UPDATE Weekly

UPDATE Weekly #1994 – November 14, 2018

On-Line & Mobile Version

This Week’s Table of Contents:

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE – BRUNSWICK HOSTS CONGRESSIONAL VISIT

U.S. Congressman David Rouzer (NC-7) toured Universal Health Care – Brunswick on Thursday, November 8th, along with representatives of NCHCFA. The visit allowed the Congressman to see first-hand the care skilled nursing facilities provide to residents and to discuss issues facing the long term care profession.

Andrew Zachrich, Executive Director, and Alan Beaver, Chief Operating Officer with Choice Health Management Services, spoke with the Congressman about the unique challenges faced by skilled nursing facilities in today’s regulatory and financial climates. The discussion focused on changes to the Requirements of Participation and the facility’s efforts to comply with federal regulations while also providing high quality skilled care to residents.

Congressional visits are an effective way to demonstrate the high quality, cost-effective and preferred care that North Carolina skilled nursing facilities provide. If you are interested in hosting a facility tour, please contact Adam Sholar, adams@nchcfa.org or Eric Kivisto, erick@nchcfa.org.

Universal Healthcare Brunswick

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PART A SNF DEDUCTIBLE FOR 2019

Effective January 1, 2019, the Medicare Part A daily coinsurance for skilled nursing facility services will be $170.50. Currently the daily coinsurance is $167.50. For more information on the changing coinsurance, as well as the other Part A and Part B deductibles and coinsurance amounts, click here.

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UPDATED LIST OF EXCLUDED INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES (LEIE)

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 October 2018 has been posted. The updated files are posted on OIG’s website at https://oig.hhs.gov/exclusions/exclusions_list.asp. To prevent significant fines, healthcare providers have an “affirmative duty” to check to ensure that excluded individuals are not working in their facilities.

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LAST DAY TO REGISTER FOR THE NEXT LUNCH AND LEARN WEBINAR

Over the past several years, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services implemented and utilized a revised format for Allegations of Compliance (AOCs) and Plans of Correction (POCs) that focused on “processes” and procedures that both cased noncompliance and were designed to correct it, causing much confusion among providers. Earlier this year, CMS returned to the former delineation of AOC and POC elements and, as a result, how to obtain past noncompliance and either a one-day civil money penalty or reduce daily CMPs, where a CMP is the remedy chosen by CMS for a noncompliant event. This Webinar will include a review of an actual successful POC that avoided daily CMPs as an example, and will discuss recent trends at the State and Federal levels in citations of past noncompliance versus daily CMP imposition.

Date: Thursday, November 15, 2018
Title: Drafting Acceptable Allegations of Compliance and Plans of Correction
Presenter: Ken Burgess, Poyner Spruill, LLP

Click here to register!

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NCHCFA PRESENTS AHCA/NCAL NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD WORKSHOPS

NCHCFA has scheduled the AHCA/NCAL Bronze and Silver Quality Award Workshops. The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program provides a pathway for providers of long term care services to journey towards performance excellence. The program is based on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. The Quality Award program has three progressive step levels.

The first level is Bronze, Commitment to Quality. Last year, 8 of out 10 facilities that attended the Bronze Quality Award workshop received the Bronze Quality Award! Bronze Award applicants begin their quality journey by developing an organizational profile including vision and mission statements, an awareness of their environment and customers’ expectations, and a demonstration of their ability to improve a process. This session includes a full day of training and consultation on how to complete the AHCA/NCAL Bronze Quality Award application. This training will decipher the criteria, answer questions, clarify concepts, and guide participants through the process of writing an organizational quality award application. Using interactive technology, participants will leave the workshop with their applications complete or with few areas to fill in. This workshop is being offered in two locations:

December 6th – NCHCFA, 5109 Bur Oak Circle, Raleigh, NC 27612

Click here to download the brochure and registration form for the Bronze Quality Award Workshop.

The second level is Silver, Achievement in Quality. A requirement of the program is to receive a Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award before applying at the Silver level. At this level applicants continue to learn and develop effective approaches that help improve performance and health care outcomes. In addition to the Organizational Profile, applicants provide a thorough assessment of their systematic approaches and the deployment of these approaches. At the end of this workshop, participants will have the framework for the Silver AHCA/NCAL Quality Award application.

November 28th – 29th – NCHCFA, 5109 Bur Oak Circle, Raleigh, NC 27612

Click here to download the brochure and registration form for the Silver Quality Award Workshop.

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AHCA PRODUCT OF THE WEEK – ASSESSING SATISFACTION IN HEALTH AND LTC: PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO HEARING THE VOICES OF CONSUMERS

This publication 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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PHYSICAL RESTRAINT BROCHURES

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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NEED TO GO

New Women’s Groups Focus on Generational Mix

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DID YOU KNOW?

If there are 23 people in a room there is a 50-50 chance that two of them will share a birthday. This is known as the birthday paradox, because it appears there are only 22 possible pairs and therefore a low chance of a match. In fact, because every guest could match with every other guest, there are 253 possible combinations (1+2+3+4… up to 22) and the probability of finding a successful one is 50.048 per cent.

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North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association
5109 Bur Oak Circle | Raleigh, NC 27612
(919) 782-3827 Fax | (919) 787-8418 | NCHCFA.org

Categories: UPDATE Weekly