UPDATE Weekly

Effective January 1, 2016, nursing facility providers will receive their Medicaid rate letters and Final Point in Time Reports (resident rosters) from CSC via the secure NCTracks provider portal. Previously this information had been mailed to providers from the Division of Medical Assistance (DMA).

The nursing facility rate letter and resident roster will be posted to the provider’s Message Center Inbox each quarter. This approach provides quick accessibility to review, download, and print letters and patient rosters, as needed. This is the same method used to retrieve the paper Remittance Advice. The letters and rosters will remain available for up to 8 quarters.

With this change, nursing facility providers may see a slight difference in the format of the information, but the content will be the same. Access is restricted to those people who have permission to view the corresponding NPI on the secure NCTracks provider portal. To obtain permission, contact the Office Administrator for the NPI.

Training information will be made available for nursing facility providers in the near future.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ ICD-10-CM/PCS Frequently Asked Questions Web page has answers to your questions about:

• Claims processing and billing
• Coding
• General Equivalence Mappings
• Home Health
• National Coverage Determinations
• Local Coverage Determinations

Visit the ICD-10 Medicare Fee-For-Service Provider Resources Web page for a complete list of Medicare Learning Network educational materials.

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The NCHCFA Annual Convention and Trade Show will be held February 21-24, 2016 at the Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel/Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC! Brochures outlining specific program information will be available in December.

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The 2016 Quality Award application year has started. Completing applications can take months and the opening of the ITA window is a great time to begin the process. Bronze, Silver and Gold applications are on the Quality Award Website now.

The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program recognizes member skilled nursing care centers and assisted living communities for quality care and performance excellence. The program sets high standards based on the Baldrige Performance Excellence criteria. The program has three distinct levels; members must receive an award at each level to progress to the next.

WHY PARTICIPATE?
Performance Improvement

The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program is designed to encourage continuous learning and help members:

• Increase efficiency and effectiveness of their performance improvement system
• Validate and secure the links between continuous improvement, quality, and customer satisfaction
• Link mission, goals, and customer expectations
• Assess and maximize the organization’s strengths
• Apply systematic approaches that produce consistent results
• Receive customized feedback to drive change

Superior Outcomes

AHCA/NCAL research has demonstrated that Silver and Gold recipients (2012-2014) have superior performance in a number of key outcome areas:

• lower rates of readmissions and antipsychotic use
• higher five-star ratings
• higher average occupancy rates

To learn more about all of the 2016 AHCA Quality Award Program, click here.

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Alliant Quality wants to encourage SNFs to keep signing up for the National Collaborative – or SPACE. Alliant recommends having as much time as possible to get started on QAPI improvement work and improving facility quality measures in a systems approach to improve their five star and composite scores.

ABOUT ALLIANT QUALITY

Alliant Quality is the Medicare Quality Innovation Network (QIN)-Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for North Carolina. Under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Alliant Quality invites your nursing home to participate in a collaborative designed to ensure that every nursing home resident receives the highest quality of care. Specifically, the Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative (NNHQCC) will strive to instill quality and performance improvement practices, eliminate healthcare acquired conditions, and dramatically improve resident satisfaction.

The Collaborative offers an exciting opportunity to learn from high performing nursing homes regarding their processes as they pertain to consistent/permanent staff assignment, teamwork and communications, leadership, regulatory compliance, clinical models, and quality of life indicators. The Collaborative aligns national nursing home quality initiatives and partnerships such as the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes Campaign, The Partnership to Improve Dementia Care, and Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI). Targeted focus areas will include increasing mobility, decreasing unnecessary use of antipsychotics in residents with dementia, decreasing potentially avoidable hospitalizations and decreasing healthcare acquired infections and conditions.

When ready to register, click here for the Participation Agreement and fax or e-mail it back to Lis Klemis. For more details, e-mail Linda Kluge at, Linda.Kluge@area-F.hcqis.org or reach her at (678) 527-3675.

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When you have to replace an RN, the average cost is one hundred thousand dollars. By the time you find the right candidate, hire, train, and help them become productive, it could cost 150% of their base salary. It’s a lot less expensive to keep the employees you have, especially in a competitive market!

• Gero Nurse Prep prepares RNs for successful attainment of board certification as Gerontological Nurses, the gold standard of excellence.
• Employer support for continuing education and board certification can increase RN job satisfaction.
• Satisfied, well-trained, and committed RNs provide better quality care.
• RN satisfaction and a supportive workplace are linked to decreased turnover rates.

In addition to staff retention, your support of certification is an investment in your center’s performance, reputation, and residents. To learn more about these and other benefits of the course please go to http://geronurseprep.org.

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Below is a listing of the 2016 Fabulous Fifty recipients. NCHCFA would like to thank all facilities that submitted nominations.

District I

Sherry Berry – Lenoir Healthcare Center
Keisha Canty – Universal Health Care/ Fletcher
Jannette Corn – Carolina Village
Elisa Farmer – Skyland Care Center
David Franklin – Pisgah Manor Health Care Center
Kimberly Ann Henry – Macon Valley Nursing and Rehab Center
Angela James – Autumn Care of Waynesville
Bobbie King – Life Care Center of Banner Elk
Linda Owens – Autumn Care of Drexel
Heather Rhodes – Graham Health Care and Rehab

District II

Karen Brown – Big Elm Rehab and Living Centers
Rebecca Woazeah – North Carolina State Veterans Home
Ashley Mitchem – Peak Resources Gastonia
Ines Preslar – Trinity Oaks Health and Rehab
Terrian Foust – Autumn Care of Biscoe
Cynthia Tyson – Trinity Place
Dolores Walker – Stanly Manor, Inc.
Darren Harden – Carrington Place
Phyllis Carver – Bethany Woods Nursing and Rehab Center
Annie Sam – White Oak of Charlotte

District III

Glenda Douthit – Springwood Care Center
Cassidy Spivey – Universal Health Care Ramseur
Sherry Dube – Trinity Elms
Nancy Moore – White Oak Manor/Burlington
Monisophan “Monique” Campbell – The GrayBrier Nursing and Rehab Center
Martha Massey – Signature Healthcare of Chapel Hill
Pat Mabe – Village Care of King
Beverly Harvey – Alston Brook Nursing and Rehab
Daphne Jenkins – Piedmont Crossing
Jacob Crawford –The Oaks

District IV

Rebecca Bessent – Autumn Care of Shallotte
Jennifer Coleman – Autumn Care of Fayetteville
Lillie Driggers – Grantsbrook Nursing and Rehab Center
Lucy Mauk – Scottish Pines Rehab and Nursing
Charles McKoy – Liberty Commons/ Columbus County
Flora McPhaul – Highland Acres
Rayshica Nelson – Cherry Point Bay Nursing and Rehab Center
Wanda Treadwell – Trinity Grove
Tonya West – Harmony Hall Nursing and Rehab Center
Bridget White – Riverpoint Crest Nursing and Rehab

District V

Kimberly Alston – PruittHealth/ Raleigh
Cassandra Barnes – Roanoke Landing Nursing and Rehab Center
Susan Betts – Cross Creek Health Care
Sudail Jean Carruthers – Ayden Court Nursing and Rehab Center
Drucilla Cooper – South Village
Sharon Gay – PruittHealth/ Raleigh
Margaret Lowe – Enfield Oaks Nursing and Rehab Center
Tracy Morgan – The Oaks at Whitaker Glen-Mayview
James White – W.R. Winslow Memorial Home
Clarence Williams – Golden Living Center of Tarboro

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Register today for the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association’s “The Future of SNF Payment Models and Post-Acute Regulatory Reform.” There is little debate that the country’s healthcare economy is undergoing unprecedented reform which is rapidly shifting provider reimbursements to a system that rewards quality, efficiency and collaboration. The SNF providers that wish to thrive in this new economy stand at a tipping point whereby the strategies and tactics they employ today will profoundly impact their opportunity for success in the years to come. As regulatory payment methodologies shift from volume to value, many SNFs are finding themselves behind the curve relative to the pace of change. Please join us on the critically important topics of:

• Bundled Payments
• Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CCJR)
• SNF Value Based Purchasing
• Referral Source Alignment
• Quality Measure (Five Star Rating, QAPI, etc…)
• Medicaid Managed Care

This information will be presented by Dixon Hughes Goodman, LLC in Greensboro, NC on November 10th, 2015 at The Sheraton Greensboro/Four Seasons. The cost to attend this seminar is $185 for members and $370 for non-members. This fee includes handouts, lunch, and breaks. YOU CAN REGISTER AND PAY ON-LINE! TO REGISTER, GO TO http://NursingHomesNC.com AND CLICK ON The Future of SNF Payment Models and Post-Acute Regulatory Reform. Members may be invoiced. Non-members must submit payment online or mail with registration. Registration is open to anyone who would like to attend!

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ICD-10 coding has been implemented. Nationally recognized coding expert Karen Fabrizio, RHIA, CHTS-CP, CPRA, AHIMA, Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer, will help you train with her new, comprehensive ICD-10 coding training manual. Specific to long-term care, this manual gives detailed coding training and how-to guidance for the top diagnoses in the long-term care setting. ICD-10 is a complex new coding set, so it is crucial your facility is prepared.

This book provides:

• In-depth coding how-to for the most commonly documented diagnoses in the long-term care setting
• Guidance on how to properly document and code in ICD-10 to ensure appropriate coding on claims
• Quiz questions, examples, and sample scenarios to help train staff
• A detailed understanding of how long-term care providers in particular can best conquer ICD-10 complexities
• “How to” chapters that focus on each diagnostic area

To order, visit http://www.AHCApublications.org or call (800) 321-0343.

Product #8347
AHCA MEMBERS $149.00

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This DVD, Mobility and Safe Movement of the Elderly, Improving Your Skills to Prevent Injuries and Reduce Falls, by Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L., FOTA, Dementia Care & Training Specialist, was developed in conjunction with Wake Allied Health Education Center, Durham Technical Community College and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Office of Information Systems. The content is formatted in separate segments in order to customize the delivery of content to your learning objective. Handouts developed by Teepa accompany each video and may be reproduced. To order, e-mail your request to Donna Snyder at donnas@nchcfa.org. The price is $35.00 (tax and shipping included).

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CDC: 3 in 4 nursing home drug orders are wrong

http://www.mcknights.com/news/cdc-3-in-4-nursing-home-drug-orders-are-wrong/article/444886

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The burger with the most calories in the world can be found at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, the 19,900-calorie Octuple Bypass Burger.

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