UPDATE Weekly

Please click here to view all North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation (NC DHSR) list serve issuances and waivers regarding Hurricane Florence as of 2:00 PM September 12, 2018.

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As NCHCFA member facilities prepare for the approaching hurricane, if the Association can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to call us at (919) 782-3827! If weather conditions prevent NCHCFA staff from reaching the Association office, telephone lines will be forwarded to a staff member’s cell phone. The Association has opened lines of communication with senior state officials in order to address any issues that are not being adequately resolved at the local level.

We would also like to support your efforts with the following information:

All requests for additional transportation resources, outside of your normal contracts, are supposed to go through your county emergency management office. A list of the county emergency management agencies can be found at https://www.ncdps.gov/emergency-management/em-community/directories/counties. If you anticipate needing additional resources, it is better to make contact with your county emergency management office before the storm hits, the sooner the better.

If you experience any unaddressed issues with your county emergency management office, that need immediate attention, please contact Kimberly Clement, Office of Emergency Medical Services DHSR, at (919) 855-3936.

If you need to relocate residents, NCHCFA surveyed its members to determine the availability of empty beds. To access this file, click here. If you have not already submitted your bed availability, but would like to, click here.

The NC Division of Emergency Management has an app for your mobile device. It is called ReadyNC. It has information on local weather, road conditions, reporting power outages, evacuation areas, disaster assistance and other information.

One recommendation from people who have been through similar disasters is leaving themselves voicemail messages that capture things they want to remember after the storm (e.g. “1:30 PM on mm/dd/yy when 2 buses, two trucks of equipment including x wheelchairs; y med-carts, zzz patients and ## employees depart for Host Facility Name”…another note mentioning the time that everyone safely arrived…notes on dates and times of admissions and readmissions…therapists can leave themselves treatment notes if computerized systems are unavailable, times & dates that family members were contacted, etc). Just quick 5-10 second “siri remind me…” or “siri type a note for me…”. This is also a good way to keep a record of expenditures (e.g. maintenance personnel) when you’re “on the fly”.

We hope all of your residents, staff, and families remain safe throughout the storm.

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Each month, the state publishes the Medicaid Bulletin. Each issue contains articles of importance for Medicaid providers. The current issue includes articles on the Division of Medical Assistance’s new name, a name change for the company that operates NCTracks, NCTracks provider trainings and others. The current issue and past issues can be accessed by clicking here.

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The American Health Care Association’s (AHCA’s) Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) Webpage now is live. The link is below:

https://www.ahcancal.org/facility_operations/medicare/Pages/PDPM-Resource-Center.aspx

Access to the materials will be limited to AHCA members only. Facilities who are NCHCFA members are also AHCA members. AHCA will be adding additional content in the coming weeks. For now, the page offers:

• Summary of the Final Rule
• July Presentation on the Proposed Rule and AHCA’s Comments on PDPM
• August Presentation on the Final Rule and Final PDPM

AHCA also has an active, dedicated PDPM email inbox – pdpm@ahca.org. They will be checking the inbox daily and posting FAQs based on the questions weekly. The FAQs will be catalogued by topic – MDS, patient classification, interrupted stay, etc.

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The Quality Award Portal allows for the following:

• Review of the 2019 Quality Award Application Packets (Bronze, Silver and Gold)
• Submission of an Intent-to-Apply payment
• Submission of a 2019 Quality Award Application and application fee
• Review and completion of a 2019 Quality Award Examiner application

Also, serving as an Examiner is a great way to get involved in the Quality Award Program, and benefits include CEUs, in person and virtual Baldrige Criteria training, and discounted registration rates for AHCA/NCAL’s annual Quality Summit or Convention.

For more information on the National Quality Award Program and the Examiner process please visit our Website, or email us at qualityaward@ahca.org.

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How to support depressed workers and reduce absenteeism

McKnights Article

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2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States, and more than 7,500 varieties are grown world-wide.

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