In a move that has been much requested but greatly unexpected, CMS has extended the duration of the “no shift” period that triggers a turnover count from 60 days to 90 days. Now, nursing home administrators and nursing staff will not count as turnover on the Five-Star Report until they reach 90 days of no recorded shifts.

The change is a welcome surprise. It is less punitive for nursing facilities with eligible staff members who need an extended leave, and it broadens the allowable duration of time not worked for turnover-eligible contracted nursing staff (120+ hours worked over any 90-day period) before counting as staffing turnover.

The update is effective immediately and is reflected in the July 2024 Five-Star Report.

After freezing the HRD staffing measures last January, CMS has debuted their new PDPM Case-Mix HRD calculation methodology in the July 2024 Five Star Reports. SimplePBJ was able to successfully predict the new calculation for its SimplePBJ + SimpleAnalyzer subscribers and will continue to offer live Case-Mix predictions for the dual subscribers (note: MDS data is required for Case-Mix predictions).

For nursing homes that are not dual subscribers, a big difference between the last available scores and the current update is to be expected for two reasons:

1. The brand new way CMS calculates Case-Mix HRD 
2. The jump in the date range of Case-Mix data (frozen from July 2023–September 2023, then refreshed using data from January 2024–March 2024)

For more information on SimpleAnalyzer and how to get live Case-Mix predictions along with other benefits, click here. 

Note: a preliminary release of the new Case-Mix HRD methodology was published in the June 2024 Five Star Reports, but it turned out to be a partial release with the potential for slightly different staffing scores than what is reflected in the July complete update. 

It was bound to happen, we just didn’t know exactly when. With the updates to the HRD and turnover calculations, CMS has officially updated the cut-points for the HRD and turnover scoring. The cut-points have been updated in SimplePBJ to match CMS.

Simple has launched a new, HIPAA-compliant user portal for submitting support requests called NetsmartCONNECT. Please note: Simple’s PBJ support team can only be contacted through NetsmartCONNECT or via phone. 

Important! If you have not created a NetsmartCONNECT account yet, check out the training video and other resources here: NetsmartCONNECT for Simple clients. This user portal is the only way to see support case updates, so creating an account ahead of the PBJ deadline can help you save time. We will also review this new process in our quarterly PBJ webinar (register below).

Five-Star Reports for July, August, and September 2024 will use the look-back period of October 2022 – March 2024 for PBJ turnover calculations.