Today I had a unique opportunity to meet with the Director of Long Term Care for our State Department of Health. While there for a specific reason, she did afford me nearly 30 minutes of general discussion on how the Department of Health operates, our own Long Term Care division in particular. I was honest in telling her that I found our meeting a rare opportunity for insight into a person and Department that is often not understood by the very people that it holds accountable.
She answered questions about the survey process, licensure, current industry and state trends in regards to falls, pressure area reduction, and restraint use. She shared with me that our state is going to begin issuing preferred pressure relieving devices directly to facilities in an effort to facilitate better wound prevention. I was impressed to hear this.
She was interested to learn about some of the programming at our campus, particularly the 10 Dakim mPower devices which I have been overseeing for nearly one year now. There is a possibility that the Director will conduct a day trip to our buildings sometime soon to trial these devices, with hopes of educating her own staff.
It is true that many of the facets of our regulatory agencies seem to be shrouded in mystery, subject to individual and organizational interpretations. Survey mechanisms, quality reports, and alternate codes such as Life Safety and HIPAA are densely based on anecdote and assumption, miscellaneous versions of "policies and procedures" passed from other generations of workers.
Thanks to the Director for taking time to share some of the inner-workings of the Department.
No comments:
Post a Comment