Pre-Admission Screening & Resident Review (PASRR) Requirements

  • Letter is available in Portable Document Format (PDF)

April 21, 2006

Dear Chief Executive Officer:

The purpose of this letter is to remind hospitals of the importance of screening individuals with a mental disability such as mental illness, mental retardation, or developmental disabilities, who reside in or are seeking admission to a residential nursing facility. The federal Pre–Admission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) requirements are set forth in statute at 42 USC 1396r (e) and in regulation at 42 CFR 483.100–138.

Federal law requires hospitals to conduct a Level 1 Screen on all persons, with limited exceptions1, who are seeking admission to nursing facilities to determine whether they have a mental disability. If the nursing services applicant appears to have such a disability, the hospital must ensure that the appropriate State PASRR agency is contacted to conduct a further assessment of the patient.

Nursing facilities are prohibited to admit persons with mental disabilities unless the appropriate State PASRR agency determines whether the person requires the level of services provided in a nursing facility and whether the applicant requires "specialized services" or "services of a lesser intensity" to address the disability. No individual, unless he/she meets a limited exception1, may be admitted to a nursing facility unless the PASRR process has been completed. The hospital, as the referring provider, must complete the Level 1 Screen, contact the appropriate State PASRR agency, and receive the agency's determination for placement, prior to discharge to a nursing facility.

Island Peer Review Organization (IPRO) has been awarded the New York State Department of Health contract to conduct the PASRR assessments for individuals with mental illness seeking nursing home placement. Level II referrals for such persons should be made to IPRO's Psychiatric Review Services Department at (800) 633–9441 or (516) 326–2110.

Likewise, the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) is responsible for conducting PASRR Level II Screens for nursing facility applicants with mental retardation or developmental disabilities. Each local OMRDD Developmental Disabilities Service Office (DDSO) conducts its own PASRR reviews.  Referrals of persons with mental retardation or developmental disabilities should be directed to the local DDSO PASRR Coordinator listed in Attachment 1. Please contact OMRDD at (518) 473– 6255 with any questions.

The Department of Health will continue to review compliance with the PASRR requirements to ensure that appropriate assessments are being conducted and that necessary services are being delivered. Non–compliance with the PASRR requirements will result in citation by the Department of Health.

Reporting this information will help ensure that persons with mental illness, mental retardation or developmental disabilities are discharged from the hospital to a nursing facility that can meet their specialized needs. Should you have any questions regarding compliance with PASRR requirements, please contact the Bureau of Hospital and Primary Care Services at (518) 402–1003.

_________________________________________

1. The only applicants exempt from PASRR screening are:

  1. Exempted hospital discharge – individuals discharged from the hospital to a nursing facility for the condition for which he or she received care in the hospital and whose attending physician has certified that the individual is likely to require less than 30 days of nursing facility care.
  2. Readmissions – individuals readmitted to a nursing facility from a hospital to which he or she was transferred for the purpose of receiving care.1

Sincerely,

Martin J. Conroy
Director
Bureau of Hospital & Primary Care Services

Attachment




New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
DDSO NURSING FACILITY PRE–ADMISSION SCREEN AND RESIDENT REVIEW (PASRR) COORDINATORS
BERNARD FINESON DDSO
Queens

Shiny Sajan
80–45 Winchester Blvd.
Queens Village, NY 11428–0507
            (718) 217–5767
    Fax: (718) 217–4009
FINGER LAKES DDSO
Chemung, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Schuyler, Steuben, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates

Kathleen C. Dillon
620 Westfall Road, Suite 101 Rochester, NY 14620
            (585) 241–5741
    Fax (585) 241–5733
SUNMOUNT DDSO
Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson and St. Lawrence

Patricia A. Bedore, R.N.
2445 State Rt. 30 Tupper Lake, NY 12986
            (518) 359–3311
    Fax: (518) 359–4132
BROOKLYN DDSO
Kings

Ellen Marshall, R.N.
888 Fountain Avenue Bldg. 1, Wing 121 Brooklyn, NY 11208
            (718) 642–8624
    Fax: (718) 642–8683
HUDSON VALLEY DDSO
Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and Westchester

Richard Gordon, M.S.W.
Sullivan Co. Office P.O. Box 823, Main Street So. Fallsburg, NY 12779
            (845) 434–3190
    Fax: (845) 434–3141
TACONIC DDSO
Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Putnam and Ulster

Sue Dean, R.N.
38 Firemen´s Way Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
            (845) 473–5050, ext. 108
    Fax: (845) 473–7198
BROOME DDSO
Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Tioga, and Tompkins

Linda J. Smith, R.N.
Broome Developmental Center 249 Glenwood Road Binghamton, NY 13905
            (607) 770–0255
    Fax: (607) 770–8037
LONG ISLAND DDSO
Nassau, Suffolk

Patricia Weber, B.A.
45 Mall Drive Commack, NY 11725
            (631) 493–1819
    Fax: (631) 543–7216
WESTERN NY DDSO
Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara and Orleans

Nancy Doyle, S.W.
1200 East & West Road West Seneca, NY 14224
            (716) 517–2165
    Fax: (716) 674–7488
CAPITAL DISTRICT DDSO
Albany, Fulton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington

Julie Gorman
500 Balltown Road Schenectady, NY 12304
            (518) 370–7339 Beeper: (518) 748–6029
    Fax: (518) 370–7368
METRO NEW YORK DDSO
Bronx and New York Bronx / Manhattan Office

Ana Garcia
2400 Halsey Street Bronx, NY 10961
            (718) 430–0752
    Fax: (718) 430–0866
NYS OMRDD – Central Office

Sharon Bradbury, M.S.P.A.

Upstate Regional Office 44 Holland Avenue Albany, NY 12229
            (518) 473–6255
    Fax: (518) 473–9695
CENTRAL NEW YORK DDSO
Cayuga, Cortland, Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego

Tom Ayotte, M.S.W.
P.O. Box 550 Rome, NY 13440
            (315) 336–2300 ext. 433
    Fax: (315) 339–5456
STATEN ISLAND DDSO
Richmond

Jose Abraham
1150 Forest Hill Road, Building 12 G Staten Island, NY 10314
            (718) 983–5279 Fax (718) 983–5302






February 7, 2006