Hacienda HealthCare has become the first Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) in Arizona to receive a license to operate from the Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS). The license, granted on April 26, 2019, will remain in effect until March 31, 2020.
Hacienda has been overhauling its policies and procedures, security measures, patient care protocols and its organizational leadership since a female patient was assaulted and gave birth to a baby last year.
In January, Hacienda hired an independent third-party manager and oversight team to ensure a comprehensive set of improvements to its ICF and Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF). In March, Hacienda and DHS agreed to additional state oversight of the ICF and SNF, including regular DHS monitoring, unannounced site inspections and weekly meetings with state regulators.
“We continue to make progress at Hacienda and being granted a license for the ICF affirms that we’re on the right path,” said Perry Petrilli, the company’s acting Chief Executive Officer and a 25-year-employee of Hacienda. “We have more work to do, but we remain laser-focused on two primary goals. One, we want to make sure that each of residents is in a safe and therapeutic environment at all times. And two, that we are able to regain the trust of every Hacienda resident, every family member, the community and the state of Arizona
“We aren’t going to stop making positive changes until we achieve those goals.”
Senate Bill 1211, signed into law by Gov. Doug Ducey in late April, mandates a state-issued license for all Intermediate Care Facilities in Arizona, including state inspection of the unit. The new law requires that all ICF facilities meet comprehensive federal legal requirements, including mandates for patient care, record-keeping, caregiver education, patient diet and medical care.
In addition to meeting the licensure requirements, Hacienda has implemented Plans of Correction for the ICF and the SNF units. Other substantive improvements to the facilities include: the hiring of security officers to secure and monitor the Hacienda campus around the clock; the installation of more than 40 security cameras and monitors to protect residents and staff; the hiring of an experienced Director of Security to oversee safety efforts; the installation of electronic entry equipment and key codes at all entrances to better secure residents, visitors and staff; increased training and re-education of team members using state-approved “abuse and neglect” training materials; the enactment of a more strict visitor identification and visitation process; and increased monitoring of the 15-minute safety checks required for all ICF rooms.
“This has been nothing short of a complete operational overhaul,” said Petrilli. “Beyond the physical plant improvements and policy changes, we have reorganized and streamlined Hacienda’s personnel and senior leadership team. By promoting talented people from within the organization and hiring new people to take the best possible care of residents, we feel like we’ve returned to full strength when it comes to our caregiver team.”
Hacienda, founded in 1967, has more than 700 employees in its facilities around the state.
