We’ve all started hearing about acuity-based staffing and that we are going to be judged on it for Value Based Purchasing and in future survey models, but what is acuity-based staffing?
Because residents have different care needs, nursing homes with the same staffing levels could differ substantially in how well their staffing levels meet these needs. Thus, reported staffing levels must be adjusted to reflect the care needs (i.e., patient acuity or frailty) of an organization’s residents.
So how do organizations measure that acuity? The best way is to use the available information generated by the MDS, your RUG levels. The RUG levels indicate the resident acuity. The next step is to access the STRIVE study minutes for each RUG category. Access them online.
CMS uses acuity-based staffing in the Five Star Rating. The staffing is also used in the MDS Focused surveys that have begun over the past year. It is important for organizations to know and analyze their acuity-based staffing so that they can get out ahead of any issues with this and make the appropriate staffing adjustments. Combine this with review of Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) reporting and make this part of your Quality Initiatives to stay on track.
View more information. Also, there is a great article about this in the January 2017 issue of McKnights Long-Term Care News. Read the article.
