UPDATE Weekly

The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association is turning 60 in 2015! All members are invited to join in the celebration at the NCHCFA Diamond Jubilee, February 15-18, 2015 at the Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel/Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC. Are you ready to reminisce? Join us as we take a look back in time to when it all began. NCHCFA will be honoring all members from the past and present.

Call the Sheraton at (800) 242-6556 to make your room reservation. Identify that you are with “NC Health Care Facilities Association 2015 Convention” to receive the group discounted rate. Brochures outlining specific program information will be available in December.

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The American Health Care Association (AHCA) would like to announce two Webinars coming up specifically for Independent Owners (IO). Below please find the dates, descriptions and registration information.

Improving Integrity in Nursing Centers

November 20, 2014 at 2:00 PM EST (60 minutes)

http://webinars.ahcancal.org/session.php?id=14820

This Webinar will highlight AHCA/NCAL’s new “Fraud and Abuse Toolkit,” and help Independent Owner providers untangle the web of fraud and abuse laws and regulations. The Toolkit focuses on nursing facilities; but much of the information can be helpful to other health care providers, such as assisted living or DD facilities. Provider’s comprehensive understanding of the applicable fraud and abuse laws and regulations is important in order to protect patients and payers (including Medicare and Medicaid). Further, an understanding of the fraud and abuse laws and regulations can help facilities protect themselves from potential administrative, monetary, civil and criminal liabilities.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand how to comply with federal fraud and abuse laws and regulations.
2. Learn how federal agencies and contractors enforce those laws and regulations.
3. Discover what to do when a government inspector walks in the facility door.

SNF Re-hospitalization Program – Independent Owners Preparing for Implementation

December 17, 2014 at 1:00 PM EST (90 minutes)

http://webinars.ahcancal.org/session.php?id=14836

The Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (H.R. 4302; Pub.L. 113–93) included several important provisions for skilled nursing centers. Of key importance is a re-hospitalization program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) will withhold two percent of Medicare fee-for-services payments to skilled nursing centers. In turn, skilled nursing centers will be able to receive these withheld funds by meeting CMS and industry agreed to facility-specific re-hospitalization rates.

1. Learning Objectives:Basics of the SNF Re-Hospitalization Program
2. Ideas for Preparation Including Use of Long Term Care Trend Tracker
3. Information on How Some Members Are Preparing for Implementation

To participate in either of the Webinars, select the appropriate link above to register before the Webinar begins. After registering, the Webinar participation information will be e-mailed to you.

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In the past, the NCHCFA prepared a Cost Data Summary for the use of their member facilities. This Cost Data Summary would allow skilled nursing facilities to compare their costs, and other data items, with most other North Carolina nursing facilities. The source of the data used in the previous Cost Data Summaries was the North Carolina Medicaid Cost Report for Nursing Facilities. The Medicaid program recently transitioned to a new cost reporting system based on the Medicare cost reports.

The new cost comparison file has been prepared utilizing the 2013 Medicare cost reporting data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. At the time the file was prepared, there were 301 form CMS-2540-10 cost reports available with cost report end dates between 3/18/2013 and 12/31/2013 from North Carolina facilities.

To perform the cost comparison, enter two specified data fields from your facility’s cost report and the file will populate with your facility’s specific information.

This file can be found in the Hot Topics section of Association Web site at http://nursinghnc.webfactional.com.

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Please join the American Health Care Association (AHCA) on Dec. 5, 2014, 2:00PM, ET, for the first Webinar in a 2-part series entitled, ICD-10 Team Preparation: Are you Ready?, with HCPro expert, Diane L. Brown, BA, CPRA, where you will learn:

• Diagnosis Coding Basics
• Scope of ICD-10 Implementation
• Managing ICD-10 Transition Issues

The overall purpose of this Webinar is to assist SNFs in understanding the ICD-10 basics, as well as some of the specifics of coding in the LTC environment. Although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided numerous training sessions to hospitals and physicians over the last several years; it has not provided any specific ICD-10 training to SNF organizations and staff. Now is the time for SNFs to prepare for the ICD-10 system; and it involves planning, calculating the scope of work, determining timing and the learning “curve,” and securing an adequate budget to accomplish the task. Recognizing the consequences of and improving the choices SNFs make as we approach the ICD-10 transition is the focus of this webinar. Some SNFs may have already begun the preparation process; but some still have some work to do to meet the new transition deadline of Oct. 1, 2015. This Webinar will prove invaluable to those of you looking for concrete ICD-10 direction and instruction now. REGISTER NOW at http://webinars.ahcancal.org/session.php?id=14943.

In addition, mark your calendar now for Dec. 11, 2014, at 2:00PM, ET, when AHCA has scheduled the second Webinar in this series, Is Your ICD-10 Coding Accurate? Diane Brown will again be leading this discussion; but this time the discussion will focus on:

• ICD-10 Official Coding Guidelines
• Using the Index and Tables
• Selecting Proper Code from the Index

REGISTER NOW at http://webinars.ahcancal.org/session.php?id=14944.

Prior to each Webinar, AHCA encourages you to go to their Web site at http://www.ahcapublications.org/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=8296 and purchase ICD-10 Essentials for Long-Term Care: Your Guide to Preparation and Implementation, by Karen L. Fabrizion, RHIA, CPRA. This manual will help greatly as you listen and participate in the upcoming AHCA Webinars.

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GMCF, the QIO for North Carolina, is now recruiting for the upcoming National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative (NNHQCC) entitled SPACE ~ Southern Partners Action Collaborative for Excellence ~ that will begin in April of 2015. GMCF is partnering recruitment efforts with NCHCFA for the 11th Statement of Work (11SOW). The Goals for the 11SOW include Reducing Healthcare-Acquired Conditions in Nursing Homes. GMCF will work with recruited nursing homes in alignment with the Nursing Home Action Plan to:

• Include residents and families in peer-coaching groups
• Support adoption of QAPI framework for quality improvement
• Continued reduction of off-label use of antipsychotics
• Focus on systems issues that affect quality (e.g., consistent staff assignment) as well as specific issues such as increasing mobility
• Reducing avoidable hospitalizations
• Decreasing HAIs

Benefits of participating are:

• Educational learning sessions offered throughout the year as well as technical assistance based on your nursing home specific goals
• Sharing of best practices and strategies from high performing nursing homes
• Assistance with implementation of Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) including tools

To learn more about the CMS National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative, click here.

To learn more about the SPACE Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative – Southern Partners Action Collaborative for Excellence Benefits, Expectations, and Commitments, click here.

If you are ready to register, click here for the Participation Agreement.

To accomplish this work, GMCF, along with NCHCFA, will recruit at least 75% of all nursing homes in North Carolina for two 18-month collaboratives. GMCF’s North Carolina based staff look forward to the opportunity to work with you over the next several years. For further information, please contact a Quality Advisor:

• Jeana Partington – jeana.partington@alliantquality.org
• Kellie Lewis – kellie.lewis@alliantquality.org
• Maria Fisher – maria.fisher@alliantquality.org

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The book presents specific care strategies for all stages of dementia and emphasizes relatively simple interventions that nurses can incorporate into their care plans to prevent problems or address them before they escalate. The guide distinguishes between dementia and conditions that mimic dementia, discusses issues related to specific care settings, presents person-centered strategies for families and care partners, and covers the assessment and management of pain, safety concerns, communication strategies, and ethical and legal issues. It additionally provides numerous resources that nurses can offer to caregivers. Fast Facts for Dementia Care will serve as a daily companion for all clinical nurses who work with older patients in any setting, including the emergency room, medical-surgical unit, medical office, and community mental health settings.

Key Features:

• Easy to use and carry in all patient settings
• Provides communication techniques for different stages of dementia
• Describes numerous interventions for addressing issues such as pain, safety, behaviours, and ADLs
• Includes the “Fast Facts in a Nutshell” feature for quick reference
• Illustrates content with case vignettes

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

Product #8293
AHCA MEMBERS $30.00

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If you missed Upcoming Hospice Regulations seminar, the notebook/presentation is now available for purchase. To order, e-mail your request to Jan Williams at janw@nchcfa.org. The cost is $25 plus tax and shipping.

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7 Very Cool Things Other Countries Do For Their Elderly

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/14/caring-for-elderly-around-the-world_n_6100656.html

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Although originally named Jasper and Jinx, the animated cat and mouse team were renamed with some World War 2 influence, when British Soldiers were called “Tommies” and Germans, “Jerries”, to become Tom and Jerry..

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