UPDATE Weekly

CMS intends to grant quality reporting data submission exceptions to Medicare providers in several care settings adversely affected by the devastating impact of Hurricane Matthew, including post-acute care (PAC) settings such as Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs), Hospice, and Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). For the specified reporting quarter(s), as indicated in the full communication posted on the respective CMS QRP Reconsideration and Exception and Extension websites, affected providers will not be required to submit quality measure data to meet submission requirements.

CMS is exercising its authority to grant exceptions for data submission requirements for the PAC quality reporting programs (QRP) for providers located within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-designated “major disaster” counties of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina. View the list of FEMA-designated counties and further information on the CMS webpages for your setting:

• Hospice Quality Reporting Extensions and Exemption Requests
• IRF Quality Reporting Reconsideration and Exception & Extension
• LTCH Quality Reporting Reconsideration and Exception & Extension
• SNF Quality Reporting Reconsideration and Exception & Extension

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The HHS Office of Civil Rights published a final rule May 18, 2016, broadening the nondiscrimination requirements applicable to all health programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance from HHS, those administered by HHS, and Health Insurance Marketplaces. This final rule has largely flown under the radar since its publication, begging the question: are you prepared to comply with the new requirements? Join the American Health Care Association for a Webinar with two experts, Carol Loepere (Reed Smith, AHCA General Counsel) and Janine Valdez (Genesis, Compliance Officer), to learn more about the rule and what steps you should be taking now to ensure compliance.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern Time

https://educate.ahcancal.org/products/ocr-nondiscrimination-rule-requirements-and-compliance

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Make your overnight reservation today for the NCHCFA Annual Convention and Expo February 26 – March 1, 2017. The meeting will be at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons/Joseph S. Koury Convention Center, Greensboro, NC. Call the Sheraton at (800) 242-6556 and identify that you are with “NC Health Care Facilities Association 2017 Convention” to receive the group discounted rate. Brochures outlining specific program details will be available soon.

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NCHCFA is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2017 Nurse Aide of the Year Awards and the 2017 Riley W. Clapp Outstanding Service Award! Individuals will be recognized in Greensboro, NC during the Annual Convention and Expo.

District I Nurse Aide of the Year
Mary “Libby” Tallent – Grace Heights Health & Rehabilitation Center

District II Nurse Aide of the Year
Dianna Franklin – Autumn Care of Cornelius

District III Nurse Aide of the Year
Ida King – Peak Resources / Alamance

District IV Nurse Aide of the Year
Marie Cheeks – Quail Haven Village

District V Nurse Aide of the Year
Candice Miles – Franklin Oaks Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

2017 Riley W. Clapp Outstanding Service Award
Kelly Boyette – Southwood Nursing & Retirement Center

Make plans today to attend the 2017 Association Awards Celebration on Tuesday, February 28th for a very special evening! Brochures outlining specific program details will be available soon.

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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) 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 Leighann Sauls at Leighann.Sauls@area-F.hcqis.org or call (919) 745-4730.

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If you were unable to attend one of our sessions on the introduction to the new regulations, the notebook used in the training is now available for purchase (Polly Welsh’s powerpoint presentation). E-mail Donna Snyder to order a notebook for your facility at donnas@nchcfa.org. The cost is $25.00 plus tax and shipping.

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This book covers 28 challenging cases that cover pivotal issues that most health care administrators and managers are likely to encounter at some point in their work – quality improvement, strategic planning, ethical dilemmas, organizational dynamics, cost-benefit analyses, resource utilization, and more. Providing an exceptional framework for decision-making and debate, Cases in Health Services Management is an outstanding casebook that provokes thought and discussion.

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

Product # 8248
AHCA Members (on-line price) $64.95

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11 Remarkably Effective Ways to Lead by Example – When you walk the talk, you’ll be a better and more effective leader. Isn’t that what we all want?

http://www.inc.com/peter-economy/11-surprisingly-effective-ways-to-lead-by-example.html

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Approximately 80% of what we experience as taste is thanks to our ability to smell.

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