UPDATE Weekly

On Friday, CMS announced updates to Medicare beneficiary premium, deductible and co-insurance costs for 2013. The most applicable to nursing facilities is the change in the Medicare co-insurance from $144.50 per day to $148. This amount applies starting with day 21 of the Medicare Part A covered stay.

For a full description of all other Medicare rate changes, please visit http://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/costs-at-a-glance/costs-at-glance.html.

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CMS has issued an S&C Memo providing clarification of guidance related to medication errors and pharmacy services. The memo is dated November 2, 2012 and is effective immediately. The memo specifically addresses:

1) Medication errors

    a. Administration of medications via a feeding tube

    b. Metered dose inhalers

    c. Proton pump inhibitors

2) Concerns regarding medication administration practices

    a. “Borrowing medications”

    b. Fentanyl patches

3) Medication regimen reviews for stays under 30 days and changes in condition

NOTE: Each item includes a section titled “Survey Implications” and directs surveyors to review nursing center practices at various F-tags.

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The NCHCFA Annual Convention and Trade Show will be held February 10-13, 2013 at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons/Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC! Call the Sheraton at (800) 242-6556 to make your room reservation. Identify you are with “NC Health Care Facilities Association 2013” to receive the group discounted rate. Brochures outlining specific program information will be mailed in December.

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This book is a must read for nursing home administrators, directors of nursing, and others in leadership positions in long term care. It offers practical, commonsense, easy-to-implement approaches that will yield immediate positive results. It also serves as a wake-up call to leaders who doubt their impact and as an affirmation to leaders who struggle daily to do a good job. Let Meeting the Leadership Challenge in Long Term Care open the door to new possibilities and set your organization on a better course.

• Get and keep the right staff, including how to identify “triple crown winners”
• Reduce staff stress and promote solid teamwork
• Build a positive chain of leadership that brings out the best in the staff
• Convert money now spent on turnover into resources to support stability
• Improve corporate support with an instructive “Stop Doing List
• Use quality improvement and culture change practices to achieve high performance
• Increase staff, family, and resident satisfaction
• Make a meaningful impact as a leader

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

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The notebook used in the October training is now available for purchase. Contact Jan Williams at janw@nchcfa.org to order brochures for your facility. The cost is $25.00 plus tax and shipping.

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Twinkies were first thought up by James A. Dewar, the Vice President of Continental Bakeries. Dewar was trying to come up with a way to utilize the machines used to make cream filled strawberry shortcake when strawberries were out of season and the machines normally sat idle. For more Twinkie facts, click here.

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