’s responsibility when a complaint has been filed to conduct and oversee investigations, under the Compliance Attorney’s direction, and bring the Compliance Committee and senior management’s attention to all compliance issues for appropriate response and correction.
Unresolved deficiencies that jeopardize the lives of residents were found, causing an admissions freeze to be put into place on August 23 at a Massachusetts nursing home after the state’s Department of Public Health (DOH) made an unannounced inspection of the facility in June. The unannounced inspection was a follow-up to an initial investigation the DOH had done in response to a complaint filed in January. A follow-up inspection on August 31 demonstrated that the facility had taken some actions to remedy the problems, but there were still some serious issues that were considered to be endangering to the lives of the residents.
In order to avoid being terminated as a provider by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS), the 200-bed home must rectify the deficiencies by Friday, September 15.
No specific details about the nursing home or the initial complaint are available on the state’s website. However, information about the state’s findings of “jeopardy and substandard care” are posted. Per the state’s website: “Immediate jeopardy is a situation in which the nursing home’s non-compliance with one or more requirements has caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to a resident,” and “in these situations, the Department initiates an enforcement action and requires that the home take immediate steps to remove the jeopardy.”
