UPDATE Weekly

Register today to attend the third annual NCHCFA Summer Symposium August 5-7, 2014 at the Embassy Suites Resort at Kingston Plantation, Myrtle Beach, SC for the most up to date information affecting long term care. You can register and pay on-line. Visit http://www.NursingHomesNC.com & click on Third Annual Summer Symposium Registration! Administrators and registered nurses will be able to earn up to 12.0 hours of continuing education.

The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would like to thank Poyner Spruill LLP, 2014 Summer Symposium Host, for supporting this year’s event!

Call the Embassy Suites Resort at (800) 876-0010 to reserve your overnight room. Use group code “NHF” to identify yourself as a NC Health Care Facilities Association Convention attendee! To make your reservation on-line, visit http://tinyurl.com/2014symposiumreserve. Please note that when our room block is full, rooms will be on a first come, first served basis at prevailing published rates. Please call the Association office at (919) 782-3827 with any questions.

Do not miss Long Term Care Legal Landscape on Wednesday, August 6th. Join attorneys Ken Burgess and Elizabeth Johnson for the most pertinent legal matters affecting long term care. Ken will provide an update on numerous topics including; new use of directed Plans of Correction (POC), Immediate Jeopardies (IJ’s), noncompliance issues, 30-day discharge payments, and more. In addition, Ken and Elizabeth will discuss Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) surveys. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently begun focusing on privacy and security violations under HIPAA and other state and federal laws during surveys, and issuing burdensome directed plans of correction in response to alleged violations. This session will examine CMS’s recent activity on this issue, outline the risks for all long term care providers and offer some practical preventive measures you can take to minimize your risk of exposure under federal privacy and security laws, and during CMS surveys. You cannot afford to miss this informative program!

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Register today for the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association’s “TRANSFORMING DECISION MAKING AT LIFE’S END: FROM FEARFUL TO FULFILLING.” Since the N.C. General Assembly modified North Carolina law governing advance directives and end of life choices in 2006, the state’s long-term care providers have wrestled with these revised laws, and with the policies and ethics behind them. This program will provide an overview of the ethical and legal backdrop to North Carolina’s end of life laws; a review of the legal and regulatory standards governing residents’ rights and providers’ responsibilities related to end of life health care choices; and tips on how to have discussions about end of life choices with residents and families. The program will include an exploration of common challenges faced by long-term care providers in understanding and implementing residents’ end of life choices; dealing with related family dynamics; regulatory expectations of the Division of Health Service Regulation and CMS; and practical tips for best outcomes for end of life issues.

We have assembled some of the most knowledgeable speakers from which to learn rules and laws, gain awareness from research, evidence and human experience, and to hear about your most frequent and complex interactions while providing care. NCHCFA is proud to offer this educational opportunity in our continuing commitment to compassionately, and knowledgeably navigate, one of the most meaningful and challenging transitions of life. Visit our Web site http://www.NursingHomesNC.com to register on-line OR download and print the registration form to fax!

This seminar is scheduled for July 15, 2014 at the following location:

Embassy Suites Greensboro
204 Centreport Drive
Greensboro, NC 27409

Call the Embassy Suites at (336) 668-4535 to make your overnight room reservations! Use code NCHCFA to get our special group rate if still available!

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The 65th Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo registration is OPEN! This year’s convention will offer you the opportunity to deepen your professional knowledge, network with colleagues from across the country, spend time in the Expo Hall discovering new business solutions, and even rock out a little. This is the must-attend event for long term and post-acute care professionals.

Early bird registration for this year’s AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo continues through July 18. Register today for the maximum savings.

For information or to register, visit http://www.AHCAconvention.org.

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With the support of the American Health Care Association (AHCA), Aon is once again soliciting your help to submit the facility-specific data necessary to conduct the annual Aon Study on General Liability (GL)/Professional Liability (PL) Costs in the Long Term Care and Post Acute Profession. To facilitate new and continued participation in the Aon Study, there will be an informational Webinar sponsored by AHCA on Friday, July 11 at 2 PM, EDT, to review the specific data requirements and answer questions. You can register now for this Webinar at http://webinars.ahcancal.org/session.php?id=14024.

By way of reminder, the purpose of the Aon study is to:

• Identify the overall trends in the cost of GL/PL claims for long term care;
• Identify state specific trends in the cost of GL/PL claims for long term care;
• Identify trends in frequency and severity overall and on a state by state basis;
• Explore the impact of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) on GL/PL claims; and
• Examine differences in claims costs segregated by payer type.

Over the last many years (starting in 2002), many AHCA members have participated in this effort. Your help is being requested again. Further, some new elements have been added to the study, so it is hoped that even if you have participated in the past, you will consider joining the Webinar on July 11th. As a participant, it is free to participate and you will receive a free electronic copy of the report as soon as it is available in early November 2014. Your participation is essential to ensure that the Aon analysis is representative of profession, and that the states where you operate are profiled. Note: Aon holds all data in confidence and no individual participant is identifiable in the study.

The deadline for participation in the Aon Study is Friday, August 16, 2014.

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Keep people with dementia fully engaged in daily life and help them maximize remaining functional skills by tapping into their innate abilities and interests. Engaging and Communicating with People Who Have Dementia is a trove of advice on how to identify people’s strengths and preferences and then use this knowledge to improve activity programming, communication, and functional independence.

To order, visit http://www.AHCApublications.org or call (800) 321-0343.

Product # 8311
AHCA Members (on-line price) $44.95

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This DVD, Mobility and Safe Movement of the Elderly, Improving Your Skills to Prevent Injuries and Reduce Falls, by Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L., FOTA, Dementia Care & Training Specialist, was developed in conjunction with Wake Allied Health Education Center, Durham Technical Community College and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Office of Information Systems. The content is formatted in separate segments in order to customize the delivery of content to your learning objective. Handouts developed by Teepa accompany each video and may be reproduced. To order, contact Jan Williams at janw@nchcfa.org. The price is $35.00 (tax and shipping included).

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80% of People Think Alzheimer’s Is A Normal Part of Aging

http://time.com/2897084/80-of-people-mistakenly-think-alzheimers-is-a-normal-part-of-aging

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The oldest, continuous Independence Day celebration in the United States is the 4th of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island; it began in 1785.

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