Pre-Admission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) Program

Overview

The Developmental Disabilities Administration - DDA administers PASRR, a federally mandated program, for individuals with intellectual disabilities or related conditions (ID/RC) who have been referred for nursing facility (NF) care.  The Behavioral Health Administration - BHA) administers PASRR for people with serious mental illness (SMI).  The BHA PASRR website can be found at https://www.hca.wa.gov/billers-providers-partners/program-information-providers/preadmission-screening-and-resident-review-pasrr

Every individual referred for care in a Medicaid licensed NF is required to have a PASRR Level I screening performed by the professional making the referral (usually a doctor, registered nurse practitioner, or hospital social worker).  The Level I screening looks for indicators that a person may have an intellectual disability or related condition, or a serious mental illness.  If indicators are found, the individual will be referred to DDA for a PASRR Level II assessment.

The Level II assessment performed by DDA has three functions:

  • To determine whether the individual has ID/RC;
  • To help determine the best setting to meet the person’s needs; and
  • If NF care is needed, the Level II may make recommendations about specialized services needed because of the person’s ID/RC.

The PASRR professional team is working with clients who don’t use spoken language and teaching the staff who support them how to communicate. For more information, please see the PASRR Communication Toolkit video.

Contact Info

PASRR DDA Regional Contacts:  A list of contact information for DDA PASRR staff

Webinars

Each year, the Department of Social and Health Services and the Health Care Authority present a PASRR webinar for hospitals and nursing facilities. A link to the most recent webinar slides is available below.  Registration information will be available here when the next webinar is scheduled. Registration is open to all interested parties.

 

Publications

PASRR for Families (English) 

Cambodian | Laotian | Spanish | Chinese | Russian | Vietnamese | Korean | Somali

Helpful Links

DDA PASRR Unit Manager: Tom Farrow, tom.farrow@dshs.wa.gov

DDA PASRR Program Manager: Heidi Johnston, heidi.johnston@dshs.wa.gov

DDA PASRR Program Coordinator: Wendy Einer, wendy.einer@dshs.wa.gov

DDA PASRR Data Systems Manager: Todd Wilday, Todd.Wilday@dshs.wa.gov