UPDATE Weekly

UPDATE will not be published next week due to the Association’s Annual Convention and Exposition, but will resume publication on March 5, 2014.

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Watch our Awards Banquet speaker Dan Jansen February 19th, 21st and 22nd on NBC for women’s speed skating coverage at the 2014 Winter Olympics! Tickets are still available for the 2014 Annual Awards Celebration – Going for the Gold on Tuesday, February 25th. Providers, vendors and community representatives will unite to honor excellence in our profession. Don’t miss a firsthand account from the 2014 Winter Olympics! Be a part of this special evening and join us in recognizing the NCHCFA 2014 Special Award recipients.

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Time is running out, register today for the NCHCFA Annual Convention and Expo, February 23-26, 2014 at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons/Joseph S. Koury Convention Center, Greensboro, NC. Don’t miss the opportunity to earn up to 16 hours of educational credit for North Carolina Nursing Home Administrators, as well as up to 14 hours of Nursing CE credit! To obtain an additional brochure visit the Member Center of the Association’s Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com.

NCHCFA Convention registration will open Sunday, February 23rd at 2:00 PM and remain open until 6:00 PM in the South Lobby of the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons.

The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would like to thank the 2014 Corporate Sponsors for their generous support of the upcoming Annual Convention & Expo. Be sure to visit them on Tuesday, February 25th at the booths listed below:

PruittHealth – Booths 325 & 327
UniHealth Home Health – Booth 428
United Hospice – Booth 430
United Medical – Booth 426
United Pharmacy – Booths 329 & 331
United Rehab – Booth 424

Be sure to register for the Chairman’s Evening Extravaganza, A Night in Olympic Village for a night of fun. Remember to dress as your favorite athlete from the past or present, or as a spectator from your favorite country. Cash prizes will be awarded for the best dressed male and female!

Don’t miss the opportunity to bring a Nursing Assistant or a Billing Office staff member for free! If a facility registers two staff members for Package Two, a Nursing Assistant or a Billing Office staff member may attend Package Two at NO CHARGE!

The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would also like to thank the 2014 Convention Hosts for their generous support of the upcoming Annual Convention & Expo. Be sure to visit them on Tuesday, February 25th at the booths listed below:

Blue Ridge Pharmacy – Booths 315 & 317

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. – Booths 429 & 431

Medipack Pharmacy – Booth 530

NH Med Services – Booth 528

Poyner Spruill LLP – Booth 302

Southern Pharmacy – Booths 501, 503 & 505

Does your facility have a question for NCTracks? On Tuesday, February 25th, NCTracks will have a Help Center open exclusively for 2014 Convention attendees. Eight Claims Representatives from NCTracks will be on-site to assist individuals with specific questions. This will be similar to other help centers that have been held across the state, except this will be solely for SNF providers attending the NCHCFA Annual Convention. Please bring a list of your NCTracks issues as well as any supporting documentation. The Help Center will be open on a first come, first serve basis, from 8:00 am-5:00 pm conveniently located near the EXPO Hall.

In addition, NCTracks will also provide a brief progress report of the Medicaid claims processing system as it continues to develop and improve since its implementation July 1, 2013 for Package One attendees during “Reimbursement Hot Topics” and for Package Two attendees during “Billing Office Staff Day – Navigating NCTracks.” “Navigating NCTracks” will be a very detailed and informative program for Billing Office Staff.

Call the Sheraton at (800) 242-6556 to make your room reservation. Identify that you are with “NC Health Care Facilities Association 2014 Convention” to receive the group discounted rate.

If you have any questions or need additional details, please call the Association office at (919) 782-3827.

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The “The election of officers and members of the Board of Directors will be conducted during the convention at NCHCFA’s Annual Business Meeting on Sunday, February 23rd, at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons/Joseph S. Koury Convention Center, Greensboro, NC. The meeting will be called to order at 3:30 p.m. The Nominating Committee will place into nomination the following people:

2014 Nominating Committee: Diane Packard (Chair), Joan Garvey, Hal Garland.

Please click here for the NC Health Care Facilities Association campaign and election procedures.

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NC Health Care Facilities Association presents ICD-10-CM Essentials for Long Term Care March 19, 2014 in Greensboro, NC! Being taught by Pathway Health Services, this one-day seminar will have the following objectives:

• Learn structure, organization, and unique features of ICD-10.
• Understand basic coding guidelines.
• Demonstrate ability to look up and code basic diagnoses.
• Understand how coding relates to billing.
• Relate coding guidelines to all types of care.
• Know basic disease classification and how to use resource books.
• Be able to determine primary diagnosis.

The cost to attend this seminar is $185 for members and $370 for non-members. This fee includes handouts, snacks, and lunch. YOU CAN REGISTER AND PAY ONLINE! TO REGISTER, GO TO http://NursingHomesNC.com AND CLICK ON ICD-10-CM Essentials for Long Term Care. You may also download a brochure! Members may be invoiced. Non-members must submit payment online or mail with registration. Registration is open to anyone who would like to attend! REGISTER TODAY!

Location and Dates
March 19, 2014
Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons
3121 High Point Road
Greensboro, NC 27407
Reservations need to be made by March 1st! Please call (800) 242-6556 and specify that you are with NC Health Care Facilities Association to receive our special room rate!

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TMF Health Quality Institute is developing a secure Web portal through which certain providers can access their Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER). TMF is contracted with CMS to produce and distribute the PEPPER for short-term acute care hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals, inpatient psychiatric facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, hospices, partial hospitalization programs and skilled nursing facilities. To date, PEPPERs have been available electronically to some providers through QualityNet and in hard-copy format via mail to providers that did not have access to QualityNet.

TMF’s secure portal will allow access to PEPPER for providers who do not have access to QualityNet, which includes the following:

• Long-term acute care hospitals
• Free-standing inpatient rehabilitation facilities
• Hospices
• Partial hospitalization programs not associated with a short-term acute care hospital
• Skilled nursing facilities not associated with a short-term acute care hospital

TMF anticipates the PEPPERs for these providers will be made available for download in April/May 2014; they will remain accessible for approximately one year. To receive notification when the PEPPER is available and guidance on accessing the PEPPER, join the e-mail list at http://www.PEPPERresources.org (see the gray box on the upper right section of the Home page).

For more information, visit the Secure PEPPER Access page at http://www.PEPPERresources.org.

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This book provides the theory, principles, methods, and tools for the nurse manager or leader of a long term care facility. It contains more than 150 guidelines, flow sheets, communication, assessment, and feedback procedures that can be implemented with little or no modification by directors of nursing in every type of long term care facility.

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

Product #6746
AHCA MEMBERS $84.95

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

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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Why Am I Still a Nurse? Stories Can Keep the Passion Burning

http://www.nursetogether.com/why-am-i-still-a-nurse-anyway-reigniting-ou

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The last Olympic gold medals that were made entirely out of gold were awarded in 1912.

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