The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule on Nov. 5, 2021, requiring all CMS-certified facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to comply with this new emergency requirement as a condition of participation.
Enforcement of this rule has now begun in our state in the form of audits by the Washington State Department of Health. To help hospitals prepare for these audits, Washington Hospital Services (WHS) has added COVID Vaccination Compliance to its menu of pre-survey inspection services. Additional services offered include Clinical Quality, Environment of Care and Infection Prevention “mock” surveys.
For more information, please contact WHS assistant director of quality & clinical services Rich Boucher at richb@wsha.org or 206-216-2504.
