The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is making available to states grants of up to $3 million each in connection with the agency's Nationwide Program for National and State Background Checks for Direct Patient Access Employees of Long -Term Care Facilities and Providers (CFDA Number: 93.506) (Funding Opportunity Number: CMS-1A1-11-001).
If you're a part of a state-level health or aging services agency, we advise you to get started on this now. The application deadline isn't until June 30, but the feds tell us they plan to act on these requests as they receive them.
Keep in mind this is not a competitive grant opportunity. All states submitting an application that ends up being scored by the feds at 70.2 or higher out of a possible 101 points will receive a grant. Applications scoring below 70.2 points won't be included as grantees.
States are supposed to use these funds to identify efficient, effective and economical ways for long-term care facilities and providers to conduct background checks on prospective direct patient/resident access employees. Eligible facilities and providers include: skilled nursing facilities; nursing facilities; home health agencies; hospice care providers; long-term care hospitals; personal care service providers; adult day care providers; residential care providers; assisted living facilities; and intermediate facilities for the mentally disabled.
Info: Questions, Background_Checks@cms.hhs.gov; for grant guidance, please visit http://tinyurl.com/3stlpcs.
For more on this and other issues of important to seniors and those who serve them, be sure to read this week's issue of Aging News Alert, located online at www.SeniorsNews.net/ana.
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