UPDATE Weekly

Register today for the seventh annual NCHCFA Summer Symposium, August 8-10, 2018 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 at NCHCFA’s new Website! Visit https://www.nchcfa.org & click on the Calendar or the Seventh Annual Summer Symposium Registration Banner! Administrators and registered nurses will be able to earn up to 11.5 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 online, visit https://tinyurl.com/ncsummersymposium2018.

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The NC Health Care Facilities Association presents Act of Violence Response – How to Prepare For and Respond During and After an Act of Violence. Recent tragedies remind us that the risk is real: an act of violence can happen in any place at any time. Preparing for an act of violence in a long term care facility requires a multifaceted approach. Assessing the risk of violence requires a detailed analysis. The risk assessment will facilitate effective policies and plans for response, communication, and recovery. Training staff involves conveying response protocols as well as being attentive to the emotional stress associated with the training and helping staff understand practical methods to protect themselves. The assessment, plans, and training will all be minimized if the organization has no approach to addressing physical, emotional, and operational recovery. This workshop will walk participants through assessing the risk of an act of violence, examine best practices for training staff, and discuss development of comprehensive plans and policies to manage an act of violence in a long term care facility.

July 24, 2018 – Aston Park Health Care Center, Asheville, NC

Click here to view and print the brochure with registration form.

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NCHCFA has an additional benefit of membership, a one-hour Webinar on a timely and relevant topic to its members at no additional charge. There will be no CEUs offered for these Webinars.

The next Webinar is scheduled for July 19th, from 12:00 NOON – 1:00 PM. Webinar details are below:

Title: Roommate Changes and Resident Room Relocations (Under the Revised CMS Requirements of Participation (RoP)
Presenter: Ken Burgess and Iain Stauffer, Poyner Spruill, LLP

This Webinar will focus on CMS’s revised regulations governing notices required before, and limitations on, the relocation of residents within a SNF and roommate preferences- including when residents have the right to refuse a planned relocation from one room to another within a skilled nursing facility. Click here to register now!

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Recent high profile reports of residents or family members recording videos of interactions with staff in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) have once again fueled the state and national debate over so-called Granny Cams, or recording devices that permit providers or residents and families to make visual and/or audio recordings in SNFs. The prevalence of smart phones, tablets and other recording devices, along with inexpensive “stealth” recording devices, make it easier than ever for unauthorized persons to film inside facilities. Some resident advocates say “yes” to Granny Cams. Many privacy experts say “no.” This session will focus on existing laws on this issue, including laws in other states, the status of this issue in North Carolina, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) stated position on the privacy rights of residents. This session will explore the pros and cons of permitting residents and families to install recording devices, recommended safeguards for providers who either elect to permit such devices or install them themselves, and how to talk with families who want Granny Cams in facilities that do not permit such devices. Don’t miss this informative program on Thursday, August 9th during the seventh annual NCHCFA Summer Symposium. The three-day event will be August 8-10, 2018 at the Embassy Suites Resort at Kingston Plantation, Myrtle Beach, SC.

Ken Burgess is a healthcare attorney with the law firm of Poyner Spruill, LLP in Rocky Mount, NC where he heads the firm’s Health Law Section. Ken has represented healthcare providers for over 30 years. He previously served as the Senior Director of Legal Services and Facility Operations for the American Health Care Association and as general counsel to the Assisted Living Federation of America in Washington, DC. Ken is former president (twice) of the NC Society of Healthcare Attorneys; was the 2009 National Volunteer of the Year for the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation in Portland, OR; and a member of the NC Bar Association Health Law Council. He currently serves as Chair of a steering committee developing a public education campaign for end of life issues sponsored by the NC Bar Association and numerous private donors. Ken is a widely-recognized state and national lecturer and author on health law issues and has authored two authoritative books on long term care legal issues.

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A revised SNF Consolidated Billing Web-Based Training course is available through the Learning Management System. Learn about:

• Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) coverage and payment guidelines
• Bundled prospective payments
• Services excluded from SNF consolidated billing

For access to this and other trainings, click here. If you do not currently have an account to access the Learning Management System, you will need to set one up.

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The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would like to thank our 2018 Summer Symposium Platinum Sponsors for supporting the upcoming seventh annual Summer Symposium in Myrtle Beach, SC. Stop by the NCHCFA Platinum Sponsor Showcase on August 8th, or set a time to “meet-up” during one of the networking opportunities scheduled throughout the Symposium with our following Platinum Sponsors: Carolina Complete Health, Health Care Services Group, Medline, PruittHealth, QMX Mobile Health, and Remedi SeniorCare. We appreciate your support!

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a revised version of QSO-17-30 that clarifies expectations for providers, accrediting organizations, and surveyors on requirements to reduce Legionella risk in health care center’s water systems. This memorandum replaces S&C-17-30 released on June 2, 2017, and revised on June 9, 2017.

The memo indicates that facilities must have water management plans and documentation that ensure each center:

• Conducts a facility risk assessment related to Legionella and other opportunistic waterborne pathogens;
• Develops and implements a water management program that considers the ASHRAE industry standard and the CDC toolkit;
• Specifies testing protocols and acceptable ranges for control measures while documenting testing results and corrective actions when control limits are not maintained; and
• Maintains compliance with other applicable federal, state, and local requirements.

CMS also clarifies that it does not require water cultures for Legionella or other opportunistic waterborne pathogens. Testing protocols are at the discretion of the provider.

In addition, LTC surveyors will expect that a center’s water management plan, including a risk assessment and testing protocols, is available for review but will not cite the facility based on the specific risk assessment and testing protocols in use.

CMS will provide further surveyor guidance at a future date, and we will share that information with members as soon as it is available.

The revised guidance is effective immediately.

For questions related to this memo, please contact NHSurveyDevelopment@cms.hhs.gov.

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The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would like to thank our 2018 Summer Symposium Corporate Sponsors for supporting the upcoming seventh annual Summer Symposium in Myrtle Beach, SC: Blue Ridge Pharmacy, Medipack Pharmacy, Mobilex USA, Poyner Spruill LLP, and TridentRX. We appreciate your support!

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There are only a few more days to register for the AHCA/NCAL 69th Annual Convention & Expo at the early bird rate. All registrations made on or before Friday, July 20 are eligible for the lowest possible rate. After this date, advance registration rates apply. Time is running out, so don’t delay and register online today. Online registration is quick, easy and you can reserve your hotel at the same time.

Attendees can choose from more than 70 sessions by attending education sessions from Sunday through Wednesday, attendees can earn up to 16 administrator CEs (separate ticketed sessions can increase CEs). Hear from top-notch speakers with advanced degrees, advanced experience, and a passion to further the profession. Our faculty is ready to share their considerable expertise with you.

Escape to Sunny San Diego this October and join thousands of long term care and post-acute care professionals for this four-day premiere event of the year. Register Today!

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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), in conjunction with the Johns Hopkins Medicine Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality and NORC at The University of Chicago, created the AHRQ Safety Program for Improving Antibiotic Use to develop and implement a bundle of interventions designed to improve antibiotic stewardship and antibiotic prescribing practices across acute care, long-term care, and ambulatory care facilities across the United States.

Antibiotics are a precious resource and can be critical for improving the outcomes of patients with serious infections. However, antibiotics also have the potential to cause patient harm, including allergic reactions, Clostridium difficile infections, and antibiotic resistance both at the individual patient level and for society as a whole.

Click here, to learn more about Long-term care (LTC) facility registration and register to attend an informational Webinar.

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Metro Atlanta-based Second Wind Dreams received a $1.5 million grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to expand its Virtual Dementia Tour in nursing homes throughout North Carolina. The non-profit’s Virtual Dementia Tour (VDT) is meant to build sensitivity and awareness for caregivers of those with dementia and improve the quality of life for those with dementia. The tour is a simulation that allows people to experience sensory impairments, vision loss, imbalance and confusion those with dementia often experience. The funds will be used to provide this experience in 200 nursing homes in North Carolina beginning March 2018. Applications are first-come, first-served.

Eligible Nursing Homes will receive:

• VDT conducted by a Second Wind Dreams certified trainer
• Designation as a “Dementia-Sensitive Environment”
• Person-centered assessment of staff performance
• VDT conducted in the local community
• CEU credit for multiple domains
• Staff in-service training

ALL AT NO COST TO YOUR NURSING HOME!

All certified, skilled nursing homes are welcome to apply to participate in the CMP Funds project. Contact Ebony Blanding, Grants Coordinator, at grants@secondwind.org for more information or by calling (470) 242-0170. To download the flyer and application, click here.

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A publication that answers the frequently asked questions about how to access the satisfaction of health and long term care recipients successfully. Designed to be practical in its application, the book includes many examples of questions and approaches used to access consumer satisfaction. Part 1 provides an overview in which the authors discuss theories, approaches to measuring consumer satisfaction, and how to implement a consumer data collection strategy. Part II focuses on a broad range of specific areas or settings for assessment including in-home care, nursing homes, and assisted living.

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

Product #6803
AHCA MEMBERS $79.00

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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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Leadership Style Colors

Lara Hogan Blog

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Elephants can recognize themselves in mirrors. Humans, great apes, and dolphins are the only other animals known to possess this form of self-awareness.

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