Long-term health care facilities aim for the Five-Star Quality Rating created by the federal government’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Five stars indicate a facility has “much above average quality”; one star, far below.
Is your organization capable of achieving the Five-Star goal, but falling slightly short? Or perhaps you and your staff have earned the rating, but find it difficult to maintain that level? Something as easy as finding the right payroll and HR technology partner can help.
According to the official CMS website, ratings for nursing homes derive from three categories:
- health inspections
- staffing
- quality measures
To ensure that your nursing home is attaining its highest potential in all categories, take a look at your payroll and HR solutions provider to make sure it is appropriate for your facility.
First, having a provider that utilizes a single system of record with tools to help you comply with state and federal regulations is a key factor in passing health inspections, getting you closer to the Five-Star Quality Rating.
Second, you want to make sure your provider has the capability to assist with employee and staffing concerns, such as Paycom’s Self-Service tool that allows supervisors to approve time cards online, along with approving or denying an employee’s request for time off.
Additionally, this functionality allows employees to view their pay stub, request time off and update forms from anywhere that the Internet is accessible. The advanced scheduling feature allows a manager to view an Employee Schedule Dashboard to see who is working when, by department and by shifts. This alleviates the pain of wondering whether you are over or understaffing. You also can monitor scheduling changes.
The third category, quality measures, is much more ambiguous. CMS defines its goals as including effective, safe, efficient, patient-centered, equitable and timely care. Paycom’s Talent Acquisition brings a lot to the table to accomplish these goals, such as applicant tracking (to ensure you hire only the best and most experienced people to take care of your patients) and employment background checks (to ensure your hires are qualified and not presenting a risk that could put your facility in an ugly bind).
Reaching the Five-Star Quality Rating is imperative to any nursing home facility; however, alleviating the stress of achieving it can be as easy as partnering with the provider with all the tools you need to build toward that success.
