Ohio KePROmotion July 05

Healthcare providers throughout Ohio
are invited to attend regional "Quality
Summit" sessions in July to learn about
oppor tunities to par ticipate free of
charge in quality improvement projects
with Ohio KePRO.

By Daniel B. Moss, Media Specialist, Ohio KePRO

What a person senses while visiting a long-term care facility such as a nursing
home can var y according to the nature of their visit.

Ohio KePRO, the Medicare Quality
Improvement Organization (QIO) for Ohio,
is under contract with the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Ser vices (CMS).
Beginning August 1, Ohio KePRO will be
focusing on:
Promotion of improvement in clinical
performance measure results.
Use and adoption of information
technology systems.
Effective redesign of care processes.
Changes in organizational culture.

The Quality Summit is designed to
introduce providers to the Quality
Improvement Organization program and
its projects to improve healthcare in
Ohio. There is NO COST to attend, and
CEUs are pending for the following
dates and locations:

Columbus
Monday, July 11, 2005
Radisson Wor thington

Dayton/Cincinnati
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Ramada Springdale

Cleveland
Friday, July 22, 2005
Cleveland, Embassy Suites
Independence

Summit sessions include a general
over view and breakout groups based
on the provider setting. There will be
two sessions per day, with the morning

he experience of a relative or friend
visiting a resident/patient may differ from
the obser vation of a quality improvement
professional assessing best practices and
oppor tunities to improve quality measure
scores. The scrutiny of a vendor arriving
with packaged foods or cleaning supplies
may not contrast at all with the obser vation
of a state sur vey representative looking for
compliance with standards of care. Still,
residents/patients and facility staff may
have an even keener sense of daily dynamics
and nuances.

Now add to this mix the eyes of Tricia Smith.

Smith is president and founder of Secure
Check, Inc., established in 1996 as the
first full-ser vice background screening
center in Ohio. Secure Check maintains
offices in Columbus, Akron, and Dayton to
provide comprehensive background
screening solutions for clients throughout
the state.

When Smith considers the safety of a
long-term care facility, obser vations range
from "Does this vendor have access to
residents or patients?" and "Have this
nurse's license and education been
verified?" to "Has this worker ever been
accused, but not convicted, of a crime or
questionable behavior at another facility?"

According to Smith, one of the expanding
areas of litigation in the healthcare arena
is negligent hiring--the failure to use
reasonable care in the employment process
selection. Employers are being held
increasingly responsible for actions of
employees, contract workers, and temporar y
staff workers if they "should have known"

there was a risk to the welfare, health, and
safety of co-workers, clients, and the
general public.

Smith discussed negligent hiring and the
impor tance of background checks on
Medicare Moment, aired weekly on WMKV-
FM 89.3 in Cincinnati and hosted by Ohio's
Medicare Quality Improvement Organization,
Ohio KePRO.

Ohio KePRO works with nursing homes,
home health agencies, hospitals, and
physician offices to ensure quality care for
Medicare beneficiaries, and also promotes
Medicare's resources at www.medicare.gov
and 1-800-MEDICARE to compare care in
these facilities.

One of the expanding areas
of litigation in healthcare is
negligent hiring--the failure to
use reasonable care in the
employment process selection.

In the past five years, Smith has been
retained as an exper t witness in 15 cases
involving negligent hiring.

"In these cases I have seen some horrifying
examples of what can happen when an
organization does not have a solid hiring and
screening process," Smith noted during the
show. "Employers today must be able to
determine if an employee or contractor is
fit to interact with vulnerable members of
our society."

Smith's concern is shared by the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Ser vices (CMS).

Beyond the Measures, Behind the Scenes: Ensuring Quality Care (cont.)

The concept of background checks in long-term care facilities is
receiving additional credence through a pilot program mandated by
the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.

successful, to fur ther ensure resident and patient safety in long-term
care facilities throughout the state.

The pilot program, formally announced in December 2004 by CMS
Administrator Mark B. McClellan, MD, PhD, named seven states
(Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina and
Wisconsin) to par ticipate in comprehensive background check
programs for new workers in long-term care facilities as another way
to combat abuse and neglect in these facilities.

"Checking the backgrounds of those applying for jobs involving direct
patient care in long-term care facilities is a good way to weed out
those individuals who have criminal backgrounds or other disqualifying
factors in their histories," said Dr. McClellan.

Secure Check offers a number of tips to reduce negligent hiring,
including:
Ask probing questions during the job inter view to uncover examples
  of behavior that indicate a tendency to put others at risk.
Conduct employment references on all past employers, including
  verification of job titles and dates of employment.
Set up vendor screening for all non-employees that have access
  to the facility.
Conduct pre-employment, random, and reasonable suspicion drug
  testing on applicants who have any safety related job responsibilities.
Always conduct a criminal background check.

The two-year pilot includes $25 million to help determine the impact
of national background checks for any new worker with direct patient
care duties on abuse and neglect in nursing homes and other long-
term care facilities. Background checks will include a check of state
registries, such as the Nurse Aide Registr y, as well as a search of
state and criminal histor y records. CMS is working with the Justice
Depar tment to implement the program.

Smith offers that while long-term care facilities are not intentionally
setting inadequate policies or behaving negligently, they may not
have the necessar y exper tise on staff to set standards for a
thorough screening and hiring process.

"Organizations should have thorough written hiring policies that
incorporate means of reducing negligent hiring," said Smith.
"Exercising reasonable care to hire fit employees will result in a
much safer work environment."

While Ohio was not selected for the initial pilot project, Ohio KePRO
is looking forward to a national expansion of the program, if proven

Need a Guest For Your
News Program?

session beginning at 8:30 a.m. and the
afternoon session beginning at 1:00 p.m.

     hether your media outlet reaches
     Medicare beneficiaries, their families
or their caregivers, healthcare is a dynamic
and relevant issue for listeners and viewers.
We invite you to contact Ohio KePRO's
media specialist at (216) 447-9604 x2219
or via Online Media Inquir y at
http://www.ohiokepro.com/publications/me
diainquiries.asp. to access professionals
who can address the healthcare information
needs of your audience from a qualified       Ohio KePRO Media Specialist Daniel Moss (left) discusses
  perspective.

"Talk at Ten" program with host Gus Sierra.

To learn more and register today, visit
www.ohiokepro.com and click on the Quality
Summit icon.

Suggested attendees:
CEOs/Senior Leaders, Physician Champions,
Officer Managers, Quality Improvement Staff,
Compliance Officers and Clinicians.

Executive Editor : Suzana C. Iveljic, MBA
Editor : Daniel B. Moss, BSBA
e-mail: dmoss2@ohqio.sdps.org

T H E J U LY E D I T I O N O F O H I O K e P R O M O T I O N H A S A R R I V E D !
Your News Source for Health & Rights Information for Ohio's Medicare Beneficiaries

Publication No. 4123-OH-009-7/2005. This material was prepared by Ohio KePRO, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Ohio, under contract with the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Ser vices (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Depar tment of Health and Human Ser vices. The contents presented do not necessarily
reflect CMS policy. For more information, please call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), or visit the CMS Web site at www.medicare.gov.