UPDATE Weekly

The photos from the Chairman’s Evening Extravaganza – Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball are now available! To view and order photographs, please visit http://www.PhotoSpecialties.com and use the password: NCHCFA.

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The leadership workshop NCHCFA held in January was so well received that we have decided to offer the session again on April 6, 2017. Empowerment Leadership for LTC is an interactive dynamic developmental session that focuses on what it truly means to serve others as a leader. Discuss what employees, customers, and others truly need from leaders. Learn how to operate most effectively in a leadership role using the core principles of servant leadership.

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. The goal of this workshop is to provide attendees with information and tools that are relevant, transformative, memorable, and actionable.

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.

Through this workshop, 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.

What You’ll Learn

• Why Lead This Way?
• Top Skills of Servant Leaders
• Practical Tips for Shifting to Servant Leadership
• Creating a Shared Vision and Getting Engagement
• Leading Through Change

This seminar will be facilitated by Mark Gogal, a Human Resources Leader with over 25 years of progressive, global, and diverse human resources experience, practical business partnering expertise, strong organizational and analytical skills, and proven strategic management experience. He has a multi-faceted background in developing and implementing core HR policies/practices to meet the changing business, legal, and labor compliance environment. He has worked in a variety of industries in the public and private sectors including healthcare.

Mark is an enthusiastic, energetic, and passionate leader and presenter who truly enjoys developing others to reach their fullest potential both professionally and personally.

For the complete brochure and registration information, click here.

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The American Health Care Association (AHCA) hosted a Webinar on Tuesday, March 7th to provide information about the Medicaid reform provisions included in the “repeal and replace” of Obamacare, which was introduced on March 6th. The recording is now available for members only. During the Webinar, AHCA staff provided an overview of the proposed changes to Medicaid and summarized issues and concerns for our profession. The 40 minute-long session outlines next steps in the legislative process and what you can do to help ensure our success. (Please note that an ahcancalED registration log-in is required to hear this recording.)

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On Wednesday, March 15th from 1:30 to 3:00 PM ET, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be holding a conference call on the upcoming Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program. During this call, CMS experts will present on the SNF VBP Program, including confidential quarterly feedback reports and implementation guidance. Gain an understanding of the significance of readmissions and how SNF risk-standardized readmission rates are computed. Learn how to navigate through the Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (QIES) and the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reporting (CASPER) application systems to report SNF quality performance. A question and answer session follows the presentation.

The SNF VBP Program will impact payments to most nursing facilities. The program will begin in FY 2019 (October 1, 2018).

To register or for more information, visit MLN Connects Event Registration.

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Part of the new emergency preparedness requirements, that cover nursing facilities, is the requirement that nursing facilities must conduct exercises to test the emergency plan at least annually, including unannounced staff drills using the emergency procedures. Centers will need to participate in a full-scale exercise that is community-based if not accessible then an individual, facility based. An additional exercise will need to be conducted by the center such as a second full-scale exercise that is community-based or individual, facility-based or a tabletop exercise that includes a group discussion led by a facilitator, using a narrated, clinically-relevant emergency scenario, and a set of problem statements, directed messages, or prepared questions designed to challenge an emergency plan. Testing will need to include an analysis of the center’s response to and maintain documentation of all drills, tabletop exercises, and emergency events, and revise the emergency plan, as needed.

There was uncertainty as to when these exercises would need to be completed. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has clarified this with the following response: The effective date of these regulations was November 15, 2016. The Implementation date (Page 63860): These regulations must be implemented by November 15, 2017. Therefore, facilities are required to be in compliance by this November with all of the requirements.

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) has made available a free, on-demand Webinar that addresses the new emergency preparedness requirements. To register for this valuable Webinar, click here.

In addition to the above Webinar, CMS has resources available for providers to use in preparing for this new requirement. To access a summary of these additional resources, click here.

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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 February 2017 has been posted. The updated files are posted on OIG’s Web site at http://www.oig.hhs.gov/exclusions/exclusions_list.asp, and healthcare providers have an “affirmative duty” to check to ensure that excluded individuals are not working in their facilities or face significant fines.

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Alliant Quality wants to encourage SNFs to keep signing up for the National Collaborative – or SPACE. Alliant recommends having as much time as possible to get started on Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) work and improving facility quality measures in a systems approach to improve their five star and composite scores.

Alliant Quality is the Medicare Quality Innovation Network (QIN)-Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for North Carolina. Under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Alliant Quality invites your nursing home to participate in a collaborative designed to ensure that every nursing home resident receives the highest quality of care.

The Collaborative offers an exciting opportunity to learn from high performing nursing homes regarding their processes as they pertain to consistent/permanent staff assignment, teamwork and communications, leadership, regulatory compliance, clinical models, and quality of life indicators. The Collaborative aligns national nursing home quality initiatives and partnerships such as the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes Campaign, The Partnership to Improve Dementia Care, and QAPI. Targeted focus areas will include increasing mobility, decreasing unnecessary use of antipsychotics in residents with dementia, decreasing potentially avoidable hospitalizations and decreasing healthcare acquired infections and conditions.

When ready to register, click here for the Participation Agreement and fax or e-mail it back to Lisa Klemis, contact information is on the Participation Agreement. For more details, e-mail Leighann Sauls at Leighann.Sauls@area-F.hcqis.org or call (919) 745-4730.

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Over 600 members and 500 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 2017 Convention was recognizing the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association 2017 Special Award recipients:

District I Nurse Aide of the Year
Mary “Libby” Tallent – Grace Heights Health & Rehabilitation Center

District II Nurse Aide of the Year
Dianna Franklin – Autumn Care of Cornelius

District III Nurse Aide of the Year
Ida King – Peak Resources / Alamance

District IV Nurse Aide of the Year
Marie Cheeks – Quail Haven Village

District V Nurse Aide of the Year
Becky Whitson – Hunter Hills Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

2017 Riley W. Clapp Outstanding Service Award
Kelly Boyette – Southwood Nursing & Retirement Center

Dianna Franklin received the Thirteenth Annual J.R. Garrett, Jr. Direct Care Worker of the Year Award!

The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would like to thank our Gold Convention hosts of the 2017 Annual Convention and Expo for their support: Blue Ridge Pharmacy, Healthcare Services Group, Inc., Medipack Pharmacy, Neil Medical Services, NH Med Services, Poyner Spruill LLP, PruittHealth, QMX Mobile Health, and Southern Pharmacy Services.

The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association would also like to thank our 2017 Silver Convention Hosts for their support: American Medical Technologies, Broad River Rehab, and DHG Healthcare.

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NCHCFA thank all individuals that participated in the 2017 Convention and Exposition evaluation raffle. Congratulations to Linda Reece of PruittHealth of Elkin and Scott Sanders of White Oak Pharmacy for winning a $100.00 American Express gift card! Again, we appreciate your valuable input.

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Alliant Quality, the QIN-QIO (Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization) for North Carolina is seeking central North Carolina skilled nursing facilities interested in collaborating on the Special Innovation Project (SIP) Improving Access to Palliative Care in the Long Term Care Facility.

Palliative care focuses on comfort and improving quality of life. A team of professionals helps residents and families navigate through the health care system and make health care decisions that are right for them. Goals of this project not only include providing quality of life and satisfaction for residents of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), but also provision of services that minimize risks of potentially avoidable transfers to acute care.

Often, nursing home residents lack advance directives that would assist them at the end of life. When a resident without an advanced directive suffers a worsening of their clinical condition, a cascade of care is put into motion and can trigger unwanted emergency room visits and admissions, which can lead to other complications. The provision of palliative care services for SNF residents supports person-directed care in a proactive way to honor the patient and their choices.

Alliant Quality, in partnership with SNFs and palliative care organizations, will develop customized education and learning sessions for SNF leaders to better understand palliative care and its beneficial role for the residents whom they are caring for each day. This educational offering will be pilot-tested in central North Carolina with SNFs who are interested in this Special Innovation Project offered through the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services.

Participating SNFs will have the opportunity to:

• Receive free training programs designed to improve their SNF staff competency and knowledge related to end-of-life care
• Join a learning network with experts on palliative care in the SNF setting
• Partner with palliative care providers in order to improve the quality of life of their residents
• Implement low-burden measurement strategies that monitor resident and family satisfaction with end-of-life care
• Improve rates of avoidable acute care transfers and hospital admission and readmission rates

For more information, contact:
Jennifer Judson RN, BSN
Project Lead, Palliative Care
Office: (678) 527-3473
Jennifer.Judson@alliantquality.org

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The 3rd Annual NC Community Transitions Institute (“The Institute”) is accepting applications for the summer-long professional development event. The Institute kicks off in May with a 2-day accessing community-based resources and understanding the quality transition landscape session. Throughout the months of June and July attendees can participate through accessing resource Webinars as well as sessions on Person-Centered Thinking and Motivational Interviewing. The Webinars will be followed by an intensive 2-day session on Person-Centered collaborative communication bringing together foundations in Person-Centered Thinking and using Motivational Interviewing tools and techniques. Technical Assistance will be available in August and September to assist with the Person-Centered collaborative communication skills. The Institute concludes in October with a one-day event focused on sustaining quality collaborative transition practices and fostering change within the transition ecosystem.

The deadline to submit an application is Friday, March 17, 2017 and notifications will be sent to applicants by March 31, 2017. For additional information a PDF version of the call for applications is online at this link. The application itself is can be accessed at this link. If you have questions please e-mail Tracy Pakornsawat or call (919) 855-4199.

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National Nursing Home Week® is May 14-20, 2017! AHCA’s 2017 National Nursing Home Week® (NNHW) specialty products are now available for purchase. This year’s theme with logo, The Spirit of America, is featured on many of the available items. This theme underscores the bond between staff, volunteers and residents that capture the American spirit. To purchase National Nursing Home week specialty products including posters, balloons, t-shirts, buttons, and more, shop on-line or call (800) 321-0343.

Members are encouraged to place orders early for best product selection (color, size, and available quantities). NNHW items are very popular and will sell out.

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This newly updated and revised book presents ready-to-use materials for planning, implementing, and evaluating cultural competence strategies and programs. Learn to identify the needs of diverse constituents, evaluate outcomes, prevent multicultural-related workplace conflict, and much more. Includes tools to evaluate and assess cultural competence on a companion Web site.

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

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If you were unable to attend one of our sessions on the introduction to the new regulations, the notebook used in the training is now available for purchase (Polly Welsh’s PowerPoint presentation). E-mail 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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Virtual Reality Lets Med Students Experience What It’s Like To Be 74

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/we-are-alfred-embodied-labs-carrie-shaw-virtual-reality-medical-students-elderly-geriatric-care_us_57505bbce4b0c3752dccbeaa

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In 21 states, Wal-Mart is the single largest employer.

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