This week’s “Ftag of the Week” is part of the Training Requirements regulatory group. While most of this group of regulations is not effective until Phase 3, F943 Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation Training became effective with Phase 1 of the RoPs. This regulation outlines the requirements related to staff training on abuse, neglect, exploitation and misappropriation of resident property, and defines specific topics that need to be covered as part of this required education. The Interpretive Guidance states that the training program should be determined based on staff needs as well as the Facility Assessment and should be revised when the facility’s resident population changes or when other changes in the facility may require revisions.
Staff orientation and training must cover all forms of abuse, neglect, misappropriation of resident property, exploitation and dementia management. The IG states that it should include, minimally, information on how the facility uses “person-centered thinking, planning and practice skills to contribute to a facility culture of prevention and identification of abuse, neglect and exploitation,” as well as identifying and preventing behavior that constitutes abuse/ neglect/ exploitation/ misappropriation. Education should also include training on identifying physical or psychosocial indicators of abuse/ neglect/ exploitation/ misappropriation – including such issues a responsibility for not sharing resident photos/videos via technology or social media. Areas that should be included in education:
- A review of facility procedures and Federal and State requirements for reporting abuse, neglect, exploitation and misappropriation of resident property, including injuries of unknown sources, reporting timeframes, and who to report to
- Responsibility for reporting reasonable suspicion of a crime against a resident
- Dementia care and abuse prevention – challenging behaviors to staff can easily increase a resident’s risk for abuse or neglect.
Education should also address:
- Conflict resolution and anger management skills
- Identifying and addressing signs of staff burnout, prejudices or negative attitudes related to the population a staff member has been assigned to work with – does your staff know what these terms mean and how to recognize a staff member who is experiencing difficulty?
The IG recommends that surveyors focus on looking at how facility policies ensure that staff training is in compliance with the requirements at F600 Freedom from Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation, under which the Interpretive Guidance was greatly expanded when the RoPs were updated.
There are a whole host of probes as to what should be happening in a facility to prevent abuse, neglect, exploitation and misappropriation of resident property and these probes are worth a second glance. Concerns related to a facility’s mandatory requirements for education, validation of participation in education being available (how do you track attendance?) and assessing how effective the training was can be fraught with identifiable issues if you do not have a comprehensive prevention program in place that includes sound training.
View our “Ftag of the Week” blog series here. Contact CMS Compliance Group to discuss your facility’s training needs by email or call 631.692.4422.