New Assisted Living Survey Process

PDF Version of BQA 03-017 (PDF, 126 KB)

Date: January 3, 2004 -- DDES-BQA 03-017

To: Adult Day Care ADC - 04, Adult Family Homes AFH - 05, Community Based Residential Facilities CBRF - 05, Residential Care Apartment Complexes RCAC - 05

FROM: Kevin Coughlin, Chief, Assisted Living Section, Bureau of Quality Assurance

VIA: Susan Schroeder, Director, Bureau of Quality Assurance

In January 2003, following formation of the Assisted Living Section in the Bureau of Quality Assurance, one of our primary objectives was to develop and implement a new assisted living survey process. To achieve this goal, the Assisted Living Section established a workgroup that focused on incorporating innovative practices into the survey process applicable across the four provider groups (Community Based Residential Facilities (CBRFs); Adult Family Homes (AFHs); Resident Care Apartment Complexes (RCACs); and Adult Day Care (ADC)). The workgroup tasked with developing the new survey process took into consideration comments and concerns voiced over the last several years by a variety of stakeholders, including program bureaus, county human service agencies, advocacy groups, care management organizations, assisted living section staff, providers, and provider associations. In addition, the workgroup examined and evaluated innovative strategies from other states.

The new survey process emphasizes collaboration of the regulatory agency with other state, county and family care agencies to improve the overall quality of care and quality of life for residents living in regulated assisted living facilities. Recommendations from these stakeholders were considered in modifying the survey process.

Significant changes in the new assisted living survey process include the following:

• Provides for an abbreviated survey for facilities with a good compliance history.
• Provides for technical assistance to facilities.
• Promotes the use of accepted standards of practice.
• Allows for regulatory flexibility.
• Provides a survey guide to the providers so they know what to expect during survey.
• Provides a post-survey questionnaire to give the provider an opportunity to provide feedback to the regulatory agency.
• Promotes consumer independence and choice.
• Supports consumer awareness, responsibility and satisfaction.
• Focuses the survey on "key codes" from core areas that have the highest potential to affect outcome related to quality of life and quality of care.
• Fosters stakeholder collaboration toward a common goal of improved quality of life and quality of care for consumers.
• Focuses the sample selection on some of the most vulnerable consumers.
• Provides courtesy copies of the survey results to ombudsman, county agencies, family care, OSF and program bureaus
• Includes a new survey outcome called a "Notice of Finding" for isolated incidents of non-compliance that:
  • result in no more than minimal harm, or
  • have potential for no more than minimal harm, or
  • do not indicate a systemic breakdown in care delivery.

The Assisted Living Section will implement this new procedure on January 1, 2004. Assisted living survey staff will explain the new survey process to providers at the entrance conference. The "Survey Guide for Assisted Living Facilities" is also available on the Bureau’s website at http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/rl_DSL/Providers/pde3186.pdf (PDF, 50 KB). We encourage you to review the Survey Guide for detailed information on the new survey process. A copy of the Survey Guide will also be provided to you as part of the survey process.

If you have any questions related to this exciting, new survey process, please contact the Regional Field Operations Supervisor in your region.

PDF: The free Acrobat Reader^® software is needed to view and print portable document format (PDF) files. Learn more.