The Georgia Department of Community Health, Healthcare Facility Regulation Division, received a national Best Practices Award for its Work on the Weekend Program from the Association of Health Facility Survey Agencies. The award was presented to the division during the AHFSA annual convention last week in Orlando.

Earlier this year, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget and the Department of Administrative Services approved the Goal-Based Incentive Program, known as WOW, to address a backlog of complaint investigations in the nursing home program.  Since its inception, the complaint backlog has been eliminated and timely investigation of immediate jeopardy complaints has increased from a rate of 11 percent to 100 percent. The program also recently expanded to include other types of inspections for nursing homes and acute care facilities.

“We’ve put in a lot of work to implement a program that helps HFRD assure that patients are receiving the quality care they deserve at their respective facility,” said Melanie Simon, Division Chief, HFRD.  “Receiving this award is truly an honor, and a great testament to the enthusiasm and awesome teamwork that went into administering this program, as well as the dedication of our field staff.”

More than 60 percent of eligible employees have elected to participate in the program. Program participants are expected to conduct the inspections after normal business hours on behalf of HFRD; usually on weekends, after hours on weekdays, on state holidays or on days off due to Alternate Work Week schedules.  Participants receive a flat fee compensation per inspection conducted.