Medline Launches Resource For Nursing Homes
Medline Introduces Comprehesive Resource Kit To Help Nursing Homes Improve Pactient Care
Compass Provides Practical Tools to Help Comply With New CMS Incontinence Guidelines
Mundelein, IL - Medline Industries, Inc., a privately held manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies, is introducing a new comprehensive resource kit, Medline Compass F315 Survey Readiness, to help nursing homes comply with important new Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) incontinence guidelines under Tag F315.
Incontinence is a major challenge for nursing homes nationwide. According to CMS, approximately 50 percent of nursing home residents suffer from some type of incontinence. For the resident, incontinence can cause embarrassment and serious skin and health risks. Nursing homes that do not comply with CMS guidelines could face deficiencies and/or thousands of dollars in fines.
According to Molly C. Morand, BSN, RN, BC, president of The Morand Group LLC, Healthcare Consultants, and a former CMS surveyor, "CMS has released numerous pages of new incontinence regulations, and long term care facilities want to do everything they can to comply and improve resident care. Medline has provided an extremely practical kit full of solutions. Compass can help clinicians meet CMS regulatory requirements, meet standards of practice, and improve the quality of care they provide."
The tool kit provides resources for administrators, directors of nursing, nurses, minimum data set (MDS) coordinators and nurse assistants to help them meet CMS incontinence guidelines and provide the best possible patient outcomes. Compass contains helpful, practical tools for improved monitoring, documentation, and care. The kit also outlines which incontinence products should be used for each type of incontinence and precisely how they should be used, according to the new guidelines. In addition, Compass contains a video program providing up to four continuing education contact hours for staff.
"This is really about helping our customers achieve best practice -- Helping them to help their patients. Every nursing home can benefit from this all-in-one comprehensive resource. When a surveyor arrives, a nursing home that has been using Compass will be ready. And most importantly, their patients will benefit," said Dan Love, president, Medline Personal Care division.
Compass includes one administrator copy and three nursing cart copies of a "Survey Readiness Resource Book" that provides all the critical information that nursing home staff are required to know under Tag F315. The book contains detailed information sections on:
- Determining incontinence types
- How to identify a resident's voiding pattern
- How to evaluate for a proper behavioral program
- Determining the appropriate absorbent product
- And promoting healthy skin.
In addition, Medline Compass provides an administrative copy of the actual Tag F315 guidelines with corresponding solutions to meet these regulations and the following practical tools: Urinary Continence Assessment and Implementation forms; DVD with continuing education programs; disposable rulers for obtaining proper fit measurements of patients and special forms to help staff prevent skin breakdown.
SOURCE: Medline