MDS Consultants

11/18/2025

𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗼𝗻?

Dec 9 | 11:00 a.m. ET

OIG work plans, MDS + QMs, top CMS deficiencies, and how to plan without burning out your team.

Our educators will walk through what’s coming and how to get ready.

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱: Administrators, DONs, NACs/MDS Coordinators, Clinical Nurse Managers, IDT.

👉 Don’t see a Register button? This session is for MDS Experts members. Join MDS Experts to get access to all webinars.
https://cstu.io/8198d5

11/14/2025

Happy Friday, LTC friends 💛

Long week? Same here. Thanks for showing up for residents and for each other. Be gentle with your shoulders, your feet, and your inbox tonight.

Rest is part of good care.

See you Monday.

11/13/2025

📢𝗜𝗖𝗬𝗠𝗜: The OIG (Office of Inspector General) released CMS’s Special Focus Facility Program for Nursing Homes Has Not Yielded Lasting Improvements Report on 10/29/2025. The OIG found "The SFF program is not working because most nursing homes that graduate from the program do not keep the improvements they made over the long term. Between 2013 and 2022, nearly two-thirds of the nursing homes that were in the SFF program improved enough to graduate but soon afterward showed the type of quality problems that put them in the SFF program in the first place."
𝗢𝗜𝗚 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀:
1. Impose more nonfinancial enforcement remedies that encourage sustained compliance
2. Assess the extent to which it took enhanced enforcement actions for SFF graduates and the effectiveness of those actions, particularly for graduates that received a deficiency for staffing
3. Incorporate nursing home ownership information into the SFF program, such as in selecting SFFs and identifying patterns of poor performance
https://cstu.io/de4349
https://cstu.io/7c1f0c
https://cstu.io/3388d7

11/12/2025

We’re seeing a lot of movement on SNF Validation. McKnight’s shared timely insight from our team yesterday, and we hosted a live session on what to expect and how to prep.

👉https://cstu.io/9b298e

𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝘀𝗲-𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆?

Members can watch yesterday’s replay. Not a member? Subscribe to MDS Update for step-by-step prep.
👉www.mds-consultants.com

Discover invaluable resources to master MDS including weekly webinars, guides and tools and an expert forum on this MDS resource site.

11/12/2025

𝗡𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳, 𝗻𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀:

MDS data powers payment, quality, care plans, and survey readiness. Keep it tight: in-window proof, the right ICD-10, and IDT agreement.

11/11/2025

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆'𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿?

Here’s what we covered:
- SNF Validation Program
- MDS items CMS will look at
- How to get your team ready

🔐 Members can watch on-demand in MDS Experts.

Subscribe to MDS Update for CMS memos, and our Tuesday webinar line up lineup: https://cstu.io/9d2ecf

11/11/2025

To our Veteran residents, staff, family members, and partners—thank you for your service and sacrifice.

We’re honored to serve you. 🇺🇸

11/09/2025

𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱- 𝗨𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗡𝗙 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘀: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁

CMS is launching SNF Validation Program audits this fall to verify the accuracy of MDS coding used in QRP and VBP.

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆?

Whether you're an MDS Coordinator, Administrator, DON, or part of the IDT—this session breaks down what's coming, what’s being audited, and how to prepare.

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻:
- How the SNF Validation Program works
- Which MDS data elements will be under scrutiny
- How to prepare your facility for compliance

🎓 Presented by:
Jessica Stucin, RN, BSN, LNHA, RAC-MT, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, QCP
Kristine Martinez, RN, BSN, DNS-CT, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, QCP

Secure your seat and get ahead of the audit curve.

👉https://www.mdsexpert.com/webinars-training/

11/07/2025

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗟𝗧𝗖 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀! 🎉

We smoothed a few things and made the week a little lighter. If your MDS list is still stacked, we’re here to pitch in, we can start on Monday.

➡️www.mds-consultants.com/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=contentstudio.io

!

11/05/2025

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆! 🎤
MDS Consultants’ Kristine Martinez, RN, BSN, DNS-CT, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, QCP and Barb Bates, RN, RAC-CT will present Part 1 of Session #7: Latest CMS Updates & Guidance at the Mid-Atlantic Society of Post-Acute & LTC Medicine conference on 11/8/2025.

If you’re attending, come say hello and catch the freshest CMS updates affecting SNFs.

11/04/2025

𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗣𝗗𝗣𝗠 & 𝗖𝗠𝗜: 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲

McKnight’s reports that as states adopt PDPM-style case-mix, auditors are looking more closely at how MDS items drive rates. Some states use PDPM Nursing only, others add NTA, and different calculation cadences (day-weighted/monthly/quarterly) mean issues can surface late.

📖 Read the article: https://www.mcknights.com/news/converting-to-case-mix-payment-models-triggers-new-state-audits-of-nursing-homes/?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MLT_DailyUpdate+-+110325&hmEmail=&sha256email=bd3945af0ccf73c90e798069f30afd076ad91d6759ec9425ae7dc6970070337f&elqTrack=True

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀:
• Tight, audit-ready documentation is now a revenue safeguard
• ARD discipline, Dx specificity, and GG consistency are high impact
• State-specific rules change what counts and when

If you’d like to talk through state nuances or sanity-check your current CMI process, DM us!