MDS 3.0 Resources for Activity and Recreation Professionals

By Kimberly Grandal, CTRS, ACC/EDU

Are you ready for the MDS 3.0? If you haven’t received any formal training on the MDS 3.0, I highly recommend that you do. Each facility is different and I’ve heard stories of Activity Professionals completing several sections such as mood, preferences, and cognition. In some cases, Activity Professionals are not completing any section. It will vary according to facility since CMS does not specify which department or individual should complete the various sections of the MDS 3.0.

I also wanted to address one of the most popular questions that I get asked about the upcoming MDS 3.0 which is, “What type of initial Activity Assessment do you recommend or how do I change my current assessment to accommodate the MDS 3.0”? I respond back with a question: “Why do you have to change your initial Activity Assessment?” The Activity Assessment does not have to reflect the MDS. In fact, why collect the data twice? Now, if your Activity Assessment has outdated terminology such as RAPs, Section N, Triggers for Little or No Activity, etc., then yes, you’ll want to either remove the old terminology and replace with the new lingo (e.g. CAT’s, CAA’s, section F, Resident Interview, Family/Significant other Interview, Staff Assessment, etc.)

With anything, change can be challenging. Mistakes will be made, new questions present themselves, turf wars may arise, and so on. Take a deep breath and just remember one thing, “It’s about the residents”. Whether you like or dislike the MDS 3.0, doesn’t really matter anymore because it’s going to happen on October 1, 2010. Focus on what you need to do and before you know it, it will become part of the norm and we’ll all be saying, “Remember when we had to do that section N?”. I personally would like to invite you to register for the MDS 3.0 webinars by Re-Creative Resources Inc. because these sessions are specifically created for you, the Activity and Recreation Professional. This is a great place to share, brainstorm, and do what we do best, ADAPT!

There are a variety of on-line resources that you can check out that will help you in your preparations and implementation process. I hope that you find these resources and links helpful in your preparations for the up and coming MDS 3.0. The links to a variety of MDS 3.0 resources can be found at
http://www.recreativeresources.com/MDS3.0.htm.