UPDATE Weekly

NCHCFA will be offering a new Legislative Conference April 8-9, 2019 in Raleigh, NC. This event will allow members to schedule appointments with their elected representatives in the House and Senate and advocate for important long term care issues at the North Carolina Legislature. Registration will open this week. Don’t miss important opportunity to advocate for long term care!

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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, and “how to” Webinars on implementing additional tools developed by AHCA. The PDPM Academy and in-person training is for provider members only. Register today as we expect this to reach capacity soon.

North Carolina’s in-person training will be March 26, 2019, in Greensboro, NC. Click here to download the brochure and registration form. On-line registration has closed since the max capacity has almost been reached. Please email your registration forms to Donna Snyder at donnas@nchcfa.org or fax to (919) 787-8418.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has scheduled a call, SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program: Phase One Review and Corrections. The call will take place on Wednesday, March 20 at 1:30 PM and is scheduled to end at 3:00 PM.

During this call, participants will learn about the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program Review and Corrections process and get answers to frequently asked questions about Phase One of the process. During the Review and Corrections period, SNFs have an opportunity to review and submit correction requests to quality measure information. Deadline for correction submission is April 1, 2019. For more information, visit the SNF VBP Program webpage.

A question and answer session follows the presentation; however attendees may email questions in advance to SNFVBPInquiries@cms.hhs.gov with “SNF VBP Mar 20 NPC” in the subject line. These questions may be addressed during the call or used for other materials following the call.

To register to participate on the call, click here.

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Over 1000 facility operators, owners, and trade members from across North Carolina and the southeast recently attended the Association’s Annual Convention and Expo held in Greensboro, NC. The highlight of the 2019 Convention was recognizing the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association 2019 Special Award recipients selected by the NCHCFA Education and Programs Committee:

District I Nurse Aide of the Year
Stephanie Underwood – Pisgah Manor Health Care Center

District II Nurse Aide of the Year
Patricia Cunningham – Saturn Nursing and Rehabilitation

District III Nurse Aide of the Year
Deborah Moore – Clapp’s Nursing Center

District IV Nurse Aide of the Year
Tiffany Brown – Sanford Health and Rehabilitation

District V Nurse Aide of the Year
Debra Flythe – Northampton Nursing & Rehab Center

2019 Riley W. Clapp Outstanding Service Award
Tommy Johnson – Piedmont Crossing

Stephanie Underwood received the Fifteenth Annual J.R. Garrett, Jr. Direct Care Worker of the Year Award!

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NCHCFA thanks all individuals that participated in the 2019 Convention and Exposition evaluation raffle. Congratulations to Jackie Pittman of College Pines Health & Rehab and Pudge Tate of IH Services for winning a $100.00 cash prize! Again, we appreciate your valuable input.

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Each month, there are two publications of which nursing facilities should be aware. Each of these contains information that Medicaid and Medicare participating providers should review on a monthly basis.

The Medicaid Bulletin published by North Carolina Medicaid. All of the 2019 issues, including any special bulletins, can be accessed by clicking here.

The JM Part A Medicare Advisory is published by Palmetto GBA. The latest issues can be accessed by clicking here.

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“Live Soulfully” is the 2019 theme for the American Health Care Association (AHCA) National Skilled Nursing Care Week (NSNCW), which will be held May 12-18. Click here to download the 2019 NSNCW Planning Guide and Product Catalog. Browse through this guide to get event ideas and order Live Soulfully themed products for your celebration this coming May. Visit the AHCA Bookstore to order today.

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The next Lunch and Learn Webinar is scheduled for Thursday, March 28th, 2019 at 12:00 pm. Ken Burgess, Partner, Poyner & Spruill, LLP and Cindy DePorter, MSSW, State Survey Agency Director, Division of Health Service Regulation, will be discussing current trends in SNF Survey and Enforcement. Don’t miss out! Click here to register today.

Date: Thursday, March 28th, 2019
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Title: The Regulators’ Update
Presenter: Ken Burgess, Partner, Poyner & Spruill, LLP
Cindy Deporter, MSSW, State Survey Agency Director, Division of Health Service Regulation

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The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association will be presenting this workshop to our members one time only in 2019! This workshop was offered across the state of NC in 2017 and 2018 with great success and outstanding reviews.

Servant leadership is a set of behaviors and practices that turn the traditional “power leadership” model upside down; instead of the people working to serve the leader, the leader exists to serve the people. When leaders shift their mindset and serve first, they unlock purpose and ingenuity in those around them, resulting in higher performance and engaged, fulfilled employees. As servant leaders, your purpose is to inspire and equip those you influence.

The goal of this workshop is to provide attendees with information and tools that are relevant, transformative, memorable, and actionable. You will learn and practice execution of the most critical skills needed for leading by serving first. You will come out of this course feeling energized and have a number of tools and skills you can start to apply immediately to empower your teams.

This workshop will be Wednesday, March 13th at the NCHCFA office in Raleigh, NC and facilitated by Mark Gogal. For the complete brochure and registration information, click here.

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Event Name: Antimicrobial Stewardship-Practical Approaches for the Long Term Setting Monthly Webinar
Event Date: March 28, 2019
Event Time: 1:00 – 2:00 pm (ET)

Prior to the Event Date, please Register Here

Please join the event 15 minutes prior to the start time to ensure the automatic system set-up has been properly established.

Instructions:

• Click “Join” (located to the right of the event title)
• Enter your registration ID as prompted
• If the text boxes and “Join Now” button are inactive, refresh your web browser
• Enter the password: SPACE

The automatic system set-up should start at this point. If a dialogue box appears, click run. Please note, the automatic system set-up does take a few minutes to complete.

Dial in to the teleconference:
Teleconference Number: 800.747.5150
Access Code: 2323667#

If you have any questions or problems accessing the web portion of this meeting, please call the Ventech Solutions WebEx Helpline at 571-598-1988.

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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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If you were unable to attend one of our sessions with Cindy DePorter in November, Review and Updates from the State Survey Agency, the notebook used in the training is now available for purchase. Email Donna Snyder to order a notebook for your facility at donnas@nchcfa.org. The cost is $25.00 plus tax and shipping.

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CHANGES TO THE SNF INSPECTIONS, STAFFING REQUIREMENTS AND NEW QUALITY MEASURES COMING IN APRIL, CMS SAYS

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In an effort to keep patrons in the casino after the late headliner show, the El Rancho launched the first buffet in Las Vegas in 1946. For only $1, the Buckaroo Buffet featured a simple array of cold cuts, plus a few hot dishes, as their flyer advertised, “to appease the howling coyote in your innards.”

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