Report 2012-119 Recommendation 3 Responses

Report 2012-119: California Department of Veterans Affairs: It Has Initiated Plans to Serve Veterans Better and More Cost-Efficiently, but Further Improvements Are Needed (Release Date: May 2013)

Recommendation #3 To: Veterans Affairs, Department of

To better ensure that the veterans homes are providing quality care as cost-efficiently as possible, CalVet should continue monitoring the nurse-to-member ratios in the homes and work with the homes as necessary to help them meet the targeted ratios.

60-Day Agency Response

CalVet has implemented standard 'Hours Per Resident Day' (HPRD) guidelines based on Title 22 regulations and guidance from the Undersecretary of Veterans Homes. Based on the regulations and guidance, CalVet has implemented a policy that requires each Veteran Home to report HPRD on a weekly basis. The reports are reviewed each week by the Director, Health Care Services and looks at variances from the guidelines. The Director, Health Care Services assesses any variances with the Nursing Administration of that Home and assesses the cause of the variance. If any of the Homes are consistently out of compliance, the Director, Health Care Services reports it to the Undersecretary of Veterans Homes. The HPRD are also included in the monthly QM Report as part of its routine monitoring.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2012-119

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.