OasisLMS

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 of 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, perioperative services, and pain management. Prior to joining COPIC, she served as the Western region director of patient safety and risk management for The Doctors Company in Napa, California. 

As a registered nurse and attorney, Dixon holds a Bachelor of Science from Regis University, RECEP of Denver, a Doctor of Jurisprudence 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.

Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) provide important and often difficult to find healthcare in rural and remote areas. These locations are traditionally agricultural in nature, but the healthcare needs of the population are no different than those in a metropolitan area.

This two-part webinar series will cover the Rural Health Clinic Conditions for Certification (CfC) manual. Updates have been made over the past 4 years, especially regarding emergency preparedness qualifications of providers. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued memorandums on other topics that affect Rural Health Clinics, including infection prevention and control and medication safety. This program will address the current requirements for certification. 

RHCs must comply with the CMS Conditions for Certification to receive Medicare and Medicaid payments. The requirements apply to all patients, regardless of the payment source. Attendees will learn details about the Conditions and what to do when a surveyor arrives at your facility.

At the conclusion of part one in the series, participants should be able to: 

• Describe the advantages of Rural Health Clinics.
• Recall the requirements to be certified as Rural Health Clinic. 
• Discuss the types of CMS surveys and their processes.  

At the conclusion of part two in the series, participants should be able to: 

• Recall the requirements for, and duties of, staff types, including physician, PA, NP or CNM. 
• Explain that there must be adequate description of services for certification.  
• Recall what to include in the medical record, the required elements of informed consent, and the necessity to maintain security of medical records. 
• Recite the elements of a program’s evaluation.  
• Discuss the requirements of an emergency preparedness program.