UPDATE Weekly

This summer will mark the 50th anniversary of the enactment of Amendments to the Social Security Act that established the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Over the next 50 days, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will recognize the impact these two programs have had in transforming our nation’s health care system. By sharing daily facts and posts on Twitter (@cmsgov) and Medicaid.gov, CMS will highlight people, places, and progress that represent the Medicare and Medicaid programs as we know today.

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As stated in the published approved 2015 checkwrite schedules, “NCTracks will issue 50 checkwrites per fiscal year. The payment cycle will be weekly, exceptions being the last week of June (end of state fiscal year) and the next to last week of the calendar year.” The last checkwrite date for the current State fiscal year will be on June 23. There will be no checkwrite on June 30. The first checkwrite for the new fiscal year will be on July 7.

The 2015 checkwrite schedules for both DMA and DMH/DPH/ORHCC can be found under the Quick Links on the right side of the Provider Portal home page at https://www.nctracks.nc.gov/content/public/providers.html.

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NC Health Care Facilities Association presents ICD-10-CM Essentials for Long Term Care July 14th, 2015 in Raleigh, NC! As you know, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) code set will soon replace the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code set used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standard transactions. Any provider covered by the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), including most long-term and post-acute care organizations must implement ICD-10-CM by October 1, 2015. After that date, providers will not be able to use ICD-9-CM codes.

Presented 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, morning and afternoon breaks. YOU CAN REGISTER AND PAY ON-LINE! TO REGISTER, GO TO http://NursingHomesNC.com AND CLICK ON ICD-10-CM Essentials for Long Term Care. You may also download a Brochure here! Members may be invoiced. Non-members must submit payment on-line or mail with registration. Registration is open to anyone who would like to attend! REGISTER TODAY!

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Make plans today to join your colleagues for the fourth annual NCHCFA Summer Symposium. The three-day event will be August 26-28, 2015 at the Embassy Suites Resort at Kingston Plantation, Myrtle Beach, SC.

Do not miss TAKING THE HARDER RIGHT on Thursday, August 27th. This seminar is powerful and a unique way for corporations to educate fundamentally honest employees who were raised with moral and ethical values. It is easy to be moral and ethical when there are no pressures or circumstances to compel one to make difficult choices. This seminar will focus on a theme used at West Point to always strive to “take the harder right instead of the easier wrong” and will provide ways for individuals to cope with the pressures of life that can cloud judgment. Oliver Halle, a retired FBI Special Agent who is a lawyer and trained in teaching ethics, leads TAKING THE HARDER RIGHT seminar. Several convicted white-collar felons will participate as presenters, riveting the audience as they tell their stories. These “felons” could be your roommate, neighbor, congregant, colleague, or relative, and at some point in their career they took the “easier wrong” and altered the course of their lives forever.

To view the 2015 Schedule at a Glance click here!

Call the Embassy Suites Resort at (800) 876-0010 to reserve your overnight room. Use group code “HCF” to identify yourself as a NC Health Care Facilities Association Convention attendee! To make your reservation on-line, visit http://tinyurl.com/2015symposiumroomblock. Please note that when our room block is full, rooms will be on a first come, first served basis at prevailing published rates.

Please call the Association office at (919) 782-3827 with any questions. Brochures will be available soon!

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SPACE participants, please register for Alliant Quality Learning and Action Network Sessions applicable to your work in July and August.

Assembling YOUR QAPI Document

• Strategies for Collecting & Using QAPI data
• Identifying Gaps & Opportunities
• Prioritizing Quality Opportunities & Charter PIPs
• Goal Setting
• Planning, Conducting & Documenting PIPs
• Getting to the “Root” of the Problem
• Action Steps

Wednesday, July 8th

• 10:30 – 11 a.m.
• 2:00 – 2:30 p.m.

QAPI Process Tool Framework

• Describe the CMS “process” tools that may be used to implement and apply some of the basic principles of QAPI
• Understand the connection for each CMS process tool to the QAPI Five Elements
• Provide guidance to nursing homes on how to use process tools to make the shift toward a more systematic, comprehensive, data-driven, and inclusive QAPI approach

Wednesday, August 5th

• 10:30 – 11 a.m.
• 2:00 – 2:30 p.m.

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Back by popular demand, NC Health Care Facilities Association will present a repeat seminar on August 11th, 2015 in Greensboro, NC! If you missed this seminar in May, you will not want to miss it again! This program will provide strategies for managing the people, records, and processes for responding to an auditor’s request for records and appealing denials. The role each person plays during this process includes coordination, preparation, documentation, and tracking. Preventing denials in the first place is part of a comprehensive compliance program as an internal QA function.

Topics include, but not limited to the following:

• Audits impacting nursing homes
• Who may audit you
• How to respond to audit requests
• Appealing audits
• The parts your employees play
• How to reduce/prevent audits

Here are only a few comments some of our attendees had to say:

“One of the best presentations I have been to in a while!”

“Speaker was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic with significant experience. Would like further trainings to be provided by this speaker!”

“Excellent presentation- so informative and helpful!”

“The speaker was terrific! Her knowledge is so vast! This was one of the best seminars I have attended!”

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They say things in Texas are bigger and better. The AHCA/NCAL 66th Annual Convention & Expo is shaping up to be just that, all from historic and beautiful San Antonio. Experience the food, the landmarks, and the fun of this Texas-sized destination, while you network, learn, and enjoy yourself at this must-attend event. This is not just a networking and educational event: this helps AHCA/NCAL further their mission to deliver solutions for quality care. The 66th Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo is a chance to share your knowledge and learn from your peers, your contemporaries, and experts in long term and post-acute care. The fact that it takes place in San Antonio, one of the southwest’s most colorful and entertaining cities, just makes it even better!

Everybody likes to save! The early bird registration for the Convention & Expo ends July 17th. What are you waiting for? Register now and get the lowest rates available. Additional savings are available when multiple people register from the same facility. There is something for everyone at the 66th Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo.

Clear your calendars and make plans to attend!

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Join the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) National Training Team as they provide a basic overview of the Medicare program. This Webinar is designed for new partners who counsel people with Medicare and for partners requiring a refresher. It provides basic information about the following:

• Part A (Hospital Insurance)
• Part B (Medical Insurance)
• Part C (Medicare Advantage Plans)
• Part D (Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage)
• Programs to help people with limited income and resources
• Where to find the answers to your program questions

The Webinar takes place on June 25, 2015 from 1:00 until 3:00 PM

To register, go to https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1054776. The audio portion of the Webinar will be delivered via your computer. Please check your computer settings in advance to ensure that your speaker volume is adjusted appropriately.

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100 Essential Forms for Long-Term Care provides convenient access to a compilation of essential long-term care forms that offer easy-to-understand descriptions of implementation processes and timing, and can be used as-is or customized to meet the particular needs of nursing home staff.

The updated content found in this new edition will help long-term care facilities stay compliant with recent regulatory changes and ensure quality resident care is always provided. This valuable resource contains 100 of the most commonly utilized forms in long-term care facilities, including:

• Clinical assessment forms
• Survey readiness assessments
• Documentation forms
• MDS tools
• Regulatory forms
• Accountability reports
• Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) forms

This comprehensive book will help long-term care providers:

• Gain immediate access to the most essential, commonly used long-term care forms
• Enhance the efficiency of staff procedures
• Improve documentation accuracy
• Address documentation needs and concerns for every department

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

Product #8357
AHCA MEMBERS $149.00

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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. To order, e-mail your request to Karen Lennon at karenl@nchcfa.org.

• 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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Seattle Preschool in a Nursing Home ‘Transforms’ Elderly Residents

https://gma.yahoo.com/seattle-preschool-nursing-home-transforms-elderly-residents-201932520–abc-news-parenting.html

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Antarctica’s Dry Valleys is the driest place on Earth. It hasn’t rained there for over 2 million years.

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