State facilitates new grants to help improve nursing facilities

Release Date: 
Dec 18 2017
DSHS Office of Communications
Chris Wright
chris.wright@dshs.wa.gov
(360) 902-8338

OLYMPIA – New federal grant funding is available to eligible nursing facility providers and organizations to help improve the overall quality of life and care for nursing facility residents.

Awarded through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the grants are funded through money collected from fines imposed on nursing facilities that violate federal health and safety standards.

Providers may apply for these Civil Money Penalty (CMP) Funds through an application posted on the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Aging and Long-Term Support Administration (ALTSA) website.

Examples of CMP-funded projects in other states include:

  • Partnership to Improve Dementia Care and Reduce the Use of Antipsychotics (California)
  • Improving the Quality of Care for Deaf and Deaf-Blind Residents  (Louisiana)
  • It’s Never 2 Late (iN2L)®: Engaging Residents through the Use of Computer Technology (Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee)

“We know there are many innovative people in Washington state who can help put this grant opportunity to great use, helping improve the lives of people who are living in nursing facilities,” said Bill Moss, ALTSA Assistant Secretary. “We look forward to helping these projects become a reality all across our state.”

ALTSA and LeadingAge Washington are using the grant money to certify 45 nursing homes to provide the Music & Memory Program, which brings music to seniors, particularly those with forms of dementia and other cognitive challenges to help them reconnect to the world through music-based memories. The grant fully funds start-up, training and equipment costs for 15 residents per nursing home for a total of 675 residents. 

Learn more about the grants.

 

DSHS does not discriminate and provides equal access to its programs and services for all persons without regard to race, color, gender, religion, creed, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, age, veteran’s status or the presence of any physical, sensory or mental disability.