A state Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services surveyor recently stopped by unannounced to pay the Health Center a visit. The infection control-focused CMS survey in this pandemic era provides an opportunity for the regulatory body to specifically assess a facility’s compliance with mandated infection control and prevention standards. CMS surveys are intense, unyielding, and comprehensive. Our surveyor spent nearly a full day in Skilled Nursing, conducting a targeted infection control survey, interviewing team members in both nursing administration and direct care, observing care of patients, auditing resident charts, and reviewing Deerfield’s COVID-19 Response Plan and other infection control policies.
We are thrilled to announce that this special survey, aimed at reviewing Deerfield’s COVID-19 response, yielded zero deficiencies! The surveyor commended our staff, noting that not a single individual was observed to be lackadaisical regarding infection control efforts. He also remarked on the clarity and meticulousness of our written policies and procedures, the incomparable organization of our point prevalence surveillance testing processes, and the design of our COVID-19 Care Units, which he stated “sets a standard for other long term care facilities.”