UPDATE Weekly

NC Health Care Facilities Association is delighted to welcome Teepa Snow to North Carolina for a full day of training on caring for those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. This seminar will help attendees use effective strategies for helping people with dementia during personal care, medical procedures, and tests. The goal is to reduce resistance to care by having caregivers develop better observational skills to recognize and intervene effectively when behavioral challenges occur.

This seminar will emphasize the value of matching helping behaviors to the person’s needs and retained abilities to promote a sense of control and self-direction. Matching the caregiver’s helping behaviors, task set-up, the environment, and routines, based on the person’s abilities and needs, improves interactions and outcomes for everyone concerned. In addition, improved interactions may reduce the use of medications and enhance care providers’ skills and knowledge.

The seminar date is September 10, 2014 at the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC. Register today on-line by visiting our Web site http://www.NursingHomesNC.com and clicking on Demystifying Resistance in Dementia Care or click here to download the brochure to fax!

IMPORTANT! Please note that this seminar location has been moved to Concord, NC!

IMPORTANT! This seminar is during the Great Wolf Lodge’s “shut-down” period. The water park and restaurants/amenities will be closed during this time. Breaks and lunch will be provided to our attendees in the conference center, but the entertainment/food outlets will be CLOSED.

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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 2nd. Please encourage your facility to participate in this special award program.

The dates for the 15th Annual Fabulous 50 Celebrations are

District I – October 16, 2014, Grand Bohemian Hotel, Asheville
District II – October 21, 2014, Hilton Charlotte University Place, Charlotte
District III – October 23, 2014, Grandover Resort, Greensboro
District IV – October 28, 2014, Mad Boar Restaurant, Wallace
District V – October 30, 2014, Renaissance North Hills Hotel, Raleigh

To fill out nomination forms on-line, visit the Member Center of the Association Website at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com. Click on “News & Updates”, select “2015 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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On July 31, CMS issued a final rule outlining FY 2015 Medicare payment rates for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) under the Prospective Payment System (PPS). The American Health Care Association (AHCA) has prepared an overview of the final rule that can be read by clicking here.

In addition, AHCA has updated their SNF PPS Rate Calculator to reflect the final rule and has posted the file at http://www.ahcancal.org/facility_operations/medicare/Pages/SNFPPS.aspx. On this same site, you will also find instructions on using the tool to estimate your facility’s Medicare impact.

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Due to retroactive rate reductions in the Personal Care Services (PCS) program, the Division of Medical Assistance (DMA) will be recouping overpayments paid to providers starting in September 2014. There has been a change in the planned recoupment schedule from what was originally released by DMA and reviewed by NCHCFA at Summer Symposium.

DMA has released a special bulletin that details the revised recoupment schedule. The revised bulletin may be accessed by clicking here. The Medicaid Special Bulletin can also be found under Breaking News on the PCS Web site http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dma/pcs/pas.html.

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The Office of the State Controller has elected to change which bank handles EFT transmissions for State payments. Beginning with the September 3rd checkwrite, payments from NCTracks will be made from Bank of America instead of Wells Fargo. No specific action is required by providers, but there are a few situations of which you should be aware:

• The timing of posting and availability of funds to provider bank accounts depends on the provider’s financial institution. Beginning with the September 3 checkwrite, Bank of America customers will likely see their payments on Wednesday afternoon. Other providers will see payments in their accounts on Thursday afternoon.
• It is recommended that you not submit any Manage Change Requests to change your provider EFT banking information between August 25 and September 8. Any change made during this time period could potentially interrupt payment distribution from NCTracks.

This change in banks does not affect the mailing addresses or lockboxes used by NCTracks.

If you have any questions concerning the impacts noted above, please contact the NCTracks Call Center at (800) 688-6696 or NCTracksprovider@nctracks.com</>.

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Please plan to join your friends and colleagues in beautiful Pinehurst, North Carolina, on September 17th and 18th for the Third Annual Autumn Classic Golf Tournament. The event will begin on Wednesday evening with a reception, dinner and program held at the world famous Pine Needles Resort and Golf Club. The Pinehurst Autumn Classic is sponsored by the NC Health Care Facilities Association to benefit our political action committee (PAC). You do not have to play golf to participate! Visit the Association Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com for registration details.

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The NCHCFA Annual Convention and Trade Show will be held February 15-18, 2015 at the Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel/Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC! Brochures outlining specific program information will be mailed in December.

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We are pleased to present to you the digital edition of the 2014-2015 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 on Page 5 and be directed to the page you would like to view. You may also view and download the directory through our Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com.

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The 65th Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo registration is OPEN! This year’s convention will offer you the opportunity to deepen your professional knowledge, network with colleagues from across the country, spend time in the Expo Hall discovering new business solutions, and even rock out a little. This is the must-attend event for long term and post-acute care professionals.

For information or to register, visit http://www.AHCAconvention.org.

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Teamwork is an undisputed asset for reducing nursing and medical errors, improving quality of patient care, resolving workload issues, and avoiding burnout. This text helps to foster the leadership expertise and partnerships that will facilitate the delivery of the highest-quality care. It based on the time-tested wisdom that leadership knowledge, skills and, competencies gained by training a group of nurses in the same organization rather than a single nurse are much more likely to result in genuine organizational transformation. It is the only text available to focus in depth on building and maintaining effective partnerships, motivating and developing others in the team, organizational analysis, strategizing, communicating, planning and managing change, measuring team and partnership effectiveness through metrics, and leveraging results within and outside of the organization.

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

Product # 8306
AHCA Members (on-line price) $60.00

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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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Musicians in Their 90’s Team Up for NYC Show

http://news.msn.com/offbeat/video?videoid=c1b8a7a3-4f98-9607-bdbb-6de8d9414c05

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Pirates wore eye patches so that they can see in the dark. When they went to a lower deck with poor lighting, they could remove the patch and see better with that eye since it was acclimated to the dark, whereas the other eye would take several minutes to adjust to the change in light.

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