RNAC work load at your facility

I work for a retirement community in the 99 bed skilled nursing facility part. There are 2 MDS nurses, we work M-F, no weekends, no holidays, no on-call. I do the care plan meetings. We have anywhere between 1- 10 PPS, and we go looking for the extra MDS's to do when the patient has enough orders/ visits / part B therapy / etc to raise their scores.

We write the entire careplan,do all the nursing assessments, do all the RAPS, do chart review while we're doing the MDS, hassle the STNAs to do their data entry.

Occassionally we get pulled to the floor, but not often. The other MDS nurse does the restaint reduction program and I maintain the computer network for the entire facility.

I've worked as an RNAC for a 60 bed LTC floor (the whole building had 3 RNACs, one for each 60 bed floor) and that worked out well. The other place I was an RNAC in was about 120 plus beds, and I was the only RNAC, and this had Medicare and ltc pts.....that was nuts, and I left after a few months because the conditions were not the best, and I didn't want to be the RNAC there when the state walked in.....One facility I have been in had about 145 beds or so, and had one ft and one pt RNAC, but they actually completed all the mds's and care plans, the floor nurses did the pre-mds assessments and updated care plans as needed. Where I work now (your sister facility donmomofnine) we have one RNAC for a 61 bed skilled unit, she does all of the mds stuff (we do observation week assessments on care tracker) and care plan/conference stuff.

Just my opinion, anything more that 60-70 beds on a skilled unit should have more than one RNAC, esp with PPS. Otherwise, it's too crazy and assessments can get missed.

I'm not familiar with the term RNAC, since your mentioning MDS I'm sure I should know this???? Help?

Nursenan

I'm not familiar with the term RNAC, since your mentioning MDS I'm sure I should know this???? Help?

Nursenan

Registered Nurse Assessment Coordinator....also know as a Clinical Reimbursement Coordinator. They coordinate the timely completion of the MDS's, care conferences and care plans and then submit them to the state for money reimbursement depending on what the resident "scores". (put simply, that is! :chuckle )

Well thats what I do but have never heard of RNAC. Just MDS coordinator. We have 105 beds, and until recently had myself and an LPN to do the facility. Now it is myself and 2 other RN's. We each have a hall for MDS assessments weekly, and each do skin rounds and monitor tx's weekly. We have skin, behavior and weight meetings weekly, QA once a month, and RAPs and care plans.We also coordinate with the unit manager on our hall to monitor all resident cares. I organize the assessment schedules and do all the transmissions to the state, track all admissions, discharges, re entries, incidents; send reports to coorporate each month end and quarterly end,participate in admissions as far as room placement,precerts, acquiring equipment....and cover for the floor nurseand STNA's on rough days....I'm sure there is more....plus have had my hours cut 8 hours each pay period. I like having the 2 new helpers but adding in time to train persons who have no experience with mds or long term care is trying.

Okay, what are STNA's?:)

State Tested Nurses Aides....thats what they call them here in Ohio...in Indiana we called them CNA's...

Nursenan

Thanks! In PA we call them CNA's too! :)