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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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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Each month, the Division of Medical Assistance (DMA) publishes the Medicaid Bulletin on their Web site. The current issues, containing ICD-10 information, as well as other articles, can be read by clicking here.

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Change Request (CR) 9222 describes the updates to the payment rates used under the Prospective Payment System (PPS) for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs), for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, as required by statute. Make sure that your billing staffs are aware of these changes. To read the change request, click here.

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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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AELTCC recently launched its one-of-a-kind Webinar series. The 10 DO YOU Webcasts line up some of the nation’s foremost thought leaders as they discuss their latest insights and tips on some of the hottest topics and current issues facing today’s long-term care communities.

“This is a great opportunity for administrators and directors of nursing to bring their teams together,” says Doug Pace, AELTCC Executive Director, “and watch how these issues relate to the 9 Advancing Excellence Goals, QAPI and other national quality-improvement initiatives. We’ve been working with educators, researchers and long-term care professionals to develop these teaching sessions so that senior leaders can sit down and watch them with their nursing and direct-care staffs.”

Each Webinar is $49 if ordered individually; $39 each for 3 to 5; and $29 each for 6 to 10. All Webinars must be registered for at the same time. One NAB continuing education credit is available per Webinar.

Check out all 10 Webinars — beginning July 1:

• Jul 1 Do You Know What Your Best Resource Is?
• Jul 15 Do You Want to Stop the Revolving Door?
• Jul 29 Do You Speak “Dementia?”
• Aug 12 Do You Know Why Oral Care is Important?
• Aug 26 Do You Want Better Outcomes?
• Sep 16 Do You Want Your Residents to Remain Mobile?
• Sep 30 Do You Minimize Infections & Hospitalizations in Your Community?
• Oct 14 Do You Know the Impact of Green House on Medicare Spending and Nursing Home Quality of Care?
• Oct 28 Do You Know How High Tech Meets High Touch?
• Nov 18 Do You Know Your Residents’ Preferences?

Practical tips and take-aways will be provided for each topic, making each Webinar a valuable resource to help navigate our ever-more challenging field.

Register now to get the full value of the DO YOU Webinar series!

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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

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If you missed the Upcoming Hospice Regulations seminar, the notebook/presentation is now available for purchase. 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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Patient advocacy is what drives us.

http://www.mcknights.com/guest-columns/patient-advocacy-is-what-drives-us/article/422513

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1 out of 8 signers of the Declaration of Independence were educated at Harvard (7 total).

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