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Ensuring Compliance With Preliminary Service Plans
Are you aware that you are required to have a Preliminary Service Plan for your residents? According to WAC 388-76-10340, adult family homes must ensure that each resident has a preliminary service plan that includes:
- Specific Problems and Needs: Identified in the resident’s assessment.
- Refusal of Care or Services: Needs for which the resident chooses not to accept or refuses care or services.
- Health and Safety Measures: What the home will do to ensure the resident’s health and safety related to the refusal of any care or service.
- Resident Goals and Preferences: Resident-defined goals and preferences.
- Meeting Resident Needs: How the home will meet the resident’s needs.
A current assessment is required to qualify the resident to move in and should be done prior to admission. The Preliminary Service Plan is a snapshot in time, to be completed right before or upon admission, detailing what the resident needs for care as you learn their routine. This preliminary care plan and hands-on care will help to complete the required Negotiated Care Plan, which must be completed, agreed upon, and then signed and dated by the resident/representative and the adult family home (AFH) provider.
The Preliminary Service Plan is sometimes included in a private pay assessment, depending on the template used by the assessor. However, the Medicaid assessment does not cover this, so you will need a separate document.
For consistency, you may choose to use a separate document for both private pay and Medicaid assessments. Although this plan is required upon admission, it is advisable to keep it in the resident’s permanent file to present to Residential Care Services (RCS) when requested. This document provides a baseline of the resident’s needs upon admission. Additionally, you can update the plan after a prolonged stay in a hospital or rehabilitation center when re-admitting the resident to establish a new baseline or note any changes.
This multifunctional template we created ensures compliance and provides a comprehensive overview of the resident’s needs and preferences, promoting better care and safety.
Stay informed and compliant to provide the best care for your residents!
Resources
Related WAC
WAC 388-76-10340
Preliminary service plan.
The adult family home must ensure that each resident has a preliminary service plan that includes:
(1) The resident’s specific problems and needs identified in the assessment;
(2) The needs for which the resident chooses not to accept or refuses care or services;
(3) What the home will do to ensure the resident’s health and safety related to the refusal of any care or service;
(4) Resident defined goals and preferences; and
(5) How the home will meet the resident’s needs.
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