UPDATE Weekly

Last week, the District III Fabulous Fifty celebration was held October 24th at The Grandover Resort, Greensboro, NC. Cindy Farmer, Fox 8 News, hosted the event.

Recipients of the 2014 District III Fabulous Fifty honor are:

Elias Anchante – Oak Forest Health and Rehab, Winston-Salem, NC
Veronica Cheek – Universal Health Care-Ramseur, Ramseur, NC
Dorothy Cottingham – Westwood Health and Rehab, Archdale, NC
Aileen Cranford – Clapp’s Convalescent Nursing Home, Asheboro, NC
Pam Flinchum – Clapp’s Nursing Center, Pleasant Garden, NC
Belinda Gallimore – Universal Health Care-Ramseur, Ramseur, NC
Glenn Gillis – Peak Resources-Treyburn, Durham, NC
Wanda Hairston – Walnut Cove Health and Rehab, Walnut Cove, NC
Wilhemina Thompson – Peak Resources-Alamance, Graham, NC
Karen Willis – Maple Grove Health and Rehab, Greensboro, NC

Last night, the Association was proud to honor the Fabulous Fifty winners in District IV at the Mad Boar Restaurant, Wallace, NC. Representative Susi Hamilton hosted the event.

Recipients of the 2014 District IV Fabulous Fifty honor are:

Brandi Goodchild – Harnett Woods Nursing and Rehab, Dunn, NC
Joyce Holloway – Brian Center Health and Rehab-Goldsboro, Goldsboro, NC
Annie Leggett – Peak Resources-Pinelake, Carthage, NC
Vivian Packer – Liberty Commons-Columbus County, Whiteville, NC
Nellie Phynon – Bayview Nursing and Rehab, New Bern, NC
Cathy Smith – Golden Years Nursing Home, Falcon, NC
Cleophas Smith – Cherry Point Bay Nursing and Rehab, Havelock, NC
Johnnie Lou Smith – Trinity Grove, Wilmington, NC
Stephanie Smith – Southwood Nursing and Rehab, Clinton, NC
Dyane Michelle Thompson – Highland Acres Nursing and Rehab, Lumberton, NC

The next Fabulous Fifty celebration will be held on November 4th at the Renaissance North Hills, Raleigh, NC.

[Return to top]

The Empira Fall Prevention program is a combination of nationally recognized, evidence-based, fall-prevention practices and practical applications from numerous research studies. At the completion of their three-year program, Empira nursing facilities have collectively achieved a twenty to thirty percent (20% – 30%) reduction in the prevalence of resident falls. This finding, coupled with a significant reduction in the number of repeated falls, makes this presentation one that you will want to attend! If you missed the one-day seminar in March of this year, you will not want to miss this one!

Presented by Sue Ann Guildermann, this two-day in-depth session will cover the implementation of a comprehensive fall prevention and reduction program.

The cost to attend this seminar is $315 for members and $630 for non-members. There is a limit of 2 persons per facility! This fee includes handouts, snacks, and lunch for two days. CLICK HERE to download a registration form! Members may be invoiced. Non-members must submit payment with registration. REGISTER TODAY!

Location and Dates
November 13-14, 2013
Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons
3121 High Point Road
Greensboro, NC 27407

[Return to top]

DHSR has provided the information needed to enroll in the ePOC process. The deadline is November 1, 2013. Please be sure to use an email address that will be permanent for the facility and not one that will change if the administrator changes. Once you have gone through the complete registration process and have established a working permanent email for the facility please email the information to DHSR.EPOC@DHHS.NC.Gov. You will receive a confirmation via email of the activation. For assistance with the ePOC User registration, please contact the QTSO Help Desk at (888) 477-7876.

Documents provided regarding the enrollment process and webinar areas follows:

• ASPEN ePOC Procedures Guide For Survey Agencies: http://nursinghnc.webfactional.com/files/2013/10/ePOC-CMS_PG_PHASE-IN.pdf
• ASPEN Web: ePOC Procedures Guide for Facilities: http://nursinghnc.webfactional.com/files/2013/10/ePOC-Fac_PG_PHASE-IN.pdf
• Passwords to the webinar: http://nursinghnc.webfactional.com/files/2013/10/PasswordsToTheWebinar.docx
• ePOC Instruction Form: http://nursinghnc.webfactional.com/files/2013/10/ePOC-Instruct-Form.pdf

For assistance from DHHS contact Shonda Kelly at (919) 855-4548 or shonda.kelly@dhhs.nc.gov.

[Return to top]

Based on new CMS guidance the NC IIDR policy has been revised allowing Nursing Facilities homes to request IIDR for deficiencies with Scope and Severity Levels D and E from revisits if associated with a Civil Money Penalty. Relevant documents may be accessed:

• IIDR-Revised-2013: http://nursinghnc.webfactional.com/files/2013/10/IIDR-Revised-2013.doc
• SC13-57-EscrowAndIndependent-IDR-ProcessForNHApplicabletoAllCMPs-5: http://nursinghnc.webfactional.com/files/2013/10/SC13-57-EscrowAndIndependent-IDR-ProcessForNHApplicabletoAllCMPs-5.doc

[Return to top]

A new Alliance for Health Reform Toolkit was recently released that will give providers the latest information on the employer mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Toolkit, produced with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, details the ACA’s employer requirements and penalty. It also includes information about the delay in the mandate to 2015, and analysis about its impact on employer-based coverage. In addition, the Kaiser Family Foundation recently partnered with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms to answer several frequently asked questions about the ACA. The complete FAQ document can be found here. If you have any questions or comments about the health reform law, please submit them to insurancecoverage@ahca.org, and be sure to check out AHCA’s ACA Web site.

[Return to top]

Attached is guidance AHCA received from CMS on how states are to handle deficiencies and follow up visits following the shutdown. Please note clarifications of two questions frequently posed:

• B3 about fixing IJs (posed on bottom of page 4 continuing on to page 5 is the one AHCA received most frequently and submitted to CMS). The answer is the time for fixing IJs will be linked to the date the citation was issued not the date of inspection. Also IJs that were issued prior to the shutdown but a revisit was delayed will be considered abated if evidence of fixing the problem is well documented
• B5 about CMPs or DPNA (posed on page 5 and continuing onto page 6). If credible evidence is submitted to SSA during the shut-down or is found at revisit that problem was resolved, CMPs or DPNA will be discontinued as of that date (see detailed criteria on page 6 of attached memo).

http://nursinghnc.webfactional.com/files/2013/10/SC14-04_QandAs-forRecoveryAfterFederalGovernmentShutdown.pdf

[Return to top]

If your facility has a change of Administrator or a DNS, or if you leave a position of administrator of a facility, regulations require that the Survey Agency be notified using the appropriate form. Notification via fax or mail will delay processing. Upon notification you will receive an acknowledgement that will serve as evidence that the change has been made in the NCDHSR system. Find the change form at: http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/nhlcs/forms.html#admin.

[Return to top]

The North Carolina Culture Change Coalition is accepting culture change grant applications from every certified nursing home.

The Coalition has made major changes to its grant program in accordance with new rules from CMS which took effect in 2012. Facilities will apply for grants using the updated RFA, which is available throughout the year. Once the coalition receives the proposal, trained members will review the application to make sure it meets CMS criteria. Each section of the application will be scored on the basis of incomplete, needs improvement, acceptable, or exceptional. Any section of the proposal receiving an incomplete or needs improvement will be sent back to the facility, and a trained coalition member will mentor the facility to help refine the section(s). Once all sections meet the acceptable or exceptional score, DHHS will help the facility convert the application into CMS’s required format and will then send the application to CMS for review. CMS has 45 days to make a determination on the application and may contact the facility for further information if necessary. Approval or denial is made by CMS and all decisions are final.

While this represents a major change in the method for reviewing grant proposals, the Coalition is willing to work with any eligible facility wishing to use CMP money to fund enhancement projects so they have the best chance of having their application approved by CMS. The revised RFA became available in early April and was sent to the administrators of all eligible North Carolina facilities. If you have any questions about the program, or need assistance with the application process, please contact Becky Wertz, becky.wertz@dhhs.nc.gov.

[Return to top]

The May 2013 edition of the AHCA’s RAI/MDS User’s Manual, Version 3.0 is now available! The latest updates from CMS include revisions/updates to Chapters 2, 3, and 5. AHCA offers the RAI/MDS in two versions, a 3-ring binder with 49 tabs for easy reference or an e-book that is easy to navigate, and has excellent search capabilities.

The new May 2013 edition of the Long Term Care Survey has all the recent updates from CMS, including revisions to Appendix P on Dementia Care in Nursing Homes, and Appendix PP: F-Tag 309, Quality of Care, F-Tag 329, Unnecessary Drugs, as well as the earlier revisions to F-Tag 441 on Infection Control and F-Tag 155, Advanced Directives. New BONUS CD-ROM includes an electronic manual for convenient search of keywords and F-Tag numbers, exhibits/forms, and CMS transmittals. Order your copy today!

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

[Return to top]

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. Contact Jan Williams at janw@nchcfa.org to order brochures for your facility.

NCHCFA Members: $30.00 per 100 brochures plus tax and shipping

Non-Members: $60.00 per 100 brochures plus tax and shipping

[Return to top]

Kids and pets put the ‘home’ in nursing home.

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/2013/1028/Kids-and-pets-put-the-home-in-nursing-home

[Return to top]

At 19 years of age and on vacation in Geneva, Switzerland, Mary Godwin began writing what she assumed would be a short story. With Percy Shelley’s encouragement, she expanded this tale into her first novel, Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, published in 1818.

[Return to top]