A snapshot of Healthcare Facility Regulation Division

A Division Of The Georgia Department Of Community Health
A SNAPSHOT OF
Healthcare Facility Regulation Division

Overview
Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), Healthcare Facility Regulation Division's (HFR) mission is to protect the residents of Georgia by ensuring the highest quality of health care and safety through professional standards regulation. To achieve its mission, HFR inspects, monitors, licenses, registers and certifies a variety of health and long-term care facilities. It works to ensure that facilities operate at levels mandated by state statues and by rules/regulations adopted by the Board of DCH. HFR also receives complaints against licensed facilities, investigates unlicensed facilities, and follows up on quality-of-care issues. The division certifies various health care facilities to receive Medicaid and Medicare funds through contracts and agreements with other state and federal agencies.

Transition
In the 2008 Legislative Session SB433 was passed mandating that several of the facility licensure functions that were part of the Department of Human Resources (DHR) Office of Regulatory Services (ORS) move to DCH on July 1, 2009. Additionally, in the 2009 Legislative Session, HB228 moved additional functions related to health care facilities from DHR to DCH. On July 1, 2009, DCH created the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division as a program within the department.

Organizational Structure
HFR is comprised of two units: Complaint/Intake and Survey/Certification. This structure is a departure from the model previously used by ORS within DHR. The older model utilized the surveyor as the primary point of contact for complaints, surveys and initial surveys. As the transition occurred, the decision was made to separate the complaint and survey functions to better maximize resources and create efficiencies. Complaints are now handled in a separate unit that will be able to track information, assign priority and investigate accordingly. Initial and periodic surveys will be done by a separate unit so as to maximize time spent in the field.

Core Principles
HFR is committed to the mission of protecting the residents of Georgia by ensuring the highest quality of health care and safety through professional standards regulation. To this end, it has developed four core principles that guide the day to day activities.

Protection Safety Quality Professional Standards

Healthcare Facility Regulation

2 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Ga 30303 w www.dch.georgia.gov/HFR January 2011

A Snapshot of Healthcare Facility Regulation Division
Goals HFR strives to make sure that residents and patients are protected from harm, and that services are provided in a safe and secure environment. Georgians deserve the highest quality of care and the division is committed to ensuring this through the consistent application of professional standards.
The core principles are applied to the three primary lines of business: initial certification, periodic survey and complaint investigation. Facilities requesting initial certification are reviewed to ensure they can provide the services while fulfilling the core principles. Periodic surveys are conducted to ensure ongoing compliance with rules and regulations set by both the state and federal governments. Complaints are received, triaged and investigated with an eye towards protecting the patient.