UPDATE Weekly

Register today to attend the fourth annual NCHCFA Summer Symposium August 26-28, 2015 at the Embassy Suites Resort at Kingston Plantation, Myrtle Beach, SC for the most up to date information affecting long term care. You can register and pay on-line. Visit http://NursingHomesNC.com and click on Fourth Annual Summer Symposium Registration! Administrators and registered nurses will be able to earn up to 12.5 hours of continuing education. Early registration ends July 31, 2015!

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Back by popular demand, NCHCFA will present a repeat seminar on August 11, 2015 in Greensboro, NC! If you missed Audit Survival in Long Term Care in May, you will not want to miss it again! This program will provide strategies for managing the people, records, and processes for responding to an auditor’s request for records and appealing denials. The role each person plays during this process includes coordination, preparation, documentation, and tracking. Preventing denials in the first place is part of a comprehensive compliance program as an internal QA function.

Topics include, but not limited to the following:

• Audits impacting nursing homes
• Who may audit you
• How to respond to audit requests
• Appealing audits
• The parts your employees play
• How to reduce/prevent audits

Here are only a few comments some of our attendees had to say:

“One of the best presentations I have been to in a while!”

“Speaker was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic with significant experience. Would like further trainings to be provided by this speaker!”

“Excellent presentation- so informative and helpful!”

“The speaker was terrific! Her knowledge is so vast! This was one of the best seminars I have attended!”

The cost to attend this seminar is $185 for members and $370 for non-members. This fee includes handouts and breaks (morning & afternoon). YOU CAN REGISTER AND PAY ON-LINE! TO REGISTER, GO TO http://NursingHomesNC.com AND CLICK ON Audit Survival in Long Term Care. You may also download a Brochure here! Members may be invoiced. Non-members must submit payment online or mail with registration. Registration is open to anyone who would like to attend! The hotel group rate has been extended to September 4th! Call now and reserve your overnight room!

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NCHCFA has made a change to the agenda for the upcoming 4th Annual Summer Symposium. The NEW program Proposed Changes to the Requirements of Participation for Long-Term Care Facilities, will now be held on Friday, August 28th from 9:00 am – 11:00 am. As you know, CMS issued a proposed rule change for the SNF/NF Medicare and Medicaid Requirements for Participation on Monday July 13th 2015. The rule is very large in scope and contains both new requirements and some requirements already issued by CMS via Survey & Certification memoranda. During this session, we will to share important information about the Proposed Rule changes. Dr. David Gifford, Senior Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs, American Health Care Association, will provide attendees with a robust explanation of the ramifications of the changes to the requirements of participation and other regulatory policies impacting SNFs including new payment models as well.

Some of the proposed changes/requirements that stand out:

• Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs;
• Baseline care plan for each resident within 48 hours of admission;
• Compliance and ethics programs;
• Discharge planning;
• Facility assessment which aims to determine what resources are necessary to care for its residents competently during both day-to-day operations and emergencies; and
• A more comprehensive Infection Prevention and Control Program including an Infection Prevention and Control Officer.
• Comments on the use of arbitration agreements.

David Gifford, MD, MPH serves as the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living’s (AHCA/NCAL) Senior Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs. AHCA/NCAL represents more than 11,000 for- and not-for-profit nursing homes, assisted living residences, and facilities for the care of people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. He oversees AHCA’s quality initiative and serves as co-chair of board for Advancing Excellence. Dr. Gifford previously served as the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, as well as the Chief Medical Officer for Quality Partners of Rhode Island where he directed CMS’s national nursing home-based quality improvement effort. He is a board certified Geriatrician and has worked as medical director in several nursing homes. He completed his primary care residency and geriatric fellowship at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) after graduating from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. While a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, Dr. Gifford received his Master’s in Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology from UCLA.

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It is time once again for the NCHCFA “Fabulous 50” awards! This time-honored event provides the opportunity to acknowledge front line, unlicensed personnel who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in the long term care profession. The Fabulous 50 awards program honors individuals who are the backbone in our facilities because of the support they provide to our residents. A panel of judges from the Education and Programs Committee will select ten nominees from each district. Each of the award recipients will be honored at a dinner and awards presentation in their district. The deadline to receive completed nominations is Tuesday, September 1ST. Please encourage your facility to participate in this special award program.

The dates for the 16th Annual Fabulous 50 Celebrations are:

District I – October 20, 2015, Grand Bohemian Hotel, Asheville
District II – October 22, 2015, Hilton Charlotte University Place, Charlotte
District III – October 27, 2015, Grandover Resort, Greensboro
District IV – October 29, 2015, Mad Boar Restaurant, Wallace
District V – November 5, 2015 Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Durham

To fill out nomination forms on-line, visit the Member Center of the Association Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com. Click on “News & Updates”, select “2016 Fabulous 50 Nomination Packet” and choose “Survey Monkey”. If you have any questions about the Fabulous 50 awards, call the Association office at (919) 782-3827. Pictures for nominations submitted online may be e-mailed to karenl@nchcfa.org or mailed to the Association office.

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The American Health Care Association (AHCA) commends the full U.S. Senate, and in particular the Senate Congressional leads of Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Michael Enzi (R-WY), for passing the Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility (NOTICE) Act (H.R. 876). This legislation was introduced by Congressmen Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-35) and Todd Young (R-IN-9) in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year. The NOTICE Act will require hospitals to notify Medicare beneficiaries of their outpatient status within 36 hours. Outpatient status affects a patient’s ability to receive Medicare coverage for post-acute care in a skilled nursing center.

“This is an important step forward,” said AHCA Senior Vice President of Government Relations Clifton J. Porter II. “This legislation is now on its way to being signed into law. That means millions of individuals who leave a hospital, preparing for a short stay in a skilled nursing center, will now know what their hospital status is, which could save them thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. I applaud Senators Ben Cardin and Michael Enzi for their support and dedication to getting this legislation across the finish line.”

On March 16, the House unanimously passed the NOTICE Act (H.R.876). The Senate Finance Committee approved the bill on June 24. With the full Senate approval, the legislation now gets sent to the President to be signed into law.

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Please plan to join your friends and colleagues in beautiful Pinehurst, North Carolina, on September 16th and 17th for the Fourth Annual Autumn Classic Golf Tournament. The event will begin Wednesday with golf, a reception, dinner and program held at the world famous Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club. The Pinehurst Autumn Classic is being sponsored by the NC Health Care Facilities Association to benefit our political action committee (PAC). You do not have to play golf to participate! Click here for registration materials.

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The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would like to thank our 2015 Summer Symposium Corporate Sponsors for supporting the upcoming Fourth Annual Summer Symposium in Myrtle Beach, SC: Healthcare Services Group, Medipack Pharmacy, QMX Mobile Health and Southern Pharmacy Services.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently unveiled a 500+ page document detailing plans to implement a new Medicare Part A and B bundled payment model for hip and knee replacement surgeries. Although not all areas of North Carolina will be included, it does include hospitals located in the following counties: Buncombe, Cabarrus, Chatham, Currituck, Durham, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Lincoln, Madison, Mecklenburg, Orange, Person, Pitt, Rowan, and Union. The program will begin January 1, 2016 and run for five years. The proposed bundle includes episodes starting with admission to the hospital, and end 90 days following discharge. Hospitals would control the bundle and bear the financial risk for the inpatient stay as well as all care related to the patient’s recovery, which would include stays in IRFs, SNFs, and even home health care. CMS estimates that approximately 25% of all hip and knee replacements that Medicare pays for would be subject to the new bundled payment.

Medicare’s fee-for-service system would continue paying providers. However, at the end of the calendar year, one of two things will occur, depending on the hospital’s patient outcomes and ability to control costs: 1) hospitals will receive an additional payment based on the net savings to the program; or 2) be required to repay Medicare for a portion of the costs for the episode of care. The rule states that CMS will not hold hospitals at risk in the first year of the program, but will force the providers to absorb costs beginning in year two and beyond.

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) advises all nursing facilities that provide hip and knee replacement rehabilitation services to residents discharged from hospitals located in the above listed counties, to start talking to the hospitals now.

For additional information on the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model, click here.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be holding as conference call to review the proposed rule for long term care facilities. These requirements are the federal health and safety standards that long-term care facilities must meet in order to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs. This presentation provides background for updating these requirements and briefly walks participants through many of the changes included in the proposal. A question and answer session follows the presentation.

The call will be Tuesday, August 11th, from 2:30 PM until 4:00 PM ET. To register, visit MLN Connects Event Registration. Space may be limited, register early.

Agenda:

• Highlights of the proposed rule
• Overarching themes of the proposed rule
• Methods for reviewing and commenting on the proposed rule

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The states included in Medicare Jurisdiction 11 (including North Carolina) will be transitioning to Jurisdiction M. Last week, Palmetto GBA held a Webinar on this transition process. If you missed the Webinar, you can access the presentation by clicking here.

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OBJECTIVES:

► Assembling YOUR QAPI Document
► Strategies for Collecting & Using QAPI data
► Identifying Gaps & Opportunities
► Getting to the “Root” of the Problem
► Process Tool Framework

Event Name: North Carolina SPACE August 2015 Webinar II
Event Date August 5, 2015
Event Time: 10:30-11:00am ET – To register, click here.
2:00-2:30pm ET – To register, click here.

Please join the event 15 minutes prior to the start time to ensure the automatic system set-up has been properly established.

Attendee Instructions:

1) Click or Copy and Paste this URL to your Web browser: https://qualitynet.webex.com
2) This should bring you to the QualityNet e-University Webpage
3) Locate the event you wish to join and click “Join” (located to the right of the event title)
4) Enter your name and email address as prompted
5) Enter the password: SPACE
6) The automatic system set-up should start at this point. If a dialogue box appears, click run. Please note, the automatic system set-up does take a few minutes to complete
7) Dial in to the teleconference. The number is (888)-850-4523. The access code is 655150.

If you have any questions or problems accessing the Web portion of this meeting, please call the General Dynamics Information Technology WebEx Helpline at (540)-347-7400 x390.

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The Alliant Quality NH PIMS portal is ready to go, allowing you access to several items listed below. The Portal is a place where Providers and Nursing Homes are able to login to view reports for their entity and to submit information.

As your contact information is added to the system, you will receive an e-mail asking you to change your temporary password.

• A Temporary Password will be sent to your e-mail address.
• When you first log in, you will be forced to change your temporary password and select your own password.

• If you would like additional staff to have access to the portal, please send, Jovonn.Givens@alliantquality.org, the following:

o First Name
o Last Name
o Position or Title
o E-mail Address

1. Access the data including:

a. 30 Day Hospital Readmissions
b. Composite Score
c. Antipsychotic Rate
d. Restraint Rate
e. Pressure Ulcer Rate
f. Falls with Injury
g. ADL
h. Incontinence

 This data is updated on a monthly basis
 In the future, you will receive automated emails when the graphs have been refreshed

2. Upload QAPI Self-Assessment Tool through the portal (instead of email or fax)
3. Upload completed PDSAs through the portal (instead of email or fax)

https://pimsportal.alliantquality.org/login.aspx

You may access the portal using the link above ~ then, your user name and password.

Additionally, Alliant will be posting a short “How To” video on the Website ~ coming soon on the Resources Webpage under NH Portal!

Please contact JoVonn Givens at jovonn.givens@alliantquality.org with further questions.

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Please join CMS for a new learning series brought to you by the QIO program. During this kick-off Webinar, Dennis Wagner, Director of the Quality Improvement and Innovation Group with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will describe the vision of the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program, provide information on the benefits of working with regional Quality Innovation Network-QIO (QIN-QIOs) and share examples of local success stories involving providers, partners and patients to give a better understanding of how to take full advantage of your participation with the QIO Program.

Event Details: National Learning & Action Network (LAN) Call
Event Date: Tuesday, August, 4, 2015
Event Time: 3:00-4:00 PM EDT

To register:

• Step 1: Visit https://qualitynet.webex.com/tc
• Step 2: Click on the “Upcoming” tab to locate the August 4 “National LAN Call”
• Step 3: Click Registration
• Step 4: Register

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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://www.geronurseprep.org.

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The North Carolina Directors of Nursing Administration Long Term Care, Inc. (NCDONA) are celebrating 20 years. The 20th Annual NCDONA Multistate Conference will be held at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort from September 23-26, 2015. There will be opportunities for multiple continuing education credits for Directors of Nursing as well as Administrators and for the first time, NCDONA will be offering the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) Course. At the completion of this course, attendees will be eligible to apply for certification. Visit http://ncdonaltc.com/register to register today! Seating is limited so do not wait to reserve yours!

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KEPRO is the BFCC-QIO for over 30 states. Offering information and assistance to providers, patients, and families regarding beneficiary complaints, discharge appeals, and Immediate Advocacy. During the Webinar, KEPRO representatives will present an overview of the role of the BFCC-QIO and the services provided, including the upcoming time frame changes for quality of care reviews.

Event Name: The BFCC-QIO Program
Event Audience: Healthcare providers and stakeholders
Event Time: August 12, 2015, 2 pm-3:15 pm ET
Event Speakers: Shiva Mumtazi, Outreach Specialist, KEPRO; Lisa Stansbury, Outreach Specialist, KEPRO
Event Registration: To register for the Webinar, go to https://qualitynet.webex.com and look for KEPRO – the BFSS-QIO.

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We are pleased to present to you the digital edition of the 2015-2016 NCHCFA Annual Membership Directory and Resource Guide. This year’s directory includes the listing of our facility members and trade associate members.

Please consider NCHCFA members first when looking for long-term care placement and professional services. For quick referencing, click on the Table of Contents and be directed to the page you would like to view. You may view and download the directory through our Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com.

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Do not miss TAKING THE HARDER RIGHT on Thursday, August 27th. This seminar is powerful and a unique way for corporations to educate fundamentally honest employees who were raised with moral and ethical values. It is easy to be moral and ethical when there are no pressures or circumstances to compel one to make difficult choices. This seminar will focus on a theme used at West Point to always strive to “take the harder right instead of the easier wrong” and will provide ways for individuals to cope with the pressures of life that can cloud judgment. Oliver Halle, a retired FBI Special Agent who is a lawyer and trained in teaching ethics, leads TAKING THE HARDER RIGHT. Several convicted white-collar felons will participate as presenters, riveting the audience as they tell their stories. These “felons” could be your roommate, neighbor, congregant, colleague, or relative, and at some point in their career they took the “easier wrong” and altered the course of their lives forever.

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They say things in Texas are bigger and better. The AHCA/NCAL 66th Annual Convention & Expo is shaping up to be just that, all from historic and beautiful San Antonio. Experience the food, the landmarks, and the fun of this Texas-sized destination, while you network, learn, and enjoy yourself at this must-attend event. This is not just a networking and educational event: this helps AHCA/NCAL further their mission to deliver solutions for quality care. The 66th Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo is a chance to share your knowledge and learn from your peers, your contemporaries, and experts in long term and post-acute care. The fact that it takes place in San Antonio, one of the southwest’s most colorful and entertaining cities, just makes it even better!

Register now! Additional savings are available when multiple people register from the same facility. There is something for everyone at the 66th Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo.

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This book covers 28 challenging cases that cover pivotal issues that most health care administrators and managers are likely to encounter at some point in their work – quality improvement, strategic planning, ethical dilemmas, organizational dynamics, cost-benefit analyses, resource utilization, and more. Providing an exceptional framework for decision-making and debate, Cases in Health Services Management is an outstanding casebook that provokes thought and discussion.

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

Product # 8248
AHCA Members (on-line price) $64.95

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Important information for residents and families… This brochure outlines what physical restraints are, when they should be used, rules and regulations concerning restraints, and making decisions about using them. To order, e-mail your request to Donna Snyder at donnas@nchcfa.org.

• NCHCFA Member: $30.00 per 100 brochures plus tax and shipping
• Non-Members: $60.00 per 100 brochures plus tax and shipping

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Study Confirms What We Knew All Along: Nurses Are Key to Hospital Success

https://www.yahoo.com/health/study-confirms-what-we-knew-all-along-nurses-are-123744862367.html

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“Leave It to Beaver” was the first American prime time show to have a finale. Child star Jerry Mathers wanted to leave the show to go to high school when he reached the proper age.

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