UPDATE Weekly

The Legislature returned to Raleigh today for an organizational session. Members will take the oath of office, House and Senate leaders will be elected, and committee assignments will be announced. Governor McCrory was sworn in as Governor on January 5th. This will mark the first time since 1870 that North Carolina will have Republicans in control of the Governor’s office and both the House and Senate. There are 170 members of the House and Senate and most will be serving in their first or second term. The General Assembly will return to Raleigh to begin the 2013 “long session” on January 31st.

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Register today for the NCHCFA Annual Convention and Expo, February 10-13, 2013 at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons/Joseph S. Koury Convention Center, Greensboro, NC. Call the Sheraton at (800) 242-6556 to make your room reservation. Identify that you are with “NC Health Care Facilities Association 2013 Convention” to receive the group discounted rate. The advanced registration deadline is Friday, January 25th. To obtain an additional brochure visit “Education & Events” on the Member Center of the Association’s Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com.

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Last week, President Obama signed into law a bill that averted the fiscal cliff. According to the American Health Care Association (AHCA), the long-term care industry prevailed on most fronts. Highlights include:

1. The law delays the sequester – billions of dollars in across-the-board spending cuts – for two months. Consistent with what congressional leadership promised AHCA, it did not decouple the sequester from the defense cut. In short, there is no 2 percent cut.
2. There is a one-year doc fix, and while many provider groups were hit with cuts, skilled nursing facilities (SNF) are not a pay-for. There is a further reduction to therapy reimbursement when multiple procedures are involved; this goes into effect April 1. AHCA will work with therapy advocates to fight this reduction prior to implementation. There are no direct Medicare or Medicaid cut to SNFs.
3. The proposal extends the therapy cap exceptions process, and there is no hard cap. The manual review process for claims more than $3,700 continues.

AHCA has provided resources for members to learn more about the fiscal cliff deal.

• A side-by-side comparison of the administration’s proposal and the Senate compromise
• A summary of the bill’s extensions
• A summary of the bill’s cost offsets

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The application process for the 2013 National Quality Award program is underway. The Bronze, Silver and Gold Application Packets are now available. Applicants are encouraged to download the application packet and check out the highlights by clicking here.

Bronze applicants must submit their application and payment by the deadline of Thursday, January 31st at 8 p.m. EST.

Silver and Gold applicants must submit their application and payment by the deadline of Thursday, February 28th at 8 p.m. EST.

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NCHCFA has available this remake of our most popular educational tool, 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. Teepa, with whom most of you are familiar as one of the best in her field, is one of the most requested and popular speakers/educators. This DVD 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 to your learning objective. Handouts developed by Teepa accompany each video and may be reproduced. To order, contact Jan Williams at janw@nchcfa.org. The cost is $35.00 (tax and shipping included).

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Leading the Way: The Busy Nurse’s Guide to Supervision in Long-Term Care, is written by a team of experts in management and in long term care, Dr. Karl Pillemer and Rhoda Meador. This easy-to-read handbook supplies nurse managers with practical, easy-to-grasp management skills. This useful guide covers such invaluable topics as the essentials of leadership and team building, the secrets of supervision, teaching and mentoring, and dealing with conflict.

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

Product #5086
AHCA MEMBERS $23.95

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The United States faces an unprecedented number of aging baby boomers with mental health or substance use issues, a number so great it could overwhelm the existing health care system. Up to 8 million older Americans, or 20 percent of the current senior population, suffer from some form of mental health condition, often depression, at-risk drinking or dementia-related behavioral and psychiatric symptoms, according to an IOM report.

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/hsn/aging-boomers-mental-health-woes-will-swamp-health-system-report

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The 1973 Oldsmobile Toronado was the first car with a passenger air bag intended for sale to the public.

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