Wash. Rev. Code § 74.39A.051

Quality improvement principles

The department of social and health service’s (“department”) quality improvement system for long-term care services must contain the following principals:

•         The system must be patient-centered and promote privacy, independence, dignity, choice, and a home or home-like environment.
•         The system should focus on consumer satisfaction and outcomes. Consequently, the department must interview residents, family members, care managers and advocates when licensing or inspecting facilities.
•         The system should support providers in their effort to improve quality through training.
•         The system should emphasize the prevention of problems through the monitoring and screening of providers.
•         Quality monitoring should be based on health, quality of care, and safety standards and should focus on outcomes and consumer complaints.
•         The system must ensure that the department takes swift enforcement action when a provider delivers or fails to deliver care that endangers the health or life of a patient.
•         Long-term care workers must undergo a background check to ensure they are fit to care for vulnerable persons.
•         Individuals that have been found guilty by a court or disciplining authority of abuse or neglect of a minor or vulnerable adult may not obtain employment in a long-term care facility.
•          The department must issue rules that establish a registry to house information on long-term care workers that have committed substantiated acts of abuse or neglect of a minor or vulnerable adult. The rules must contain disclosure, notification, appeal rights, and fair hearing requirements. The department must release this information upon request any individual and must share the information with the department of health. 
•         The department must issue rules regarding background checks for persons providing Medicaid funded long term care services.
•         The department must create a “quality improvement standards committee” in order to develop and modify quality standards.
•         The department must create a “long-term care training program” that will count toward fulfillment of nursing assistant certification requirements.