UPDATE Weekly

The NCHCFA Annual Convention and Trade Show will be held February 15-18, 2015 at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons/Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC! Chair Kevin Cox and the NCHCFA Board of Directors cordially invite you to NCHCFA’s Diamond Jubilee for a very special evening. Join us in celebrating the Association’s 60th Anniversary commemorating our founding members and extraordinary leaders from the past, present and future! There will be food, entertainment, and great recollections from the past six decades. The band Soul Fish is back by popular demand and will play all the greatest tunes from your favorite decade.

NCHCFA is issuing you a ticket back in time! Start the evening back in 1955 for a little nostalgia. Pink skirts and gray suits were the fashion craze, the first McDonald’s opened, and rock and roll music was growing in popularity! Grab a burger and fries and play some Elvis on the jukebox. Be sure to stop and bowl like superstar Don Carter while you enjoy a cold beverage. Then jive talk on over to the 1970’s and get ready to chill in your favorite polyester suit. Drive like Richard Petty on the racetrack and enjoy all the sights and sounds of the seventies. You will be sure to see some familiar faces of NCHCFA’s past as you moonwalk over to 80’s Avenue. Visit the arcade for a game of Space Invaders, Pac Man and over 60 games from the “Big Hair” decade. Be sure to stop in the photo booth before you dance the night away.

Remember to wear your finest attire from your favorite decade! Great prizes will be awarded for the best dressed male and female. Heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served. You will not want to miss this special evening. Registration materials will be available Thursday, December 18th!

Reminder, call the Sheraton at (800) 242-6556 to make your room reservation. Identify that you are with “NC Health Care Facilities Association 2015 Convention” to receive the group discounted rate.

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The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would like to thank our 2015 Gold Convention Host for supporting the upcoming Annual Convention & Expo – NCHCFA Diamond Jubilee Celebration. Be sure to visit Blue Ridge Pharmacy at booths 500 & 502 on Tuesday, February 18th during Expo 2015 – Voyage Through the Decades.

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This will be the last issue of UPDATE for this year. UPDATE will not be published on December 24th, or December 31st, 2014, but will resume its normal schedule on January 7th, 2015. The staff of the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association wishes you Happy Holidays!

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…..“Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Billing Reference” Fact Sheet (ICN 006846) was revised and is now available in downloadable format. This fact sheet is designed to provide education on Medicare Part A, which covers skilled nursing and rehabilitation care in a SNF under certain conditions for a limited time. It includes information for SNF providers, about SNF coverage, SNF payment, and SNF billing.

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A Medicaid Special Bulletin has been posted to review the recent changes made to the Personal Care Services (PCS) program. This Special Bulletin, as well as the other Medicaid Bulletins, can be found at http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dma/bulletin.

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The CDC has provided a new resource: A Toolkit for Long Term Care Employers: Increasing Influenza Vaccination among Healthcare Personnel in Long Term Care Settings. This is available at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/toolkit/long-term-care.

Within this comprehensive toolkit are a number of resources intended to help long term care facility, agency, or corporation owners and administrators provide access to influenza vaccination for their workforce and to help any employer of workers in long term care understand the importance of influenza vaccination for their employees.

Despite the CDC’s recommendation that all healthcare personnel receive an annual flu vaccine, uptake is lowest among healthcare personnel in the United States who work in long term care (LTC) facilities, at about 52%, the CDC recently reported.

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Recruitment continues through March 31, 2015 for the upcoming Southern Partners Action Collaborative for Excellence facilitated by Alliant Quality. Goals will include:

• Continued use of QAPI tools and resources
• Continued reduction of Off-Label Use of Antipsychotics
• Improvement in Mobility for Long-Stay Residents
• Improvement of Composite Score to 6 or better.

To learn more about the CMS National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative, click here.

To learn more about the SPACE Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative – Southern Partners Action Collaborative for Excellence Benefits, Expectations, and Commitments, click here.

If you are ready to register, click here for the Participation Agreement and fax or e-mail back to Nancy Fendler as indicated. For more details, e-mail Nancy at nancy.fendler@alliantquality.org.

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On February 12, 2014, President Obama signed Executive Order 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors. The Executive Order raises the hourly minimum wage paid by contractors to workers performing on covered Federal contracts to: (i) $10.10 per hour, beginning January 1, 2015; and (ii) beginning January 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, an amount determined by the Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) in accordance with the Order. On October 1, 2014, DOL published the final rule implementing the provisions of Executive Order 13658.

It is long-standing policy that Medicare (Parts A and B) or Medicaid providers are not considered to be federal contractors. However, if a provider currently has VA patients, they are considered to be a federal contractor. The American Health Care Association (AHCA) held a Webinar with officials from the VA last week on issues impacting those with VA contracts, including the $10.10 issue. The full Webinar can be found here. As we mentioned, AHCA is awaiting answers from the Department of Labor (DOL), which has jurisdiction over this issue, on how the $10.10 will impact those with VA contracts or those thinking of entering into a VA contract. Updates from DOL are expected soon. If you have any specific questions, please contact Dana Halvorson at dhalvorson@ahca.org.

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Stamped signatures are not acceptable (see exception below). Palmetto GBA continues to receive medical records with stamped signatures. Stamped signatures are only permitted in the case of an author with a physical disability who can provide proof to CMS or a CMS contractor of an inability to sign due to a disability.

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This DVD has two separate programs: Program 1 introduces everyone in the organization to the safety committee. It explains the role of the safety committee: to promote safety awareness and teamwork. It also explains six things every worker can do to support the goal of a safe, injury-free facility. Program 2 is aimed at the committee members, the administration, and middle managers. It explains the contribution an active, effective safety committee can make to a facility’s bottom line and covers the building blocks most successful safety committees have in common.

The companion Presenter’s Guide includes background information, sample questions and follow-up points for group discussion, sample inservice presentation outline, and copy-ready audience participation handouts.

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

Product #6858D
AHCA MEMBERS $159.00

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If you missed Upcoming Hospice Regulations seminar, the notebook/presentation is now available for purchase. To order, e-mail your request to Jan Williams at janw@nchcfa.org. The cost is $25 plus tax and shipping.

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Fewer Errors in U.S. Hospitals Saved 50,000 Lives Between 2010 and 2013

http://time.com/3614815/hospital-patient-safety-errors

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Departing members of the US House of Representatives must vacate their offices no later than December 1st. For the rest of their term, they are assigned a cubicle with a phone, a networked computer and basic supplies.

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