MDS / Staffing Focused Surveys Update

FY2014 Pilot Surveys: In 2014, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and five
volunteer States piloted a focused survey to assess MDS coding practices and its relationship
to resident care in nursing homes.
 A report on the findings from the pilot is attached.
Nationwide Expansion: We subsequently announced that we would expand the MDS focused
surveys to all States and include a review of nursing home staffing. This memo provides an
update on the pilot and the status of the expansion of these surveys including:
 Training for the next surveys will begin in early April 2015.
 States will need to assign a minimum of three surveyors to be trained.
 Training and surveys will be rolled out in two phases with Regions and States assigned
to one of two groups.
 Deficiencies identified during the surveys will result in relevant citations and
enforcement actions.