“Survey Says”: Be Prepared! How to Ace Your Next Assisted Living Survey
“The state has arrived!” We know it happens once a year, the dreaded “state survey”.
Why do we waste time worrying so much about it? If we make the time now and take the steps needed to be prepared for it, we can worry less and enjoy that time with our residents, showing the state just how amazing the activity and life enrichment department is.
This article is all about assisted living state survey preparedness, but those of you in skilled care services, take note, some of these tips can be applied to your survey readiness as well.
- Make sure you have a copy of the updated activity assessment completed for each resident; available for you when created the resident engagement calendar, available to your staff for their review, as well as being readily available for the nursing staff to refer to at times when activity staff is not in the building. Consider making a tabbed binder to keep these in for each discipline and remember to refer to that when conducting your part of a new employee orientation for general staff. It is especially important for those working in a memory care setting where residents may not be able to fully express their needs to staff.
- Make a “state binder” for your office.You may be thinking, “why is this binder so important?” Well, frankly, life happens! What if a medical condition happens to you or a loved one and you are unexpectedly off work for a certain amount of time? What if you win the lottery and take off to a Caribbean island for fun in the sun? What if you meet Mr. or Mrs. Right and you decide to leave your job in the name of love. Having a state binder readily available positions the activity department for success whether you are in the building or not during the survey. It should stand out among your other binders (think bright color and large label) and be handy for your Executive Director to “Grab and Go”.
This binder should contain the following for an Assisted Living community:
- 12 months of resident council minutes and copies of completed recommendations from the council meeting
- 12 months of resident engagement calendars
- 12 months of open to public event flyers (think community connectedness)
- 12 months of activity department QA/QI/QUAPI
- 12 months of bus/outing sign-up sheets (if binder is not big enough, create a separate file and add instructions of where to find said file in your state binder)
- Directions on where to find resident activity attendance for the last 12 months.This could be a separate file/binder labeled in the office or direct the reader to the software platform your care community may use to record resident attendance.
However, you choose to prepare for your community state survey, remember the WHY behind the necessity:
State surveys for assisted living communities offer several benefits, ensuring quality care and regulatory compliance. Here are some key advantages:
- Quality Assurance: Surveys help maintain high standards by identifying deficiencies and areas for improvement.
- Regulatory Compliance: They ensure communities adhere to state regulations, reducing legal risks.
- Resident Safety & Satisfaction: Surveys assess life safety measures, staffing, and resident satisfaction, leading to better living conditions.
- Benchmarking & Performance Tracking: Providers can compare their performance with others in the state, fostering improvements.
- Transparency & Accountability: Public access to survey results allows families to make informed decisions when choosing a community.
Kim Mead, AAS, ADC, CDP, CMDCP
Senior Regional Director of Engagement, Gardant Management Solutions
NAAP Leadership Team
