AFL 21-55 From the California Department of Public Health
December 23, 2021
TO: Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs)
SUBJECT: Deployment of Risk and Safety Solutions (RSS) for Complaint/Facility Reported Incident (FRI) Investigations
All Facilities Letter (AFL) Summary
- This AFL announces that beginning January 10, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is deploying the RSS Complaint/FRI Survey Tool for complaint/FRI investigations in phases by district office.
- Facility-authorized users may access their Statements of Deficiencies and submit their plans of correction (POCs) using the RSS website.
Background
On August 7, 2020, CDPH implement an online application for conducting surveys and investigations. CDPH first deployed RSS for COVID-19 Mitigation Surveys with plans to deploy additional functions in the future. This AFL announces that CDPH will begin using RSS for complaints/FRI investigations in phases based on the deployment schedule below.
The RSS Complaint/FRI Survey Tool will initially only be used in SNFs; however, CDPH will roll out to other healthcare facility types as we build additional functionality into the online system.
Deployment Schedule
CDPH will begin using RSS for complaint/FRIs according to the following schedule:
| District Offices/Sections | Start Date |
|---|---|
| Life Safety Code, State Facilities, Sacramento, San Diego, San Bernardino, and San Francisco | 01/10/2022 |
| East Bay, Santa Rosa, Bakersfield, Los Angeles State Regional Office (LASRO), LA Region 3, Fresno, and Ventura | 01/24/2022 |
| LA Region 1, Orange, Chico, LA Region 2, San Jose, and Riverside | 02/07/2022 |
Facility Enrollment
If CDPH processes a complaint/FRI via RSS and the facility is not already enrolled in RSS, CDPH will send an email invitation to the facility’s point(s)-of-contact stating, “CDPH has invited you to create an account.” The facility’s point(s)-of-contact will need to follow the instructions in the email to create an account.
If someone else at the facility needs to have access to RSS, please contact your local district office to have an email invitation sent to them.
Statement of Deficiencies and POC
Facility-authorized users may access their Statements of Deficiencies and submit their POCs and/or signed Statement of Deficiencies using the RSS website.
RSS Resources
For instructions on how to create an account, locate an investigation/survey in RSS, and submit a POC and signed Statement of Deficiencies, please refer to the following:
- RSS CDPH Responsible Person – Instructions (PDF)
- RSS Facility Administrator – Tutorial video
If you have any questions about this AFL, please contact your local district office.
Sincerely,
Original signed by Cassie Dunham
Cassie Dunham
Acting Deputy Director