Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) must comply with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions of Participation (CoPs) located in Appendix W of the CoPs manual. This four-part webinar series will cover the CAH CoPs manual as well as the regulations and interpretive guidelines that serve as the basis for determining compliance.   

There were multiple changes and new regulations for CAHs in 2020, including a change to all tag numbers in the manual. Many of the new tag numbers do not include interpretive guidelines or survey procedures. Other changes included 25 new tag numbers in infection prevention and control and antibiotic stewardship and 10 new tag numbers in QAPI. The regulations for Swing Bed changes are limited to Appendix W, but the interpretive guidelines and survey procedures are in Appendix PP.   

This series will supplement efforts to comply with challenging areas, including nursing care plans, necessary policies and procedures, medication carts and drug storage, informed consent, and medication administration. Finally, attendees will learn what to do when a surveyor arrives at their facilities. 

Laura A. Dixon served as the director of risk management and patient safety for the Colorado Region of Kaiser Permanente. Prior to joining Kaiser, she served as the director, facility patient safety and risk management and operations for COPIC from 2014 to 2020. In her role, she provided patient safety and risk management consultation and training to facilities, practitioners, and staff in multiple states. 

Dixon has more than 20 years of clinical experience in acute care facilities, including critical care, coronary care, peri-operative services, and pain management. Prior to joining COPIC, she served as the director, Western region, patient safety and risk management for The Doctors Company in Napa, California. In this capacity, she provided patient safety and risk management consultation to the physicians and staff for the western United States  

As a registered nurse and attorney, Dixon holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Regis University, RECEP of Denver, a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Drake University College of Law, Des Moines, Iowa, and a Registered Nurse Diploma from Saint Luke’s School Professional Nursing, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  She is licensed to practice law in Colorado and California.  

This speaker has no real or perceived conflicts of interest that relate to this presentation.