The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a new Quality & Safety Memo, revising the Special Focus Facility (SFF) program for nursing homes with a persistent record of noncompliance leading to poor quality of care. The memo requires these facilities to be inspected at least once every six months and to take progressively more severe enforcement actions when warranted. Nursing homes must demonstrate rapid and sustained improvements to graduate from the program. The memo also instructs State Survey Agencies to consider a facility's staffing levels when selecting SFFs. CMS will closely monitor SFF graduates for three years to ensure sustained improvements, and may impose enhanced enforcement options or terminate facilities that fail to demonstrate compliance. The memo is effective immediately and applies to all appropriate staff within 30 days.

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