The Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report on December 2 detailing results of an audit finding that nonprofit and government-owned nursing homes are generally in compliance with Infection Preventionist requirements. This follows a previous report released in August 2024 estimating nearly one quarter of for-profit nursing homes were not in compliance with the same requirements.

Similar to the audit of for-profit nursing homes, for this audit, OIG sampled 200 nursing homes (100 nonprofit and 100 government-owned) to determine compliance with Infection Preventionist requirements for an audit period of October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023. Selected nursing homes were sent a questionnaire requesting information regarding the Infection Preventionist position.

Based on responses to this questionnaire, OIG determined that 3 of the 100 nonprofit nursing homes and 2 of the government-owned nursing homes may not have met the requirement that the Infection Preventionist complete specialized infection prevention and control training prior to assuming the Infection Preventionist role. All other Infection Preventionist requirements were met by the nursing homes sampled for this audit.

OIG estimated, based on these results, that 117 nonprofit and government-owned nursing homes may have failed to meet the requirement for infection prevention and control training during this time period. OIG notes that noncompliance was attributed to difficulties hiring and retaining experienced and qualified Infection Preventionists.

LeadingAge encourages members to conduct internal audits to ensure compliance with Infection Preventionist requirements. Requirements can be reviewed at 42 CFR §483.80(b). Recall that CMS provides free, online Infection Preventionist training through the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). It is recommended that more than one qualified individual in the nursing home complete this training to ensure compliance with requirements in the event of turnover or extended leave of the individual designated as Infection Preventionist.