UPDATE Weekly

Yesterday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule [CMS-1696-F] outlining proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Medicare payment rates and quality programs for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The FY19 final rule establishes a market basket increase of 2.4 percent, a figure statutorily mandated by Congress, and will start October 1, 2018.

Based on changes contained within this final rule, CMS indicates aggregate payments to SNFs will increase in FY19 by $820 million, or 2.4 percent, from payments in FY18 – $30 million less than in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The actual amount realized by individual facilities will differ from the 2.4% due to changes in the wage indices. NCHCFA will be releasing their Medicare rate calculator in the near future, allowing facilities to determine their Medicare rates effective October 1, 2018.

Additionally, CMS finalized a payment system called the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) to replace the current RUGs-based SNF PPS. The PDPM is an updated version of the 2017 Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Resident Classification System Version 1 (RCS-1). CMS notes RCS-1 was revised based on stakeholder input. The implementation date for the final system is October 1, 2019 (FY20) and will be done in a budget neutral manner.

Of note, AHCA has identified a number of anomalies in various tables throughout the final rule primarily pertaining to the FY19 RUG rates, as well as the FY19 Impact Analysis. AHCA staff and Reimbursement Committee members are in the process of analyzing these and other items that changed from the proposed to the final rule.

Please find a summary of the final rule here. Please note that an AHCA/NCAL log-in is required to view this document. You can view the FY19 Final Rule here, as well as the fact sheet here. The FY19 SNF PPS wage index will be posted in the coming weeks.

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If you are attending the NCHCFA Annual Summer Symposium, we are pleased to offer a multi-functional Symposium App for this year’s event. With the NCHCFA Summer Symposium App you can:

• View the Summer Symposium agenda
• Schedule new “meet-ups” with Summer Symposium Platinum Sponsors
• View attendee list
• Receive alerts & updates for the meeting
• Participate in live polls
• Download session presentations
• View all important convention information
• Communicate with other attendees via the News Feed

All registered attendees will receive an e-mail with download instructions on Monday, August 6th. Instructions will also be included in the attendee notebooks!

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There is still time to register for the 7th Annual 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. Visit https://www.nchcfa.org & click on the Calendar or the Seventh Annual Summer Symposium Registration Banner!

NCHCFA’s registration desk will open at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, August 8th and will remain open until 6:00 PM. Registration will be located in the lobby beside the hotel registration desk. The first session will begin at 1:00 PM and will be located in Kensington DEF.

What do I wear? Dress for the Summer Symposium is business casual. Do not forget to bring a sweater if you are cold natured. Room temperatures are very difficult to control in such a large setting!

Weather Forecast for the Myrtle Beach Area:

We are looking forward to a great week!

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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 August 16th, from 12:00 NOON – 1:00 PM. Webinar details are below:

Title: AHCA National Quality Award Program- Bronze Level
Presenter: Erin Prendergast, American Health Care Association (AHCA)

Join NCHCFA with the National Quality Award program staff in this new applicant Webinar to learn about program benefits and the criteria and application process for the Bronze award level. The AHCA Quality Award team will also announce dates for the 2019 program cycle, recommend helpful AHCA resources, and facilitate a question and answer session.

Click Here to register now!

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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, Remedi SeniorCare, and Southern Pharmacy. We appreciate your support!

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UPDATE will not be published next week due to the Association’s Annual Summer Symposium but will resume publication on August 15, 2018.

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Join National Quality Partners on Tuesday, August 7 at 12:30 PM ET for a conversation about the new NQP Playbook™: Antibiotic Stewardship in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care. Rachel Roiland, Director in the Quality Innovation Department at NQF will discuss this exciting new resource for post-acute and long-term care facilities that is now available for purchase at the NQF Store. Webinar attendees will also receive a unique discount code to purchase the Playbook.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 75 percent of the antibiotics in nursing homes are prescribed inappropriately. To address this issue, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its conditions of participation for long-term care facilities to include requirements related to antibiotic stewardship. The new NQP Playbook™ builds on the CDC core elements of antibiotic stewardship for nursing homes and is designed to assist facilities in meeting the updated CMS conditions of participation and implementing a comprehensive, effective antibiotic stewardship program.

Register now!

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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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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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During its 69th Annual Convention & Expo, AHCA will present a 4-hour intensive session that addresses the new PDPM payment system from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS has proposed that PDPM replace the current Resource Utilization Groups (RUGs) system in its entirety on October 1, 2019, moving away from reimbursement based on hours of service to a model built “to treat the needs of the whole patient.” Find out what that means for you and how to best prepare.

The PDPM intensive will include an in-depth training on the PDPM payment system. During the intensive, a member tool kit will be released that will contain the core competencies framework as well as a readiness review tool that will help you track your operational readiness for PDPM. The intensive will also cover data gathered from 12 companies testing impacts of PDPM and provide hospital and discharge pattern data that could be helpful in member markets. This session will set your feet firmly on a path to readiness for when PDPM rolls out in October 2019.

Make the investment in your success under the new payment system, and register for the AHCA convention today.

Register today!

Please note that the intensive will be held twice – Sunday, October 7 at 1:00 PM and Wednesday, October 10 at 10:30 AM.

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This new edition has updated and expanded chapters on caring for children’s physical, mental, and behavioral health following a disaster. New chapters address climate change, global complex human emergencies, caring for patients with HIV/AIDS following a disaster, information technology, and disaster response, and hospital and emergency department preparedness. The text provides a vast amount of evidence-based information on disaster planning and response for natural and environmental disasters and those caused by chemical, biological, and radiological elements, as well as disaster recovery. It also addresses leadership, management, and policy issues in disaster nursing and deepens our understanding of the importance of protecting mental health throughout the disaster life cycle.

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

Product #8320
AHCA MEMBERS $110.00

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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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Tools for defusing explosive conversations

Thin Difference Article

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At sea level, a large raindrop, about 5 millimeters across, falls at the rate of 20 miles per hour. Drizzle droplets, less than 0.5 mm across, fall at 4.5 mph.

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