UPDATE Weekly

The NC Health Care Facilities Association presents “Keeping and Growing Your Staff: Quantifying the Amount and Causes of Turnover and Developing a Plan to Reverse It.” In today’s world of constantly having to do more with less, are you unnecessarily spending too much money recruiting and training staff just to have them leave? Do you know exactly what staff instability is costing your nursing center in terms of time, money and quality? Tools exist that can help you have solid data. Come learn what tools you can add to your toolbox, what is causing this never ending cycle and things to consider when developing a plan to address it. In this session, you will learn how to develop a plan for implementing strategies to correct turnover and instability in your nursing center.

This information will be presented by Gail Patry, RN, Chief Program Officer for Healthcentric Advisors and Marguerite McLaughlin, Sr. Director of Quality Improvement at the American Health Care Association (AHCA). This seminar will be offered in Charlotte on September 28th and Raleigh on September 29th. Click here to register on-line! Click here to download a brochure/registration form! Don’t wait! Register today!

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Please plan to join your friends and colleagues in beautiful Pinehurst, North Carolina, on September 15 and 16 for the 5th Annual Autumn Classic Golf Tournament. The event will begin Thursday with golf, a reception, dinner and program held at the world famous Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club. The Autumn Classic is being sponsored by the NC Health Care Facilities Association to benefit our political action committee (PAC). You do not have to play golf to participate! Click here for registration materials.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be hosting a one-hour open door forum on Thursday, September 15th at 2:00 PM. The purpose of this Special Open Door Forum (SODF) is to provide information and solicit feedback pertaining to the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (commonly referred to as the IMPACT Act). The IMPACT Act mandates the standardization of patient assessment data across post-acute care settings including Skilled Nursing Facilities, Home Health Agencies, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, and Long Term Care Hospitals in order to improve quality of care and quality of life.

This SODF will offer discussion on the goals of the IMPACT Act, the expected outcomes of the Act, and potential roles post-acute care providers can play in improving coordinated care. This SODF will serve as a platform to update providers, consumers, stakeholders, researchers, and advocates alike on the work around the IMPACT Act and to solicit input on the ways the IMPACT Act can help you improve care coordination.

Click here for the presentation.
You may submit questions, comments, and ideas to PACQualityInitiative@cms.hhs.gov.

To participate on the call, dial (800) 837-1935 and reference Conference ID 74951666 when prompted.

A transcript and audio recording of this Special ODF will be posted to the Special Open Door Forum Web site at http://www.cms.gov/OpenDoorForums/05_ODF_SpecialODF.asp for downloading under downloads section as well as the IMPACT Act Downloads and Videos Web page. For automatic e-mails of Open Door Forum schedule updates (E-Mailing list subscriptions) and to view Frequently Asked Questions please visit http://www.cms.gov/OpenDoorForums.

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Many providers have received a denial on a Medicaid claim because NCTracks shows that the resident has other insurance coverage. If this “other” coverage does not cover treatment or the benefits have been exhausted, a request can be sent to Third Party Liability (TPL) section via fax to the attention of Anita Autry. Upon receiving the request, the system will be updated so that the provider may resubmit claims for payment. The TPL fax number is (919) 814-0038.

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Each Month, the Division of Medical Assistance posts the Medicaid Bulletin on their Web site. You can access the September issues, as well as past issues and Special Bulletins, by clicking here.

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The countdown is on. Only two weeks remain to register for the 67th AHCA/NCAL Annual Convention & Expo at the Advance Registration rate. Hurry, you must register before the September 21st deadline. Thousands of your long term and post-acute colleagues from across the country have already confirmed their spot. What are you waiting for? Commit now and register today! After September 21st, on-site fees apply! If you miss the advance registration period, you may register on-site in Nashville, Sunday, October 16th. Registration will be open at 6:45AM.

Obtain all of the information you need online, including: speakers, education sessions, Expo Hall hours and exhibitors, along with the full schedule of networking opportunities and events.

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Join the North Carolina Culture Change Coalition for a workshop challenging your understanding of diversity in the realm of caring for seniors. This event is open to all assisted living and nursing home staff, members of the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO), Ombudsmen, etc.

Through this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Recognize attitudinal barriers, stereotypes and fears that affect how we interact and feel about people with disabilities.
• Recognize attitudinal barriers, stereotypes and fears that affect how we interact and feel about people in the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender) community.
• Describe techniques for embracing a diverse cultural staff and resident-body as an asset to a LTC community.

Cost: $50 per person
Continuing Education Hours: 5.5 (Pre-approval submitted for NH & AL Administrators and Nurses)

Dates & Locations:

• October 6th – Nash Community College; 522 N Old Carriage Road, Rocky Mount, NC 27804
• October 12th – Trinity Village; 1265 21st Street NE, Hickory, NC 28601
• October 19th – Levine Senior Center; 1050 Devore Lane, Matthews, NC 28105
• October 26th – Coastline Convention Center; 503 Nutt Street, Wilmington, NC 28401

Time: 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM

Lunch & snacks will be provided

Speakers:

• Paige Averett, Ph.D., MSW – Associate Professor at East Carolina University’s School of Social Work and internationally recognized expert on LGBT aging, families, and children.
• Lyndall Hare, Ph.D. – Concierge Gerontologist coaching organizations and training professionals working in the field of aging.
• Cindy Deporter, MSSW – State Survey Agency Director for NC Division of Health Service Regulation (DHSR)
• Tammy Wade and Frances Robinson – Regional Employment Services Specialists for Vocational Rehabilitation with the NC Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Registration must be submitted by September 16, 2016.

Have questions? Please contact:
Carolyn Hill at chill371@nc.rr.com or Alice Carroll at alicecarroll@friendshomes.org.

To register, click here.

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Alliant Quality wants to encourage SNFs to keep signing up for the National Collaborative – or SPACE. Alliant recommends having as much time as possible to get started on Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) improvement work and improving facility quality measures in a systems approach to improve their five star and composite scores.

Alliant Quality is the Medicare Quality Innovation Network (QIN)-Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for North Carolina. Under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Alliant Quality invites your nursing home to participate in a collaborative designed to ensure that every nursing home resident receives the highest quality of care.

The Collaborative offers an exciting opportunity to learn from high performing nursing homes regarding their processes as they pertain to consistent/permanent staff assignment, teamwork and communications, leadership, regulatory compliance, clinical models, and quality of life indicators. The Collaborative aligns national nursing home quality initiatives and partnerships such as the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes Campaign, The Partnership to Improve Dementia Care, and QAPI. Targeted focus areas will include increasing mobility, decreasing unnecessary use of antipsychotics in residents with dementia, decreasing potentially avoidable hospitalizations and decreasing healthcare acquired infections and conditions.

When ready to register, click here for the Participation Agreement and fax or e-mail it back to Lisa Klemis, contact information is on the Participation Agreement. For more details, e-mail Jennifer Brock at Jennifer.Brock@area-F.hcqis.org or call (678) 527-3417.

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It is time once again to acknowledge front line, unlicensed personnel who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in the long term care profession. This 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 a Nurse Aide winner from each of NCHCFA’s five districts. In addition, one recipient in a non-nursing discipline will receive the Riley W. Clapp Outstanding Service Award. Each of the award recipients will be honored at the Annual Awards Gala during the Annual Convention and Expo on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 in Greensboro, NC.

To fill out nomination forms online, visit the Member Center of the Association Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com. Click on “News & Updates”, select “2017 NCHCFA Annual Awards Nomination Packet” and choose “Survey Monkey”. If you have any questions, 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. Click here to download and print the nomination packet. Nominations received in the Association office after Friday, October 21, 2016 will not be considered.

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This newly updated and revised book presents ready-to-use materials for planning, implementing, and evaluating cultural competence strategies and programs. Learn to identify the needs of diverse constituents, evaluate and assess cultural competence on a companion Web site.

To order, visit http://www.AHCApublications.org or call (800) 321-0343. Fax orders may also be placed at (800) 869-5605.

Product #8173
AHCA MEMBERS $80.00

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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 Donna Snyder at donnas@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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Lessons for LTC providers — with students as the teachers

http://www.mcknights.com/daily-editors-notes/lessons-for-ltc-providers-with-students-as-the-teachers/article/520540/

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On average, the world drinks about 2.25 billion cups of coffee a day.

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