Dellarina

I am curious as to how big your building is. How many MDS nurses do you have? What's your skilled vs. long term census?In my building (avg 12 skilled pts, 65 LTC pts), I complete all the MDSs including gathering info and doing data entry. I case manage the Long Term pts. I help in the dining room 1 day/week, and as a nurse manager, I am on call 1 weekend in 3. The term "other duties as assigned" is used pretty loosely in my building. I can get an extra assignment at any time. I answer to the DON, and am considered Nursing.

As the MDS Coordinator I set up the Care Conferences for my long term patients. I schedule my meeting and my ARDs so that the meeting falls within the 7 day look back period for the MDS. I send letters to the residents or family member inviting them to attend. It is expected that all disciplines (dietary, activities, etc.) complete their assessments and quarterly notes within the look back period. We review QMs as part of the meeting, and review the chart to ensure dates, consents, assessments, etc. are in compliance. Medical Records attends the meeting and they thin the chart at the same time. We complete and update care plans during the meeting too. By the time the meeting is over and the MDS has been completed, I am confident that surveyors could go through it with a fine tooth comb and be satisfied.We invite families to attend, and if they don't, I call them or sit down with the resident afterwards to ensure that they are familiar with their care plan. It takes some time, but coordinating MDSs is about a lot more than completing and transmitting MDSs.