UPDATE Weekly

Register today to attend the fourth annual NCHCFA Summer Symposium August 26-28, 2015 at the Embassy Suites Resort at Kingston Plantation, Myrtle Beach, SC for the most up to date information affecting long term care. You can register and pay on-line. Visit http://www.NursingHomesNC.com & click on Fourth Annual Summer Symposium Registration! Administrators and registered nurses will be able to earn up to 12.5 hours of continuing education.

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.

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Do not miss the NCHCFA Day at the Beach – Volleyball & Corn Hole Tournament on Thursday, August 27th. Join your colleagues on the beach for an afternoon of fun! Represent your district in the NCHCFA Volleyball Tournament. Challenge the NCHCFA staff and Board of Directors in the quest for the Chairman’s Cup. If you are not set on volleyball, get a team together for the Corn Hole Tournament or a friendly game of horseshoes. Sponsors will provide snacks, beverages and prizes throughout the day.

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October 1st is fast approaching! 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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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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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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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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Learn what it takes to effect real culture change within residential care settings while reducing the administration of psychotropic drugs in the symptomatic treatment of dementia. Dr. G. Allen Power, board-certified internist, geriatrician, nursing home practitioner, and Eden Alternative™ Educator, challenges all care providers working with individuals with dementia to undertake a true operational change. You will learn how to embrace more humanistic, enlightened practices that address the most common challenges in caring for people who live with dementia. Overcome communication challenges, minimize anxiety and depression, root out the causes of wandering, and gain insights into paranoia and delusions so that you can learn to treat individuals with dementia as the human beings that they are rather than letting their dementia define them.

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

Product # 8249
AHCA Members (on-line price) $32.95

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This DVD, Mobility and Safe Movement of the Elderly, Improving Your Skills to Prevent Injuries and Reduce Falls, by Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L., FOTA, Dementia Care & Training Specialist, was developed in conjunction with Wake Allied Health Education Center, Durham Technical Community College and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Office of Information Systems. The content is formatted in separate segments in order to customize the delivery of content to your learning objective. Handouts developed by Teepa accompany each video and may be reproduced. To order, e-mail your request to Karen Lennon at karenl@nchcfa.org. The price is $35.00 (tax and shipping included).

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Music opens a ‘back door’ to the brain

http://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2015/06/22/gupta-music-and-memory.cnn

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June is often considered a “summer month”, whereas September is not. This is despite the fact that September has twice as many summer days as June.

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