See how Mansion Nursing & Rehab achieved 100% assessment accuracy and increased its CMI by 12%.
Mansion Nursing and Rehabilitation’s CEO Jack Chopoorian is a real numbers guy, which is why the facility’s financial underperformance in late 2022 didn’t make sense.
“Our census had recovered from some of the COVID upheaval, and we had higher acuity residents, but our revenue and our reimbursement rates were low,” explained Chopoorian. After some investigation, he found the root cause—the facility’s MDS assessments.
Chopoorian explored a few solutions. “Our MDS nurse retired, and we hired a new person, but they also weren’t the caliber we needed.” Chopoorian even took it upon himself to support the MDS. “I attended seminars, and I studied the RAI manual, but it wasn’t nearly enough.”
Our MDS nurse wasn't conducting rigorous assessments. She was a capable clinician, but she wasn't up to speed on the MDS.
An outsourced solution
Chopoorian learned that Polaris Group was offering outsourced and remote MDS coordinator services. Remote MDS coordinators dramatically improve MDS assessment accuracy because they don’t encounter the disruptions or distractions of their on-site counterparts.
The remote MDS coordinator model also expands the recruiting pool and raises the level of candidate competition
"Polaris audited a few of our assessments and presented their findings. Across a few dozen cases there were multiple issues; we were missing this coding, missing that modifier, our notation had gaps. I decided to give the program a try,” said Chopoorian.
It didn’t take long for him to feel confident in his choice.
There was a dramatic change to our reimbursement rates almost immediately. I kept thinking, why didn’t we do this sooner?”
Chopoorian sat in on early morning meetings and triple-checks with the remote MDS coordinator and could see how she had made such an impact. “We finally had a real expert on board. She asked documentation questions, took ownership over processes—it was incredible. It didn’t matter that she was remote. You could tell the team respected her.”
Winning over the clinical staff was no small feat. “At first our Administrator was very against the remote program. She’s passionate about assessment and how it informs care planning.” But, he explained, “Polaris has a similar ethos. I can’t tell you how ingrained our MDS nurse is with the team. She’s brought in new processes and checklists, and she trains our staff. Our Administrator is a believer now!”
An impactful transformation
When Polaris began working with Mansion Nursing and Rehabilitation, the facility was a month behind on assessments and 85% of audited assessments had errors. Today, Mansion’s MDS function is transformed.
100% of assessments are submitted on time and without errors. The facility’s case mix index (CMI) has increased 12%, which is an achievement that correlates with higher reimbursement. Chopoorian was also able to use Mansion’s MDS assessments to renegotiate its state-managed Medicare reimbursement rates.
He continued, “The remote MDS program checks all the boxes for me—financial, clinical, and operational. I think facilities should take a hard look at their current MDS assessments and consider it. We love it!”
Results to date
- Achieved 100% on-time and accurate MDS assessment submissions
- Increased case mix index (CMI) by 12%
- Negotiated better state-managed Medicaid rates based on MDS assessments.
