Before anyone can be admitted to a nursing facility for a long term stay, they must first have an assessment required by the federal government to ensure the resident's needs are met. This assessment is known as the CARE Assessment. CARE is an assessment program started by the 1994 Kansas Legislature. The name CARE stands for Client Assessment, Referral and Evaluation. Everyone seeking entrance into any nursing home in Kansas after 1/1/1995 must have a CARE assessment prior to admission. The purpose of CARE is to help people find appropriate long term care services and collect information on the needs for community services. The CARE assessor has information related to what services are available in the area. The Kansas Department on Aging reports the data collected from the CARE assessment on lack of services to the legislature each year.

WHAT IS A CARE ASSESSMENT?

A CARE assessment if a two page form that was developed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to determine a person's health and functional abilities. It is a personal interview with you, family and/or other caregivers. The assessment averages about one hour or less to complete.

WHO CONDUCTS A CARE ASSESSMENT?

The people that normally complete a CARE Assessment are a hospital social worker or an assessor from the Area Agency on Aging. If you are in a hospital and decide to go to the nursing facility, the hospital social worker will complete this assessment prior to your discharge. If you are living in your own home or with family and plan to go the nursing facility then the Area Agency on Aging will send someone to complete the assessment. During the assessment, you will hear about community care options that may be of help to you. 

WHY ARE THERE QUESTIONS ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS AND MENTAL RETARDATION?

An important part of the CARE tool are the questions about mental illness and mental retardation. These questions make fulfill the federal Preadmission Screening and Resident Review. This screening process started in 1987. This section of the screening asks questions about mental illness and mental retardation so that anyone with these conditions can find any specialized services they need. If someone has one of these conditions the assessor may need to refer that person for a detailed screening. This second screening is called a Level II screening. Once this assessment is completed the Kansas Department on Aging will determine if the person needs nursing home care or other types of services. For additional information, please contact Vicki Seems at 785 242-7123, ext. 113, or if outside of Ottawa, contact Vicki at 1 800 633-5621.