Did You Know the Mountrail Bethel Home Is Not in Charge of Raising the Rates for the Care of its Residents?
We will be doing a three part series highlighting the process of care the Mountrail Bethel Home has in place for its residents.This week we will be highlighting the MDS Coordinator.
The objective of a MDS coordinator is to promote the physical and emotional well being of nursing facility residents. A resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) is used to gather information from residents and their families during initial and periodic interviews.
Information from these assessments helps nursing home caretakers formulate individualized care plans that include support from social services, dieticians, rehab specialists, and medical staff. MDS coordinators then implement and monitor these care plans to ensure their effectiveness. They must also make sure all strategies comply with federal requirements and ethical standards.
There are 48 levels a resident may be in.Each of those levels is set according to specific criteria.The MDS Coordinator has a forty page complete assessment that is done every three months on each resident.This assessment determines which level a resident will fall into.The assessment looks at the resident’s memory and cognitive state, any diagnoses they have that are being treated, how much assistance they require with their cares (dressing, eating, transferring, bathing, mobility, walking, toileting, and personal cares), if they need wound care, oxygen, IV, special cares, dietary needs, have incontinence, order changes, doctor visits, and a comprehensive review of their chart.
The federal government has determined the manner in which MBH does these assessments.It also requires certain questions be asked by the facility and they are not allowed to prompt or lead the resident in answering.An assessment is completed by looking at a seven day window of time.That window of time is determined by the scheduling rules set forth by the government as well.The date is set about a month before it is actually completed.The medical condition the resident is in within those seven days will set the rate for the upcoming three months.Once it is complete, the rate will not change unless they are discharged from the Bethel Home. Then at the readmission, a new rate is established.Once a rate is determined, the resident or their family does have the opportunity to appeal it.The state will request all the records used to determine the rate.They will review that data and decide if the rate is correct or not.The Mountrail Bethel Home always encourages families to do this if they wish.
Rates in the nursing home are determined by the state of North Dakota every year in December based upon cost reports filed by each facility.The reason the government has such a comprehensive influence on the rates is due to the fact that skilled nursing facilities are state and federally funded.State employees come out at least one time per year to survey the facility, going through all of the records and observing the employees caring for residents to make sure the Mountrail Bethel Home is in compliance with the rules and regulations set forth by the government.
We sincerely thank you for your continued support of MCMC and MBH!
Nobody Takes Care Of You Like Your Own.