A Day for ID/DD Providers at AHCA/NCAL Convention is Sunday, October 4, 2015

A Day for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Residential Services Providers will be held on Sunday, October 4, 2015, at the 66th AHCA/NCAL Annual Convention & Expo.  The theme for this year's session is called, “Leading the Charge for Compassionate Care: A Day for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Residential Services Providers.”  This constituency education program for ID/DD providers is packed with motivational and educational speakers. Charles Bloom, Chief Strategic Officer for the Marquis Companies/Consonus Healthcare in Milwaukie, OR, is the keynote speaker, and will explore and examine with attendees the background of intentional culture and how it can create meaning and purpose in our work. Intentional culture allows us to keep the meaning and purpose in our work, without it, nothing else matters. Participants will also have the opportunity to hear from other educational and top-notch speakers, including CMS.  Learn more about ID/DD Day.  Register today and earn 7.0 CEUs.

AHCA’s State of the States Clearinghouse

AHCA members now have access to key Medicaid and Medicare information through the new State of the States Clearinghouse.  The AHCA State of the States Clearinghouse is a one stop shop for key Medicaid and Medicare information impacting the long term care profession.   

This new resource provides valuable data, including:

• Overview of the demographic landscape;
• State-specific nursing center occupancy and ownership breakouts; 
• Certificate of Need requirements for nursing centers and state licensure requirements; 
• State data on the cost of care for long term services and supports;  
• State data on the total number of Medicare enrollees; 
• Data on state Medicare Advantage plan enrollees and comparisons to the national average; 
• State and national Medicaid expenditure data;
• State Medicaid rates, costs and shortfalls;
• And other significant state-specific data related to payment structure, managed long term services and home and community based services coverage.

AHCA will continue to provide the most up-to-date information through the Clearinghouse and share new data/resources as they become available.  Also be sure to visit the AHCA Medicaid Page to learn more about the program and to access additional AHCA members-only Medicaid resources.

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Grassroots Advocacy

Renee Naylor, AHCA's ID/DD Committee Chair, encourages AHCA's ID/DD providers to participate in our grassroots advocacy efforts in 2015.  AHCA would like to help you get facility tours and in-district meetings set up over future recess days.  Please provide your name, facility address, and email address and we will craft the invite and send it to you to send to the Congressional office.  The four brief steps for a successful facility tour visit can be found here.  Please feel free to contact Matthew Smyth and Dana Halvorson who can help you with all of the logistics.

Renee Naylor (pictured to the left) and AHCA’s ID/DD Committee member, Kelly Head (pictured to the right), met with Representative Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5) on March 24, during AHCA’s ID/DD Residential Services Providers annual Hill Fly-In event. 

U.S. Congressional Calendars

As you are planning your visits with members of Congress and their staff in Washington, D.C., or in your district, the Congressional calendars will be of assistance to you.  The U.S. House of Representatives calendar for the 114^th Congress, first session, can be found here.  The U.S. Senate schedule for the new Congress can be found here. The dates in black reference the times the U.S. Senate is in session.  The red dates represent when the U.S. Senate is in recess.  

AHCA/NCAL Advocacy App

If you haven’t already heard about it, then we wanted to alert you to a great app that allows you to keep abreast of AHCA advocacy efforts.  Among other things, it provides important talking points, issue briefs and features that allow you to take action.  It will be useful not only to you, but serves as a great way for providers to weigh in.  You can get the app by clicking on the appropriate black box below.

 

Download our advocacy app!

   

VOR Corner

VOR, a national nonprofit organization advocating for high quality care and human rights for people with I/DD, distributes every Friday a weekly e-mail update that can be found here.  Ways to get involved with VOR can be found here.    

We’ve Got You Covered! AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions Website

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) now offers a variety of comprehensive insurance programs to meet your business needs. Backed by the strength of our membership, AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions programs are designed with exclusive member savings and discounts for both the fully-insured or self-insured members.

The program offers health insurance options, group and voluntary benefit packages, an aggressive Stop-Loss insurance program as well as cloud based HR platforms that will help members achieve savings and greater efficiencies on HR services within your company, while also tracking and reporting on key Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements.  For more information, please contact AHCA’s Dave Kyllo at dkyllo@AHCA.org and visit the AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions website.  

Articles and Resources of Interest

• AHCA/NCAL Named Top Workplace by Washington Post - ahcancal.org
• AHCA/NCAL Taking Steps to Ensure the Responsible Use of Antibiotics - ahcancal.org
• Association Announces 2015 Bronze National Quality Award Recipients - ahcancal.org
• Alzheimer’s Caregiving Tips: Caring for Yourself - nia.nih.gov
• About Alzheimer's Disease: Caregiving - nia.nih.gov
• What You Should Know for the 2015-2016 Influenza Season - cdc.gov
• Guardianship Often Recommended Over Alternatives – disabilityscoop.com
• For Kids On The Spectrum, Intervention Offers Long-Term Gains – disabilityscoop.com
• Autism Risk May Vary With Parents’ Age – disabilityscoop.com
• Census Records Sharp Rise In Disability Providers – disabilityscoop.com
• Doctors Largely Unprepared To Treat Adults On The Spectrum – disabilityscoop.com
• Stars To Usher In Special Olympics – disabilityscoop.com
• New Tool Helps Police Tailor Response To Those With Special Needs – disabilityscoop.com

Legislative and Agency Corner

• Long Term Care Advocates Recognized at AHCA/NCAL Congressional Briefing - ahcancal.org
• Long Term and Post-Acute Care Advocates Gather on Capitol Hill - ahcancal.org
• HUD Secretary Takes Hot Seat on Agency Issues - reversemortgagedaily.com
• IRS Proposes Rules For New ABLE Accounts – disabilityscoop.com
• Advocates Press Congress To Address Wandering – disabilityscoop.com
• Disability Advocates Urge FDA To Ban Shock Devices – disabilityscoop.com
• Changes Recommended For Medicaid Managed Care – disabilityscoop.com
• Feds Launch Financial Effort Aimed At People With Disabilities – disabilityscoop.com
• New ACL Organization Structure – acl.gov

Webinars of Interest

Stay informed and tune in to AHCA/NCAL-hosted pre-recorded and live webinars on a number of topics impacting the long term care profession.  On June 26, at 1pm ET, AHCA will be holding a webinar entitled, Just Say “No” to Drugs and “Yes” to Successful Behavior Management.  You can register for this webinar here.  

Shore Lodge

According to Dr. Bryan K. Williams, “There is something to be said for ‘owning’ your work and being exceptional, regardless of who you are serving. Some people…the special ones…are always looking for ways to show their heart through taking care of others.”  To read the full blog posting, please click here. 

Dr. Williams is a consultant, trainer, and author, who focuses on the areas of service excellence and organizational effectiveness.  He has spoken at numerous AHCA/NCAL events, and his passion is to serve others so they may better serve the world.  Here is a link where you can see some of Dr. Williams’ book recommendations on service, leadership and personal development.

National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities

The National Association of Sates United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) holds monthly calls concerning topics of interest to those who work in the field of aging and disability the first Thursday of every month at 3pm EST.  One of the past calls focused on resources for people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias and their caregivers.  Information about future calls, and audio recording of previous ones, can be found here.

Upcoming 2015 Events

• Global Summit on Innovations and Health in IDD - July 27-29, 2015
• Disability Research Consortium Annual Meeting - Aug 5-6, 2015
• The National Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Conference - Aug 31- Sept 3, 2015
• AHCA’s ID/DD Day - Oct 4, 2015
• AHCA/NCAL’s Annual Convention & Expo - Oct 4 - 7, 2015
• Pediatric Complex Care Association Annual Conference - Nov 4 - 6, 2015

2015 Health Care Observances

The 2015 AHCA/NCAL Health Care Observances Calendar can be found here.  July marks, among other observances, Eye Injury Prevention Month and UV Safety Month.