UPDATE Weekly

The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would like to thank our 2015 Gold Convention Hosts for supporting the upcoming Annual Convention & Expo – NCHCFA Diamond Jubilee Celebration. Be sure to visit them on Tuesday, February 17th during Expo 2015 – Voyage Through the Decades.

Blue Ridge Pharmacy – Booths 500 & 502
Medipack Pharmacy – Booths 231 & 233
NH Medical Services – Booth 229
Southern Pharmacy Services – Booths 409 & 411

[Return to top]

Register today for the NCHCFA Annual Convention and Expo, February 15-18, 2015 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 2015 Convention” to receive the group discounted rate. Don’t miss the opportunity to earn up to 14.5 hours of educational credit for North Carolina Nursing Home Administrators, as well as up to 13.5 hours of Nursing CE credit! The advanced registration deadline is Friday, January 30th. To obtain an additional brochure visit the Member Center of the Association’s Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com.

Don’t miss the Chairman’s Evening Extravaganza – NCHCFA Diamond Jubilee on Monday, February 16th. Chair Kevin Cox and the NCHCFA Board of Directors cordially invite you to NCHCFA’s Diamond Jubilee for a very special evening. Join us in celebrating the Association’s 60th Anniversary commemorating our founding members and extraordinary leaders from the past, present and future! There will be food, entertainment, and great recollections from the past six decades. The band Soul Fish is back by popular demand and will play all the greatest tunes from your favorite decade.

NCHCFA is issuing you a ticket back in time! Start the evening back in 1955 for a little nostalgia. Pink skirts and gray suits were the fashion craze, the first McDonald’s opened, and rock and roll music was growing in popularity! Grab a burger and fries and play some Elvis on the jukebox. Be sure to stop and bowl like superstar Don Carter while you enjoy a cold beverage. Then jive talk on over to the 1970’s and get ready to chill in your favorite polyester suit. Drive like Richard Petty on the race track and enjoy all the sights and sounds of the seventies. You will be sure to see some familiar faces of NCHCFA’s past as you moonwalk over to 80’s Avenue. Visit the arcade for a game of Space Invaders, Pac Man and over 60 games from the “Big Hair” decade. Be sure to stop in the photo booth before you dance the night away. Remember to wear your finest attire from your favorite decade! Great prizes will be awarded for the best dressed male and female. Heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served.

[Return to top]

On November 13, 2014, the CY 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule was published in the Federal Register. In order to implement corrections to technical errors discovered after publication of the MPFS rule and process claims correctly, Medicare Administrative Contractors will hold claims containing 2015 services paid under the MPFS for the first 14 calendar days of January 2015 (i.e., Thursday January 1 through Wednesday January 14). The hold should have minimal impact on provider cash flow, as under current law, clean electronic claims are not paid sooner than 14 calendar days (29 days for paper claims) after the date of receipt.

MPFS claims for services rendered on or before Wednesday Dec 31, 2014 are unaffected by the 2015 claims hold and will be processed and paid under normal procedures and time frames.

[Return to top]

In preparation for the upcoming State Coalition Call of the National Dementia Partnership on January 29th, we are gathering information from providers in North Carolina related to the following four questions. We will be sharing commentary from your responses with our State Coalition members.

1. What are you doing in your nursing home to implement a person-centered approach to care for your residents, especially those individuals that have dementia?
2. What are you doing in your nursing home to provide creative non-pharmacologic approaches to care?
3. Describe one or more successes that have occurred over the past twelve months in your nursing home that have led to a more person-centered, non-pharmacologic approach to care.
4. Describe one or more challenges that have occurred over the past twelve months in your nursing home that have led to a more person-centered, non-pharmacologic approach to care.

Surveys must be completed by 1/20/15. You may complete the survey by clicking, https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ncnhjan15.

[Return to top]

Recruitment continues through March 31, 2015 for the upcoming Southern Partners Action Collaborative for Excellence facilitated by Alliant Quality. Goals will include:

• Continued use of QAPI tools and resources
• Continued reduction of Off-Label Use of Antipsychotics
• Improvement in Mobility for Long-Stay Residents
• Improvement of Composite Score to 6 or better.

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 and fax or e-mail back to Nancy Fendler as indicated. For more details, e-mail Nancy at nancy.fendler@alliantquality.org.

[Return to top]

ICD-10 coding will be implemented in just months. Is your facility ready for the transition? Nationally recognized coding expert Karen Fabrizio, RHIA, CHTS-CP, CPRA, AHIMA Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer, will help you train with her new, comprehensive ICD-10 coding training manual. Specific to long-term care, this manual gives detailed coding training and how-to guidance for the top diagnoses in the long-term care setting. ICD-10 is a complex new coding set, so it is crucial your facility is prepared.

This book provides:

• In-depth coding how-to for the most commonly documented diagnoses in the long-term care setting
• Guidance on how to properly document and code in ICD-10 to ensure appropriate coding on claims
• Quiz questions, examples, and sample scenarios to help train staff
• A detailed understanding of how long-term care providers in particular can best conquer ICD-10 complexities
• “How to” chapters that focus on each diagnostic area

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

Product #8347
AHCA MEMBERS $149.00

[Return to top]

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.

[Return to top]

Precious Memories – Dementia has taken its toll on former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, but family and devoted friends stand by the beloved coach.

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/10545949/precious-memories-dean-smith-story

[Return to top]

In 1955, the first Chair of the NCHCFA Board of Directors (formerly the North Carolina Association of Nursing Homes and Homes for the Aged) was Billie Anthony, owner of Anthony Nursing Home, Greensboro, NC.

[Return to top]