ID/DD Digest: December 2016

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Happy Holidays from All of Us at AHCA/NCAL

Mark Your Calendars – AHCA’s 2017 ID/DD Hill Fly-In Event Date Set!

AHCA’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD) Residential Services Providers annual Hill Fly-In event will occur on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at the AHCA offices in DC. This important event is free to attend. Breakfast and a boxed lunch will be provided to registrants. Congressional speakers are being invited, a legislative update will be provided, and Hill visits will follow in the afternoon. AHCA will provide one-pagers and talking points for registrants to take to the Hill.

If you would like to attend, please contact AHCA’s Senior Director of Not for Profit & Constituent Services, Dana Halvorson. If you have any questions whatsoever, please don’t hesitate to let Dana know. AHCA hopes to see you at this important event!

ICF/IID Emergency Preparedness CMS Final Rule Summary

The California Association of Health Facilities and AHCA have put together an Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID) Emergency Preparedness CMS Final Rule summary that can be found here. The rule was released on Friday, September 16, 2016, and can be found here. Members impacted by the rule include Skilled Nursing Facilities, Nursing Facilities and ICF/IIDs. This final rule is not applicable to Assisted Living Providers.

ICF/IID Reports

AHCA's Research Department has released the following June 2016 updates for use by AHCA/NCAL members:

If you have any questions relating to these reports, which include important ICF/IID state and national data, please contact AHCA’s Senior Research Analyst, Kiran Sreenivas.

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Grassroots Advocacy – Facility Visits Over Recess

Holly Jarek, AHCA's ID/DD Committee Chair, encourages AHCA's ID/DD providers to participate in our grassroots advocacy efforts in 2017. 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.

AHCA’s ID/DD Committee members, Renee Naylor (pictured to the left) and Kelly Head (pictured to the right), met with Representative Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5) last year, 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 115^th Congress, first session, can be found here. The tentative U.S. Senate schedule for 2017 can be found here.

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 is a national nonprofit organization advocating for high quality care and human rights for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). VOR empowers its members to make and protect quality of life choices for individuals with developmental disabilities. Founded in 1983, VOR is a national 501(c)(3) organization governed by a volunteer board of directors and funded solely by dues and donations. VOR represents primarily individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families/guardians. VOR advocates that the final determination of what is appropriate depends on the unique abilities and needs of the individual and desires of the family and guardians. More information about VOR can be found here.

DDNA: Celebrating Our Past, Shaping Our Future!

You are cordially invited to the Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association’s 25^th Education Conference & Anniversary Gala! Join us April 7-10, 2017 for DDNA’s exceptional education program in Dallas, Texas at the Hyatt Regency Reunion Tower. The 2017 conference will be a celebration of our last 25 years and a look ahead to the next 25 years in I/DD nursing! As the premier resource for practicing I/DD nurses, DDNA is committed to providing quality education programs that include cutting edge content with practical application. Who should attend: nurses and other healthcare professionals specializing in the care of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, case managers, and QDDPs. For more information or to become a member of DDNA, visit our website at: DDNA.org

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.

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 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.

Articles and Resources of Interest

Five Steps for Inclusive Communication: Engaging People with Disabilities PDF – naccho.org
Most Common Health Problems for People Aging with Physical Disabilities – naric.com
Ensuring Quality & Accessible Care for Children with Disabilities & Complex Health and Education Needs – nap.edu
State Medicaid Integration Tracker© - nasuad.org
Autism Drug Trial Underway – autismglobalnews.org
Supreme Court Weighs the Constitutionality of the Death Penalty for the Intellectually Disabled – abcnews.go.com
Health Care Issues Affecting Aging Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities – youtube.com
Disability No Reason To Deny Organ Transplants, Lawmakers Say – disabilityscoop.com
Doctors Urged To Help Families Seeking Out-Of-Home Placements – disabilityscoop.com
ABC, ESPN Sign On To Broadcast Special Olympics – disabilityscoop.com

Legislative and Agency Corner

Long Term/Post-Acute Care and Assisted Living Sectors Applaud Walden’s Election as Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman – ahcancal.org
Long Term/Post-Acute Care and Assisted Living Sectors Applaud Nomination of Chairman Price as HHS Secretary – ahcancal.org
Long Term/Post-Acute Care and Assisted Living Sectors Applaud Nomination of Seema Verma to Lead CMS – ahcancal.org
Parkinson Extends Post-Election Congratulations – ahcancal.org
FHA Financial Picture Improves, Despite Reverse Mortgage Losses – reversemortgagedaily.com
New CDC Pandemic Influenza Web Site – cdc.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.

In addition, The ARC has webinars coming up this year and next year that might be of interest. More details are below.

AHCA/NCAL Learning Management Website

AHCA/NCAL has recently launched a comprehensive online Learning Management System to support the training needs of its members. The website, known as ahcancalED, contains a wealth of information including educational programs, webinars, instructional videos, training courses, and other tools. It is available free to AHCA/NCAL members.

"We created ahcancalED for our members who do not have the time or budget to develop the newest in-service training," said Dr. David Gifford, AHCA/NCAL Senior Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs. "Our objective also was to provide the best and latest educational tools, especially as CMS increases its regulatory requirements about staff training and competency in a number of areas. ahcancalED is designed to help individuals in our profession do a better job of caring for patients and residents and advance in their careers."

The information on ahcancalED is structured to make the online learning experience engaging, meaningful, and interactive for users. The fresh graphics and clearly defined sections within the site make it easy for users to navigate and find the information they need. The site also allows users to track their own learning progress.

Teams of experts from around the country working with AHCA/NCAL staff helped to create the content. "We will constantly be adding new programs and materials so that we can keep the site fresh and dynamic," said Gifford. "We'll continue to look for new ways the site can grow and serve our members. It's a great value-added benefit and a tangible example of our commitment to enhancing quality."

ahcancalED can be accessed at https://educate.ahcancal.org/. Suggestions for content or other site enhancements can be submitted to the ahcancalED team at educate@ahca.org. AHCA/NCAL welcomes ideas that will help improve quality and strengthen the knowledge, skills and attitudes of staff in the long term and post-acute care community.

From the Blog of Josh Linkner

Noted on the Josh Linkner blog, “To Josh Linkner, creativity and innovation are the lifeblood of all human progress. As such, he’s spent his career harnessing the power of creative disruption. His journey has been non-traditional at every step. As the founder and CEO of four tech companies, Josh built his businesses from a blank page into a combined value of over $200 million. As a hyper-growth CEO of over 20 years, he’s used innovative approaches to topple competitors, fight through adversity, and achieve at the highest levels.” The bio section of Linkner’s blog goes on to include that, “Josh is an internationally-recognized thought leader and top-rated keynote speaker on innovation, creativity, reinvention, and hyper-growth leadership. His keynotes are focused on not only inspiring audiences, but also sharing actionable strategies to drive meaningful outcomes.” Read some of Linkner’s blogs below. In addition, you can view some of his keynote speaking addresses here.

The Power of Strong Habits

Dr. Bryan K. Williams notes on his blog that, “It all begins with a thought. Thoughts turn into words, and words turn into behaviors, and behaviors turn into habits. In fact, anything we consistently do will become a habit. Napoleon Hill wrote that ‘Thoughts are things, and powerful things at that’. It generally takes anywhere from 3-4 weeks of daily repetition to form a habit, but once it’s formed, it is very difficult to NOT do it. The mind doesn’t know if it’s a good or bad habit. Your mind just accepts whatever you feed it, and the habits ensue. To deliver a consistently exceptional service experience, there must be habits that are hardwired throughout your entire team.” The full blog version of “The Power of Strong Habits” article can be found 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 2017 Events

AHCA/NCAL 2017 Quality Summit – March 6 – 8, 2017
AHCA/NCAL 2017 Independent Owner Leadership Conference – March 8 – 10, 2017
AHCA ID/DD Committee In-Person Meeting and Hill Fly-In Event – March 21 and 22, 2017

2017 Health Care Observances

January 2017 marks, among other observances, National Blood Donor Month, National Birth Defects Prevention Month, Glaucoma Awareness Month, and Cervical Health Awareness Month.