UPDATE Weekly

Don’t miss this year’s convention entertainment, mentalist Oz Pearlman, LIVE Thursday at 9:00AM on “The TODAY Show”. Oz is a world-class entertainer and one of the busiest mentalists in the country. He developed an interest in magic at a young age and what started as a hobby quickly became a lifelong passion. After a couple of years spent working on Wall Street, Oz decided to pursue his dream and become a full time entertainer. He has now been dazzling audiences with his unique mind-reading ability for over a decade. Oz’s client list reads like a who’s who of politicians, professional athletes, A-list celebrities, and Fortune 500 companies. To watch him on his last visit on “The TODAY Show” in March of 2016 go to http://www.today.com/video/watch-mentalist-oz-pearlman-get-into-today-anchors-heads-641306179775.

Sign up today for the 2017 Annual Awards Gala on Tuesday, February 28th. Providers, vendors and community representatives will unite to honor excellence in our profession. Be a part of this special evening, join in recognizing the NCHCFA 2017 Special Award recipients, and be mesmerized by Oz Pearlman!

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On Thursday, February 9th, from 1:00PM to 2:00PM ET, The American Health Care Association, (AHCA), with guest speaker Jocelyn Montgomery, RN, and Director of Clinical Affairs at the California Association of Health Facilities, will hold a Webinar on the new emergency preparedness final rule impacting Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF), Nursing Facilities (NF) and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID). This final rule is not applicable to Assisted Living Providers. The rule was released on Friday, September 16, 2016 and providers will need to be in compliance by November 2017. The Webinar will include, among other things, an overview of the key new requirements, a list of tools to assess if you are prepared for the rule, steps to take now to prepare, and time for your pressing questions to be answered. This will be the first in a 4-part Webinar series AHCA will hold this year on the rule.

To register for this important Webinar, click here.

In addition to the above Webinar, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has resources available for providers to use in preparing for this new requirement. To access a summary of these additional resources, click here.

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Make your overnight reservations today for the NCHCFA Annual Convention and Expo February 26 – March 1, 2017 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.

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The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMS Innovation Center) will host a Webinar to discuss various aspects of the Advancing Care Coordination through Episode Payment Models (EPMs); Cardiac Incentive Payment Model; and Changes to the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model final rule on Thursday, February 9, 2017, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET. The final rule was displayed at the Federal Register on December 20, 2016 and is effective on February 18, 2017.

Registration for this Webinar is now open. You can register by clicking here. For additional information about Episode Payment Models, please visit the Episode Payment Models Web page.

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Register today to attend the NCHCFA Annual Convention and Expo February 26 – March 1, 2017 at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons/Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC! Don’t miss the opportunity to earn up to 17.0 hours of educational credit for North Carolina Nursing Home Administrators, as well as up to 16.0 hours of Nursing CE credit! The advanced registration deadline is Friday, February 10th. To obtain an additional brochure visit the Member Center of the Association’s Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com.

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The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would like to thank our 2017 Gold Convention Hosts for supporting the upcoming Annual Convention & Expo. Be sure to visit them on Tuesday, February 28th during EXPO 2017 – Mardi Gras – Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler:

Blue Ridge Pharmacy at booths 425 & 524
Healthcare Services Group at booths 527 & 529
Medipack Pharmacy at booths 315 & 414
Neil Medical at booths 301, 303, 400 & 402
NH Med Services at booths 415 & 514
Poyner Spruill LLP at booth 302
PruittHealth at booths 317, 319, 321, 323, 325, 416, 418, 420, 422 & 424
QMX Mobile Health at booth 328
Southern Pharmacy at booths 501 & 503

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Norovirus outbreaks across the country are bringing misery to millions of families. There have been widespread reports of school closings from the illness, also known as the winter vomiting disease, the stomach bug or stomach “flu.” However, Norovirus is not related to influenza. Norovirus is extremely infectious and can spread quickly in closed places like daycare centers, nursing homes and schools. The virus is primarily passed on via physical contact with contaminated food, liquid, objects or direct contact with infected individuals. Common symptoms of Norovirus include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain.

North Carolinians should take steps that prevent illness from occurring or spreading. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the following steps to prevent the spread of Norovirus:

• Use soap and water to wash hands.
• Wash fruits and vegetables and cook seafood thoroughly.
• Do not prepare food for others or provide healthcare while you are sick, and for at least three days after symptoms stop.
• Use a chlorine-bleach solution to clean surfaces contaminated with bodily fluids.
• Wash contaminated laundry thoroughly.

North Carolina’s Division of Public Health’s Communicable Disease Branch works closely with local health departments and long-term care facility staff to implement control measures that limit spread of Norovirus infection. These steps include:

• Using bleach-based products for cleaning the facility.
• Ensuring that staff don’t work while ill.
• Limiting group activities to prevent further spread.
• Encouraging staff and visitors to wash hands with soap and water instead of hand sanitizers.

For more information about Norovirus, please visit, http://epi.publichealth.nc.gov/cd/diseases/norovirus.html or the North Carolina Statewide Program for Infection Control & Epidemiology guide to Norovirus prevention in healthcare settings.

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The updated List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE) database file, which reflects all OIG exclusions and reinstatement actions up to, and including, those taken in December 2016 has been posted. The updated files are posted on OIG’s Web site at http://www.oig.hhs.gov/exclusions/exclusions_list.asp, and healthcare providers have an “affirmative duty” to check to ensure that excluded individuals are not working in their facilities or face significant fines.

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The NC Health Care Facilities Association presents “Updated Regulations.” The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule to make major changes to improve the care and safety of the nearly 1.5 million residents in the more than 15,000 long term care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The policies in this final rule are targeted at reducing unnecessary hospital readmissions and infections, improving the quality of care, and strengthening safety measures for residents in these facilities. This program will kick off the lengthy implementation of these rules, beginning with Phase One and the new survey process. Much remains unknown as we anxiously await interpretive guidelines and many needed clarifications.

This session will be presented by Cindy DePorter, MSSW. Ms. DePorter was appointed as Interim Assistant Section Chief of the Acute Home Care Section in July of 2013, overseeing approximately 2000 home care agencies, 269 certified home health care agencies, and 200 Hospice Agencies in North Carolina. She is also Branch Manager of Quality Evaluative Systems at DHSR. This section is responsible for Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR), Independent Informal Dispute Resolution (IIDR), Enhancement Coalition, Enhancement Grants, Civil Money Penalties (CMP), and the Quality Improvement Committee. Ms. Deporter also directs Quality Indicator Surveys (QIS), and leads Electronic Plans of Correction (ePOC) that are being implemented by CMS. In this session, Ms. DePorter will:

• Provide an overview of the revised survey process.
• Discuss timelines for implementation of the revised survey process.
• Discuss the Phase 1 implementation of the federal long term care requirements.

Please note that this will be a five-hour comprehensive session devoted to both the new requirements and survey process. Ms. DePorter will return to our convention in late February for a quick review of the implementation and any available updates or commentary on implementation progress from CMS.

This seminar will be offered in Charlotte on February 2nd and again in Raleigh on February 15th. The price is $205.00. Click here to download a brochure/registration form. Click here to register on-line!

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Alliant Quality will offer a Webinar on Tuesday, February 14th, 2017, at 1:00 PM aimed at enhancing Person Centered Care for nursing home residents with dementia. Jennifer Brock, LNHA – Task Lead, Post-Acute Care and Walter Coffey, Director, Leading Age GA, will lead this 1 hour Webinar.

Register now by clicking https://qualitynet.webex.com.

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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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Based on years of research, this practical guide illustrates the far-reaching benefits of empowered work teams in long term care organizations and explains in everyday terms how to implement the concept. The authors present a fully-validated model for introducing the empowered work team concept to direct care staff, gaining support from the administration, and supervising the teamwork process over time. Hands-on tools include assessment forms, staff training materials, and step-by-step implementation guidelines. Guidance and troubleshooting tips are provided in the resource’s final chapter. Facility and program administrators, directors of nursing, staff supervisors, and team leaders will find this guidebook an invaluable tool for nurturing a more effective and motivated staff and, as a result, an improved care environment.

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

Product #8250
AHCA MEMBERS $34.95

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

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Communication is the most important leadership trait

https://insight.athenahealth.com/communication-is-the-most-important-healthcare-leadership-trait

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The Old Forge pub, Britain’s most remote bar, is located in Inverie, which is so isolated in the Scottish Highlands that no roads connect the village to the rest of the country. Thirsty travelers need to hike 17 miles over very rough terrain, or take a 7-mile ferry ride.

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