Can you solve the mystery? Join us Sunday, April 23rd at the “Waves of Danger” murder mystery show.
For more information, please visit MALA’s conference webpage.
The purpose of the conference is to enhance the leadership skills of IPs in translating research to practice and engaging stakeholders, including the front line staff, in order to improve the clinical and administrative outcomes of patients with HAIs.
Please visit the conference page here for more details including registration info.
Words can influence how we think, feel and even act. And so, as we embrace person centeredness and strive to approach the development of more person-centered practices in our work, we know that how we say what we say can make a difference in what people do! Join us for the first Hot Topic Webinar of 2017 where Joan Devine, Director of Education for the Pioneer Network and author of “Word of the Week: Building A Culture Change Dictionary” will guide you on a journey to discover words and phrases that can make a difference as we work to change the culture in our communities, and to change our own perceptions about aging and the work we do.
REGISTER HERE FOR THE JANUARY WEBINAR
We have all heard that the new regulations include requirements for the implementation of person-centered practices in nursing homes— what does this mean for those just starting on their journey as well as for those who are well beyond the minimal standards that the regulations generally require?” Join Karen Schoeneman, a founding member of the Pioneer Network and former Deputy Director of the Division of Nursing Homes for CMS, as she provides a glimpse into what communities can achieve as they work to meet and exceed the new regulations, and she’ll share the role that Pioneer Network and others have played over the past 20 years to get us where we are today.
REGISTER HERE FOR THE FEBRUARY WEBINAR
We know we want to change practices, to bring more person centeredness to our communities as we strive to meet and exceed the new regulations, but how? Have you been looking for some guidelines, training tools, tips that can help? That’s just the sort of thing you would expect to get from a network! Join Cathy and the guides from the communities as they explore the many resources available through the Pioneer Network’s new website; where to find them; how to use been used and the outcomes they have produced.
REGISTER HERE FOR THE MARCH WEBINAR
Consistent and dedicated staff are key to creating a person-centered environment, but how do you make that happen when employers of direct care workers– including certified nursing assistants, home health aides, and personal care assistants– are facing staffing shortages at crisis levels. Together, we’ll explore the top 5 reasons for the caregiving crisis, and share a range of interventions from quick wins to bold changes that address the fundamental quality of caregiving jobs.
Cape Girardeau
Chillicothe
Columbia
Jefferson City
Kansas City
Kirksville
Macon
Park Hills
Poplar Bluff
Rolla
Sedalia
Sikeston
Springfield
St. Joseph
St. Louis
Part of implementing quality assurance performance improvement (QAPI) is evaluating processes to identify opportunities for improvement. Identifying which processes to evaluate begins with knowing the potential data sources available. To learn more, click on the following links.
Please see the attached Life Safety Code (LSC) NFPA 72 requirements affecting all levels of long-term care facilities.
RAI Process from Start to Finish
This workshop will look at the RAI process from beginning to end. The MDS is used for both a clinical assessment and a financial assessment and this workshop will discuss the rules on scheduling these assessments and meeting the requirements individually and combined. Item-by-item coding will be reviewed. From coding the MDS, we will then look at the CAA to care plan process. Finally, we will review how to stay up-to-date in this ever-changing world of MDS 3.0.
This one-day workshop will begin with how to gain access to and read the MDS reports from CASPER in order to self-audit your RAI process. The completion of the MDS is becoming more and more difficult and confusing. This workshop will help the MDS Coordinator and other members of the interdisciplinary team to understand the admitting criteria and the ongoing documentation needs of the Medicare resident. The RAI process in relationship to Medicare is also confusing and errors can be a financial nightmare for facilities. This workshop will help clear up the confusion surrounding the process.
Part of implementing quality assurance performance improvement (QAPI) is evaluating processes to identify opportunities for improvement. Identifying which processes to evaluate begins with knowing the potential data sources available. To learn more, click on the following links.
Measuring Quality Improvement (video)
QAPI at a Glance (PDF)
QAPI Video Series (login required)
Our Chronic Disease Prevention and Maintenance for Seniors has put together a web page with some great links for education on health for seniors. The site was meant to be a one stop shop for general information for Seniors with Chronic Disease, including the following:
Please share this link as appropriate: http://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/chronic/toolkit.php.
S&C: 17-12-NH: Long-Term Care (LTC) Regulation: Enforcement of Rule Prohibiting Use of Pre-Dispute Binding Arbitration Agreements is Suspended so Long as Court Ordered Injunction Remains in Effect
Please see the S & C attached or you may view it online at https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/Policy-and-Memos-to-States-and-Regions-Items/Survey-and-Cert-Letter-17-12.html?DLPage=1&DLEntries=10&DLSort=2&DLSortDir=descending.
An interactive training video on Section M: Skin Conditions is now available: http://surveyortraining.cms.hhs.gov/Courses/126/SectionMVideo/SectionMVideo.html.
Educating staff about appropriate documentation for immunizations is an important aspect of quality improvement. Click on the following TMF Quality Innovation Network video links to learn more about immunization quality measures and Minimum Data Set coding.
MLN bring speaker Al Litwiller, former regulator with a State Survey Agency, former Administrator, and President of Litwiller Consulting LLC, Plainfield, Illinois to drill down and examine methods of compliance for the benefit of our residents and thriving at survey time. During this session, we will consider the specific changes effective now in the F-tags and how to best implement those new requirements. This will be a fast-paced session looking at the many changes
Please see MLN’s event page for more information including registration.
Help promote influenza vaccinations by participating in National Influenza Vaccination Week. Click on the following links for tips to assist your facility in promoting awareness as well as educating staff, residents and family members about the importance of influenza vaccinations.
The NFPA 2012 Life Safety Code Requirements were effective November 1, 2016. Included in the document attached are areas frequently cited during the last quarter and since the update.
SLCR developed a protocol for communication between long-term care homes and the Section for Long-Term Care Regulation (SLCR), in the event a disaster occurs that results in a loss of a necessary service (electricity, water, gas, telephone, etc.). This protocol was established to streamline communication so that homes can focus on what is most important – the safety and well-being of the residents.
The phone number for Region 5 (Macon) has changed. This is the only change to the document attached.
Project Overview: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is in the second year of a three year pilot project to improve assessment of infection control and prevention regulations in Long Term Care (LTC) facilities, hospitals, and during transitions of care. All surveys during the pilot will be educational surveys (no citations will be issued) and will be conducted by a national contractor.
Second Year Activities: Using draft surveyor Infection Control Worksheets (ICWS) based on the new Long Term Care regulation as well as a revised hospital surveyor ICWS, 40 hospital surveys will be paired with surveys of LTC facilities, in order to provide an opportunity to assess infection prevention during transitions of care. In addition, CMS will pilot technical assistance opportunities for facilities in efforts to improve their infection control programs to meet these new regulations. The draft ICWSs are attached to provide transparency of CMS pilot expectations.
Please see the S&C including all documents below or view it online at https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/Policy-and-Memos-to-States-and-Regions-Items/Survey-and-Cert-Letter-17-09.html?DLPage=1&DLEntries=10&DLSort=1&DLSortDir=descending.
sc17-09-01-infection-control-pilot-2017
sc17-09-02-pilot-study-ltc-infection-control-worksheet
sc17-09-03-pilot-study-hospital-infection-control-worksheet
Pressure ulcer prevention is a team effort. Staff, residents and family members must work together to support the goal of eliminating facility-acquired pressure ulcers. Click on the following links to learn more about pressure ulcer education and awareness for everyone involved:
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) invites you to participate in a collaborative focusing on early sepsis identification and treatment in nursing homes.
The speaker for this event will be Steven Q. Simpson, MD, professor of Medicine and director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Simpson has initiated a sepsis program in Kansas nursing homes that will be a basis of his presentation. A Kansas nursing home participating in the collaborative will also provide lessons learned from implementation of early sepsis recognition.
Those interested in attending may attend via WebEx or in person at either the CMS regional offices in Kansas City or Chicago. A collaborative discussion will follow at the regional offices to consider barriers and opportunities moving forward. To register, all attendees must download this form (Word) and complete the appropriate section(s) on page two. Note: Only those persons who plan to attend via WebEx need to complete the second section on page two.
Beginning January 1, 2017, the existing physical and occupational therapy evaluation and re-evaluation CPT codes will no longer be accepted by Medicare for Part B services, and 6 new codes will be required in their place. To prevent interruptions in your cash flow due to claims denials, it is important that your key staff know the new billing codes, that software and process are modified to handle the new codes and that therapy services are properly documented to support the new codes.
This presentation, for facility management and billing staff, will explain the changes in the CPT codes and the new documentation requirements that must support the new codes. It will also review steps you should be taking now to prepare for this change, and steps you should be talking after January to ensure the therapy billing that is done is compliant with these new requirements.
In just a few minutes, nurses can self-enroll into Nursys e-Notify for free and take advantage of a quick and convenient way to keep up-to-date with their professional licenses. They can receive licensure status updates, track license verifications for endorsement and create and manage multiple license expiration reminders. Keeping on top of license status can help nurses prevent fraudulent licenses or certificates being issued in their names.
If you only have one license, you may question why you need to do this. We have had cases come before the board where a nurse unknowingly practiced while his/her license was expired. This system will notify you before your license expires and when it expires. It is also possible that your license could be suspended for failure to comply with the tax law. You would receive a notification any time any discipline is attached to your license. Missouri is a member of the nurse licensure compact. Your multi-state license is tied to your primary state of residence. A change to your primary state of residence could change your multi-state license status. This system will notify you if that status changes. When you apply to renew your license or submit your license renewal online, your license is not automatically renewed. If you enroll in this system, you will be notified when your license is renewed. Those are just a few examples of how enrolling yourself in this system will protect the license you have worked so hard to obtain. This system pushes notification of changes to you rather than you having to continually re-query the system.
Creating an account is quick and easy. Enroll at www.nursys.com/e-notify and select “As a Nurse” to complete the registration process. Learn more about Nursys e-Notify by viewing an introductory video or visiting the Nursys website. For questions, contact nursysenotify@ncsbn.org.
Nursys is the only national database for licensure verification for registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs). Nursys is designated as a primary source equivalent database through a written agreement with participating boards of nursing (BONs). Nursys is live and dynamic, and all updates to the system are reflected immediately, pushed directly from participating BON databases through frequent, secured data updates.
A web page to house general information on the reinvestment of State CMP funds is now available at https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/LTC-CMP-Reinvestment.html. This web page serves as a location to house pertinent information for entities interested in applying for State CMP funds, States and Regional Offices (ROs), and other stakeholders.
Nutrition plays an important role in pressure ulcer management and prevention. Click on the following links to learn more.
This workshop will help your facility prepare to make necessary changes to comply with the new Requirement of Participation (RoP) that will be enforced in three phases (starting Nov 28, 2016, Nov 2017 and Nov 2019). This workshop will include a mix of didactic presentations and multiple interactive exercises using material brought by your facility to help you start to make changes you need to comply with RoP enforced in phase I and II. The session will also include significant time for group discussion and a review of available resources and tools.
Please see the event registration on MHCA website here for more information.