The Business of Senior Care

Are you completing your supervisory visits?

Supervising your staff can be a time consuming process for sure. You are required to conduct a supervisory visit at least every 3 months for all direct care staff. It's busy enough just making sure staff are scheduled for shifts right!!

But, did you know the regulations changed?

Now, you can conduct supervisory visits via TELEHEALTH!

With the exception of the annual supervision requirement in Part 7.8(A)(3) and responding to consumer complaints in Part 7.8(C), the HCA may conduct supervisory visits using telehealth, so long as the HCA continues to ensure consumer care and treatment are delivered in accordance with the service plan that addresses the consumer’s status and needs.

(1) The designated supervisor may evaluate the delivery of care and services required every three (3) months at Part 7.8(A)(2) through an interactive audiovisual connection with the homemaker or personal care worker and consumer. The results of the supervisory visit must be documented by the qualified employee

(Chapter 26, Section 7.9(A))

Today, let's take a look at what needs to be completed on a Supervisory Visit! 

Make sure your Supervisory Visits have all these items...

• Done by a designated supervisor: make sure that whomever does the visits has a job description that includes 'supervision of Personal Care Workers and Homemakers', and you have a policy designating all your supervisors in writing
• Occurs at least every 3 months: fine tune a system to be able to ensure supervision of every direct care staff member within 3 months (i.e. complete all the visits during each quarter, split your caregivers names by last name into 3 groups and then assign each group to a month of the quarter)
• Includes consumer satisfaction assessment: remember it's not all about observing the caregiver, be sure to ask the client about their satisfaction and the direct care staff following the care plan
• Staff competency and adherence to service plan: a surveyor is going to want to see documentation that you evaluated the staff members ability to perform the tasks for the client
• In-person or telehealth: this is new, so be sure to update your form or find some way to indicate on EVERY supervisory visit that it was conducted in-person of via telehealth
• In-person annual evaluation w/ observation and relationship with customer: while using telehealth is tempting to complete the required visits, this annual evaluation is one that you for sure have to do in-person!

Your supervisory visits are to make sure you have happy clients AND staff...