UPDATE Weekly

Registration will open tomorrow, January 10th, for the NCHCFA 2019 Annual Convention and Expo to be held February 24 – 27, 2019 at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons/Joseph S. Koury Convention Center, Greensboro, NC! To view the full Convention Schedule of Events click here. Please call the Association at (919) 782-3827 if you need additional details.

Make your overnight reservation today. Call the Sheraton at (800) 242-6556 and identify that you are with “NC Health Care Facilities Association 2019 Convention” to receive the group discounted rate.

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In July 2018, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS) finalized a new case-mix classification model, the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM), beginning October 1, 2019, will be used under the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for classifying SNF patients in a covered Part A stay. CMS has a Website that includes a variety of educational and training resources to assist stakeholders in preparing for PDPM implementation. This Website can be accessed by clicking here.

In addition, an audio recording and transcript are available from the December 11th call on the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS), including information on PDPM. This information can be viewed by clicking here.

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The new Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) begins October 1, 2019. Developed and presented by the American Health Care Association (AHCA), the PDPM Academy is a 10-month training effort to help centers prepare for this massive change. It offers both the in-person training and continuing updates and support. Provider members of AHCA and NCHCFA who register for the PDPM Academy will have access to a PDPM 101 workshop Webinar, a full day in-person training, monthly workshop Webinars on key topics and emerging PDPM issues, “how to” Webinars on implementing additional tools developed by AHCA.

North Carolina’s in-person training will be March 26, 2019 in Greensboro, NC! Click here to view more information on the PDPM Academy. Brochures and registration will be made available in February.

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The 2019 Business Environmental and Safety Training (BEST) Conference is being hosted by the Wake County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) on Thursday, February 21st in Raleigh. This year, the conference includes a full track for medical partners and will highlight the CMS Emergency Preparedness rule, exercise design and implementation, crisis communication and the healthcare coalitions. Participants do not have to be from Wake County.

To learn more about this conference, click here.

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Skilled Nursing Facilities are invited to join a monthly “How to Connect” call to learn about the NC HIEA, the state mandate, steps to connect, as well as value-added features. These will be held the last Monday of every month at 12:00 noon. To participate in the next call held on January 28, 2019, click here.

One of the goals of a transformed health care system is for near, real time clinical and demographic data to be made available to all health care providers involved in a patient’s care so they can securely share health information concerning that patient with each other.

North Carolina’s state-designated health information exchange, NC HealthConnex, is a step towards this goal. It allows facilities to access patients’ comprehensive records across multiple providers, as well as review labs, diagnostics, history, allergies, medications and more. This results in decreased redundancy; more efficient, accurate diagnoses, recommendations and treatment; and improved coordination across all levels of care.

State law requires that all Skilled Nursing Facilities that receive any state funds for the provision of health care services (e.g. Medicaid, HealthChoice, State Health Plan, etc.) connect and submit patient demographic and clinical data to NC HealthConnex by June 1, 2019 to receive payment for services.

NC HealthConnex is a tool that enables you to access missing patient care information. It empowers you to increase operational workflows and efficiencies because you will be able to quickly access your patient’s longitudinal patient record. NC HealthConnex allows you to consolidate data feeds and prioritize interoperability, improving patient outcomes through care coordination. At the end of the day, the technology available through NC HealthConnex will allow you to strengthen your collaboration with your patients to truly provide patient-centered care. To download the NC HealthConnex Tool Kit, click here.

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Alliant Quality will be updating our membership on composite scores, antipsychotic medications, and NHSN reporting as well as a Change Package introduction and upcoming LAN events. Alliant Quality is a health care consulting organization dedicated to improving the quality, safety and integrity of health care. Since 1970, Alliant Quality has provided a broard array of services to public and private organizations to increase the value, effectiveness and accessibility of health care. They are the QIN-QIO for Georgia and North Carolina.

Date: Thursday, January 17, 2019
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Title: North Carolina Nursing Home Quality Update
Presenters: Melody Brown and Leighann Sauls, Alliant Quality

Click here to register today!

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One-third of SNF residents experience an adverse or temporary harm event, and the majority of those are preventable. As part of CMS’s focus on raising awareness of nursing home safety and to support safer nursing home care across the nation, CMS and the Quality Innovation Network National Coordinating Center released a new resource: a Change Package to prevent all cause harm in nursing homes. The Change Package is a compendium of successful practices of high-performing nursing homes, illustrating how they prevent harm while honoring each resident’s rights and preferences.

Please join Alliant Quality to learn more about the development of the Change Package and how you can use it to improve the quality of life and quality of care for those living in nursing homes and other long-term care settings.

Date: Thursday, January 24, 2019
Time: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm (ET)
Location: WebEx

Register for the Event
Get the Change Package

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In-Services for Long-Term Care: Education for Frontline Staff is composed of 40 in-service training lessons that help facilities comply with CMS requirements to deliver in-service training for their certified nursing assistants and all frontline staff.

The in-services included in this book cover the most essential topics in long term care and correlate with CMS initiatives, including Alzheimer’s and dementia care, infection control F-tags, restorative care, and HIPAA. This book enables long term care facilities to:

• Provide a wide variety of quality, easy-to-access in-service education for CNAs and frontline staff
• Keep the level of facility education consistent for frontline staff
• Check the competency of floor staff for each in-service
• Ensure in-services are linked to quality care and in line with QAPI committee measurements
• Address deficiencies in infection control, QAPI, competency management, etc.

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

Product #8393
AHCA MEMBERS $150.00

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8 Steps to Jumpstarting a Truth-telling Workplace Culture

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Spinach is best eaten when fresh because it loses nutritional properties with each passing day. Although refrigeration slows the deterioration, half of the major nutrients are lost by the eighth day after harvest.

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