OIG audits residential provider to determine compliance
The OIG conducted an audit of EduCare Community Living Corporation – Texas (EduCare) in response to an audit report issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General that identified oversight issues regarding the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s (HHS’s) Home and Community-Based Services (HCS) program.
The audit objective was to evaluate whether EduCare Community Living Corporation – Texas provided Medicaid clients with residences that housed three to four people in safe and healthy living environments, as defined by the HHSC Waiver Survey and Certification Residential Checklist and the COVID-19 emergency rules for the Home and Community-Based Services program.
Findings from the audit concluded that EduCare inconsistently complied with HHSC’s health and safety requirements during the OIG’s unannounced site visits to 15 of the residences. The OIG identified instances of noncompliance at 13 of the visited residences.
Areas of concern included:
- Six homes did not eliminate hazards from interior areas.
- One home did not eliminate hazards from outside areas.
- One home did not appropriately store medications.
- Three homes did not maintain complete medication administration records.
- Ten homes did not maintain verifiable evidence of medication administration.
- Three homes had assigned staff members who did not have sufficient knowledge of how to either identify, report or prevent the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of residents.
- Six homes did not comply with HHSC’s COVID-19 emergency rules for the HCS program.
- Two homes did not maintain adequate on-site emergency plans.
- One home had assigned a staff member who could not sufficiently articulate how to evacuate each resident in the event of an emergency.
- One home did not have a fully operational fire alarm system.
The OIG made recommendations to EduCare, which, if implemented, will ensure it strengthens its controls to ensure it provides safe and healthy living environments. Click here to read the full report.