Healthy Changes for
the Health Division
By Wendy Simons
Many of you may
recall the shocking news that some outpatient surgery centers,
specifically some surgical centers providing endoscope services, came
under investigation earlier this year for practices not acceptable to
the public well being. As a result of the revelation that they had not
come under regulatory scrutiny for several years by the Bureau of
Licensure and Certification (BLC), dramatic changes are now occurring
within the state Health Division and more specifically the BLC.
What many of you
may not know, is that the BLC does not operate with any general fund
budgets (allocated by the Governor and the legislature). It is only
supported by fees from the entities it surveys and licenses, and has to
meet some mandated (either by the legislature or federal agencies)
survey responsibilities. It’s mission and purpose has always been
facility survey and licensure, certification (of Medicare reimbursed
facilities) and complaint investigations; and to protect the health and
welfare of all citizens who reside in or access the facilities they
license.
The scope of
responsibility for this Bureau is huge, covering 33 different facility
types and over 1073 facilities statewide, including hospitals, skilled
nursing facilities, hospice agencies, ambulatory surgical centers,
intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded, home health
agencies, personal care agencies, residential care facilities, homes for
individual residential care and the list goes on and on……! This bureau
has approximately 65 employees and 29 surveyors trying to cover
federally mandated inspections, as well as state legislated inspections.
A skilled facility survey, mandated by legislation and Medicare can
take 4-5 surveyors a week of time. This is just one of the 33 different
facility types the Bureau surveys. It doesn’t take a math genius to
recognize there are only so many hours in a day and week to accomplish
their tasks.
So, let’s go back
to some of the major changes now occurring in the BLC.
The first is a
name change. January of 2009, the Bureau of Licensure and Certification
will become the Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance (BHCQC).
This will take some getting used to.
Marla McDade-Williams,
the new Bureau chief has also created more transparency with regard to
the facilities surveyed, beginning August 2008. If you check on the
website for the Health Division,
http://health2k.state.nv.us , and click on the link to the Bureau
of Licensure and Certification it will take you to their web location.
Once there look to the right and you will see a starred notice of
“Facility Surveys”. This is a new report of survey results for
facilities under the Bureau’s licensure list and a wonderful opportunity
to see how providers are doing.
The next change
will be the implementation of the “Grading System” for Residential
Facilities for Groups. Effective January, 2009, at the completion of a
facility’s annual survey, a grade of “A”, “B”, “C” or “D” will be issued
and must be posted in the facility. This system has been in
regulations for 2 years, but will finally be available for the public to
view as they select a facility. The grade is a result of a total of the
survey “scope and severity” deficiency scores accrued at the time of
survey.
Several
supervisors within the BLC have been reassigned and several new Health
Division entities have come under the prevue of the Bureau. The whole
intent of the changes within the Bureau is to create a fresh look at old
issues, streamline some of the processes within the Bureau and generate
consumer confidence.
While change is
not always easy and requires a learning curve, I remain impressed with
the commitment of the Bureau personnel to assure the public that they
are listening to concerns and will provide the best oversight possible
regarding the entities they license.
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