A Gift that Just Keeps Giving

Kara Larsen is the 2015 AHCA/NCAL Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD) “Hero of the Year.” Ms. Larsen works at the Mission at West Jordan Care Center, West Jordan, Utah. The goal of West Jordan is to offer an individualized quality of life experience by providing excellent services in an advanced Eden Alternative environment. Over the years, West Jordan’s clients have changed from mainly behavioral to eighty percent (80%) non-ambulatory.

A solid 15-year veteran at West Jordan, Kara’s career began there when she was 17 years old. Today, Jeanie Pettit, Administrator of West Jordan, describes her as “extraordinary in the love and caring she brings to activity situations. She thinks out of the box, is creative and enthusiastic.”

Kara is adept at taking on an idea and following it through to completion, such as participating in the Miss Utah Wheelchair pageant, or leading other social events. She receives a lot of the credit for the success of the Eden program.  Yet, Kara’s true gift is in building relationships with clients, families, and the staff. Seems Kara is always able to rally support for her causes and fundraisers, as well as providing community volunteers for events.  AHCA enthusiastically recognizes Kara’s wonderful contributions to West Jordan Care Center, its clients, and families.

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 (pictured below), 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.

Regulations Published for Implementation of ABLE Act

The Internal Revenue Service published proposed regulations concerning the implementation of the Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE Act) of 2014.  The proposed regulations are titled Guidance Under Section 529A: Qualified ABLE Programs and were published on June 22, 2015.  The regulations address an explanation of provisions, the qualifications of an ABLE program, the standard for disability determination, limits on contributions to the account, and various other issues.  Public comments are due by September 21, 2015.  A public hearing to address these regulations is scheduled for October 14, 2015.  For the full version of the regulations, click here. 

AHCA’s State of the States Clearinghouse

AHCA members have access to key Medicaid and Medicare information through the 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.  VOR promises to empower you to make and protect quality of live choices for all individuals with developmental disabilities.  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

• Top Distinction in Quality Care Earned by Four Long Term and Post-Acute Care Providers – ahcancal.org
• Antipsychotic Use Continues to Decrease Among Long-Stay Nursing Home Residents, CMS Report Shows – ahcancal.org
• AHCA/NCAL Statement on the 50th Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid – ahcancal.org
• Dr. Alice Bonner Named 2015 Champion of Quality Award Recipient – ahcancal.org
• Long Term Care Honorees Announced – ahcancal.org
• National Quality Organization Endorses Profession’s Key Quality Indicators – ahcancal.org
• Shriver Center Studying Falls Prevention in People with Intellectual, Developmental Disabilities – umassmed.edu
• Poll Finds Public Perception Varies On Intellectual Disabilities – disabilityscoop.com
• Spending On Community Living Hits Record – disabilityscoop.com
• Analysis Ranks Best States For Disability Services – disabiltyscoop.com
• ‘Miniature Brains’ Reveal An Outsized Secret About Autism – disabiltyscoop.com
• Finding A Formula For ‘Medically Complex’ Kids – disabiltyscoop.com
• Health Tip: Eat Responsibly – healthfinder.gov
• 1 in 4 Senior Women in U.S. Has Osteoporosis: CDC – healthfinder.gov
• Exercise May Buffer Symptoms of Early Alzheimer's – healthfinder.gov
• High Blood Sugar May Boost Alzheimer's Risk – healthfinder.gov
• Alzheimer’s Caregiving Tips: Traveling Overnight – NIA.NIH.gov
• Brain Health: You Can Make a Difference! – ACL.gov

Legislative and Agency Corner

• Thune Bill Would Improve Access, Availability of Rural Health Care – ahcancal.org
• Senate Unanimously Passes NOTICE Act – ahcancal.org
• AHCA/NCAL Welcomes Nomination of Andy Slavitt for CMS Administrator – ahcancal.org
• HUD Launches Resource Locator App – HUD.gov
• FHA Announces New Lender Performance Measure to Expand Credit Access to More Eligible Borrowers – HUD.gov
• NIH Joins Public-Private Partnership to Fund Research on Autism Biomarkers – NIH.gov
• Government Panel Questions Universal Autism Screening – disabiltyscoop.com
• Investigations Target Federal Disability Program – disabiltyscoop.com
• State Officials Plan For New ABLE Accounts – disabiltyscoop.com
• Funding For ASD Research Trending Up – disabilityscoop.com

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 Sept. 17, 2015, between 2-3:30pm ET, AHCA will host a webinar entitled, “Strategies for Addressing Workplace Violence in Healthcare Facilities and Ensuring Compliance with OSHA’s New Guidelines.”  Healthcare workers face an increased risk of workplace violence in their work and data suggests that 70% of workplace assaults occur in the healthcare industry.  In response, OSHA recently released an update to its Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers and it has indicated that it will focus on the hazards associated with workplace violence in all healthcare industry inspections.  The publication includes suggested best practices and provides some insight on how to reduce the risk of violence in various healthcare and social service settings.  Attend our webinar to learn about the new OSHA guidelines and strategies that can help you successfully address the unique challenges that the healthcare industry faces in tackling this workplace challenge.  You can register for the webinar here. 

In addition, on Tuesday, September 1, 2015, from 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET, the National Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center will hold a webinar entitled Dementia Friendly Communities on “creating communities that are safe and respectful, provide support, and work toward quality of life for people living with dementia and their families.  Webinar participants will learn about key concepts related to Dementia Friendly Communities and hear from community leaders putting these concepts into action.”  You can register for the webinar here.

Service Excellence: I Can't Imagine a World Without

According to Dr. Bryan K. Williams, “If a grocery store can win a Forbes 5-Stars rating, this store would be it. It’s one thing to be exceptional, and it’s another to be consistently exceptional. MOM’s Organic Store in the Washington DC Metro Area is just that; Consistently Exceptional. I can honestly say that every business can learn from the workplace and service culture that MOM’s cultivates.”  He goes on to note a “few key points that MOM’s excels at (and all organizations can emulate).”  Dr. Williams also states in this blog, “Don’t let job titles or department names get in the way of learning as much as you can about where you work.”  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 States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) holds a monthly call or webinar concerning topics of interest to those who work in the field of aging and disability.  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

• 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.  September marks, among other observances, National Cholesterol Education Month, National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and National Preparedness Month.