UPDATE Weekly

Palmetto GBA has posted the top 10 denial reason codes for skilled nursing facilities. Palmetto encourages all providers to review this information when filing claims to prevent denials and ensure their claims are processed timely. To view the top 10 denial codes, as well as see additional information, click here.

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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://NursingHomesNC.com and click on Fourth Annual Summer Symposium Registration! Administrators and registered nurses will be able to earn up to 12.5 hours of continuing education. Early registration ends July 31, 2015!

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The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would like to thank our 2015 Summer Symposium Corporate Sponsors for supporting the upcoming Fourth Annual Summer Symposium in Myrtle Beach, SC: Healthcare Services Group, Medipack Pharmacy, QMX Mobile Health and Southern Pharmacy Services.

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Please plan to join your friends and colleagues in beautiful Pinehurst, North Carolina, on September 16th and 17th for the Fourth Annual Autumn Classic Golf Tournament. The event will begin Wednesday with golf, a reception, dinner and program held at the world famous Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club. The Pinehurst Autumn Classic is being sponsored by the NC Health Care Facilities Association to benefit our political action committee (PAC). Registration materials will be available next week!

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NCHCFA has exceeded its block of rooms for the upcoming Summer Symposium at the Embassy Suites. However, additional rooms have been added to our block in the Brighton Tower (located right beside the Embassy Suites) at the discounted rate and will include the complimentary breakfast buffet and evening reception! Please 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 Symposium attendee! To make your reservation on-line, visit http://tinyurl.com/2015symposiumroomblock.

IMPORTANT!!!! If you made a reservation at the Embassy Suites and did not get the NCHCFA Summer Symposium discounted rate, please call the Association office at (919) 782-3827 or e-mail allisonb@nchcfa.org.

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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!

Register now! 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.

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It is time once again for the NCHCFA “Fabulous 50” awards! This time-honored event provides the opportunity to acknowledge front line, unlicensed personnel who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in the long term care profession. The Fabulous 50 awards program honors individuals who are the backbone in our facilities because of the support they provide to our residents. A panel of judges from the Education and Programs Committee will select ten nominees from each district. Each of the award recipients will be honored at a dinner and awards presentation in their district. The deadline to receive completed nominations is Tuesday, September 1ST. Please encourage your facility to participate in this special award program.

The dates for the 16th Annual Fabulous 50 Celebrations are:

District I – October 20, 2015, Grand Bohemian Hotel, Asheville
District II – October 22, 2015, Hilton Charlotte University Place, Charlotte
District III – October 27, 2015, Grandover Resort, Greensboro
District IV – October 29, 2015, Mad Boar Restaurant, Wallace
District V – November 5, 2015 Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Durham

To fill out nomination forms on-line, visit the Member Center of the Association Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com. Click on “News & Updates”, select “2016 Fabulous 50 Nomination Packet” and choose “Survey Monkey”. If you have any questions about the Fabulous 50 awards, call the Association office at (919) 782-3827. Pictures for nominations submitted online may be e-mailed to karenl@nchcfa.org or mailed to the Association office.

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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!”

The cost to attend this seminar is $185 for members and $370 for non-members. This fee includes handouts and breaks (morning & afternoon). YOU CAN REGISTER AND PAY ON-LINE! TO REGISTER, GO TO http://NursingHomesNC.com AND CLICK ON Audit Survival in Long Term Care. You may also download a Brochure here! Members may be invoiced. Non-members must submit payment online or mail with registration. Registration is open to anyone who would like to attend! REGISTER TODAY!

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We are pleased to present to you the digital edition of the 2015-2016 NCHCFA Annual Membership Directory and Resource Guide. This year’s directory includes the listing of our facility members and trade associate members.

Please consider NCHCFA members first when looking for long-term care placement and professional services. For quick referencing, click on the Table of Contents and be directed to the page you would like to view. You may view and download the directory through our Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com.

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The North Carolina Directors of Nursing Administration Long Term Care, Inc. (NCDONA) are celebrating 20 years. The 20th Annual NCDONA Multistate Conference will be held at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort from September 23-26, 2015. There will be opportunities for multiple continuing education credits for Directors of Nursing as well as Administrators and for the first time, NCDONA will be offering the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) Course. At the completion of this course, attendees will be eligible to apply for certification. Visit http://ncdonaltc.com/register to register today! Seating is limited so do not wait to reserve yours!

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Over the past few weeks, regulators have posted rulemaking notices on bundled payments, antibiotic stewardship and competence-based performance measures for post-acute care centers. The Obama Administration has referred to the competence-based performance measures as the most “sweeping” changes to care center regulations in 25 years. Provider Nation, the official blog of Provider Magazine, has prepared an overview of these issues that can be read by clicking here.

Kaiser Health News has prepared a good overview of the regulations that would require modernizing nursing home care. The hundreds of pages of proposed changes cover everything from meal times to use of antipsychotic drugs to staffing. To read the Kaiser article, click here.

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As part of NCTracks preparations for the implementation of ICD-10, they have conducted several Provider Readiness Surveys. The survey is brief, only 8 questions. Providers should be able to complete it in 5 minutes or less. The link to the survey is below.

This is the fourth and final iteration of the survey. Surveys were previously sent in January, March and May 2015. The survey was conducted several times to help gauge the progress of the provider community. Please indicate your current status of ICD-10 preparation in this survey.

You do not need to have taken the previous surveys to complete this one. All providers are welcome to complete this survey.

Please be candid in your responses. If you have not started ICD-10 preparations yet, NCTracks wants to know that. The survey is completely anonymous.

Responses are requested by 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 29.

The results of the survey will be used to help NCTracks more effectively approach this important transition. The results will also be reported to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

NCTracks ICD-10 Provider Readiness Survey

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OBJECTIVES:

► Assembling YOUR QAPI Document
► Strategies for Collecting & Using QAPI data
► Identifying Gaps & Opportunities
► Getting to the “Root” of the Problem
► Process Tool Framework

Event Name: North Carolina SPACE August 2015 Webinar II
Event Date August 5, 2015
Event Time: 10:30-11:00am ET – To register, click here.
2:00-2:30pm ET – To register, click here.

Please join the event 15 minutes prior to the start time to ensure the automatic system set-up has been properly established.

Attendee Instructions:

1) Click or Copy and Paste this URL to your Web browser: https://qualitynet.webex.com
2) This should bring you to the QualityNet e-University Webpage
3) Locate the event you wish to join and click “Join” (located to the right of the event title)
4) Enter your name and email address as prompted
5) Enter the password: SPACE
6) The automatic system set-up should start at this point. If a dialogue box appears, click run. Please note, the automatic system set-up does take a few minutes to complete
7) Dial in to the teleconference. The number is (888)-850-4523. The access code is 655150.

If you have any questions or problems accessing the Web portion of this meeting, please call the General Dynamics Information Technology WebEx Helpline at (540)-347-7400 x390.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled a new program that will bundle payments for certain joint replacements. This program will be mandatory in 75 areas of the country, including several in North Carolina.

In follow-up to the July 9, 2015 announcement of the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CCJR) Model, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMS Innovation Center) hosted two Webinars on July 15 and July 16, 2015. These Webinars focused on providing an overview of the Model and provided an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

The materials from these overview Webinars are now available on the CCJR Overview Webinar page. To access the audio recordings of both Webinars, an e-mail address is required. If already registered, please use the same email address used at the time of registration.

Additional information on the CCJR Model can be accessed through the CCJR Model Web page.

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The Alliant Quality NH PIMS portal is ready to go, allowing you access to several items listed below. The Portal is a place where Providers and Nursing Homes are able to login to view reports for their entity and to submit information.

As your contact information is added to the system, you will receive an e-mail asking you to change your temporary password.

• A Temporary Password will be sent to your e-mail address.
• When you first log in, you will be forced to change your temporary password and select your own password.

• If you would like additional staff to have access to the portal, please send, Nancy.Fendler@area-F.hcqis.org, the following:

o First Name
o Last Name
o Position or Title
o E-mail Address

1. Access the data including:

a. 30 Day Hospital Readmissions
b. Composite Score
c. Antipsychotic Rate
d. Restraint Rate
e. Pressure Ulcer Rate
f. Falls with Injury
g. ADL
h. Incontinence

 This data is updated on a monthly basis
 In the future, you will receive automated emails when the graphs have been refreshed

2. Upload QAPI Self-Assessment Tool through the portal (instead of email or fax)
3. Upload completed PDSAs through the portal (instead of email or fax)

https://pimsportal.alliantquality.org/login.aspx

You may access the portal using the link above ~ then, your user name and password.

Additionally, Alliant will be posting a short “How To” video on the Website ~ coming soon on the Resources Webpage under NH Portal!

Please contact JoVonn Givens at jovonn.givens@alliantquality.org with further questions.

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Please join CMS for a new learning series brought to you by the QIO program. During this kick-off Webinar, Dennis Wagner, Director of the Quality Improvement and Innovation Group with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will describe the vision of the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program, provide information on the benefits of working with regional Quality Innovation Network-QIO (QIN-QIOs) and share examples of local success stories involving providers, partners and patients to give a better understanding of how to take full advantage of your participation with the QIO Program.

Event Details: National Learning & Action Network (LAN) Call
Event Date: Tuesday, August, 4, 2015
Event Time: 3:00-4:00 PM EDT

To register:

• Step 1: Visit https://qualitynet.webex.com/tc
• Step 2: Click on the “Upcoming” tab to locate the August 4 “National LAN Call”
• Step 3: Click Registration
• Step 4: Register

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When you have to replace an RN, the average cost is one hundred thousand dollars. By the time you find the right candidate, hire, train, and help them become productive, it could cost 150% of their base salary. It’s a lot less expensive to keep the employees you have, especially in a competitive market!

• Gero Nurse Prep prepares RNs for successful attainment of board certification as Gerontological Nurses, the gold standard of excellence.
• Employer support for continuing education and board certification can increase RN job satisfaction.
• Satisfied, well-trained, and committed RNs provide better quality care.
• RN satisfaction and a supportive workplace are linked to decreased turnover rates.

In addition to staff retention, your support of certification is an investment in your center’s performance, reputation, and residents. To learn more about these and other benefits of the course please go to http://www.geronurseprep.org.

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KEPRO is the BFCC-QIO for over 30 states. Offering information and assistance to providers, patients, and families regarding beneficiary complaints, discharge appeals, and Immediate Advocacy. During the Webinar, KEPRO representatives will present an overview of the role of the BFCC-QIO and the services provided, including the upcoming time frame changes for quality of care reviews.

Event Name: The BFCC-QIO Program
Event Audience: Healthcare providers and stakeholders
Event Time: August 12, 2015, 2 pm-3:15 pm ET
Event Speakers: Shiva Mumtazi, Outreach Specialist, KEPRO; Lisa Stansbury, Outreach Specialist, KEPRO
Event Registration: To register for the Webinar, go to https://qualitynet.webex.com and look for KEPRO – the BFSS-QIO.

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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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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 Donna Snyder at donnas@nchcfa.org. The price is $35.00 (tax and shipping included).

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Resident Gets Wish Of A Lifetime Sailing Experience.

http://www.mcknights.com/news/sailing-through-wish-of-lifetime/article/424381

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On July, 23, 1904, the ice cream cone is invented, by Charles E. Minches, St. Louis, Missouri.

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