Tuesday, October 10, 2017
AHCA/NCAL 68th Annual Convention & Expo Next Week!
Submit a Presentation for the 2018 AHCA/NCAL Convention
The Call
for Presentation for 2018 is open. Complete
Submission Guidelines and Information can be found here. Presentation
proposals will be accepted from September 1st through November 30th. You can only submit through the link above.
No proposals will be accepted via regular mail or email.
The 2018 AHCA/NCAL Annual Convention will be held in San Diego, CA from October 7-10, 2018. Submitters will be notified by April 2018 as to the status of the submission. Please hold all convention dates until you receive news of your submission status.
The 2018 AHCA/NCAL Annual Convention will be held in San Diego, CA from October 7-10, 2018. Submitters will be notified by April 2018 as to the status of the submission. Please hold all convention dates until you receive news of your submission status.
AHCA/NCAL 2017 Award Recipients
The 2017 AHCA/NCAL Awards recipients are:
-
Hero of the Year- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Cathy Gray, Cedarcrest Center for Children with Disabilities, Keene, N.H.
- Not for Profit Program of the Year: Trinity Oaks Health and Rehab Life Enrichment, Trinity Oaks Health and Rehab, Salisbury, N.C.
- Not for Profit Trustee Award: Peter Miesburger, Maine Veterans’ Home, Augusta, Maine
- Adult Volunteer of the Year: Mike Howard, Harlan Health and Rehabilitation Center, Ky.
- Group Volunteer of the Year: Bryant Parkview Care Center Auxiliary, Bryant Parkview Care Center, Bryant, S.D.
- Young Adult Volunteer of the Year: Luke Flippo, Diversicare of Amory, Amory, Miss.
Informative Emergency Preparedness Sessions Available at Convention
That being said, AHCA has several informative emergency preparedness resources that you might be interested in. AHCA has an Emergency Preparedness Final Rule Webinar Series that can be found here. In addition, there will be educational sessions around emergency preparedness at the AHCA/NCAL National Convention in Las Vegas, including one on Monday, October 16, 2017, at 3pm entitled “A Case Study in the Use of Human Patient Simulator Technology to Enhance Emergency Preparedness Exercises within Long Term Care Facilities.” More details on this session can be found here. Another session that you might find of interest will occur on Tuesday, October 17, at 10am in the Mandalay Bay Ballroom L entitled, “Overview and Discussion of the New Emergency Preparedness Requirements.” More information can be found here on this particular session. Please contact ErinPrendergast (SNF Providers) or Dana Halvorson (ICF/IID Providers) with any questions.
Nominations for 2018/2019 AHCA Committees
You have the opportunity to
nominate yourself or another member to serve on one or more of the following
committees: Business Management,
Clinical Practice, Constitution and Bylaws, Credentialing, Customer Experience,
Emergency Preparedness, Health Information Technology, Independent Owner
Council, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD) Residential
Services, Legal, Life Safety, Not for Profit Council, Political Action and
Involvement (PAIC), Quality Improvement, Regional Multifacility Council,
Reimbursement, Survey/Regulatory, and Workforce. Nominations are due by October 20th. More details can be found here.
Implications of the ABLE Act for State Medicaid Programs
According to a September 7, 2017, email
update from Medicaid.gov, “the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) is providing guidance to states on how to treat ‘ABLE’ accounts in
Medicaid financial eligibility determinations.
The Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014
(the ABLE Act), enacted in 2015, created a program under which people with
disabilities can save money for their disability-related expenses in
tax-advantaged accounts. Because disability
can serve as a basis for Medicaid eligibility, many individuals who apply for
Medicaid on the basis of having a disability may be interested in opening an
ABLE account, and this letter provides guidance to states on the treatment of
funds in, contributions to, and distributions from an ABLE account for purposes
of Medicaid eligibility.” The letter is
available here. AHCA supported the
passage of the ABLE Act in Congress.
U.S. Senate Approves RAISE Family Caregivers Act
On Tuesday, September 26, the full
U.S. Senate considered and passed this legislation with an amendment in the
nature of a substitute by unanimous consent. The amendment in the nature
of substitute is consistent with The RAISE Family Caregivers Act - H.R. 3759 recently introduced in the U.S. House of
Representatives. The legislation now awaits full House
consideration.
November is National Family Caregivers Month
November
is National Family Caregivers Month, and Caregiver Action Network sets the theme for
it each year. The 2017 theme is “Caregiving
Around the Clock”.
More background on National Family Caregivers Month can be found here. AARP notes that about 40 million family caregivers provide
about $470 billion annually in unpaid care to their loved ones. According
to the Caregiving in the
U.S. 2015 study from the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, about 3.7
million family caregivers provide care to a child under age 18 because of a
medical, behavioral, or other condition or disability, and 6.5 million family
caregivers assist both adults and children.
ICF/IID Reports
AHCA's Research Department has released
the following June 2017 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.
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
U.S. Congressional Calendars
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
2017 Pediatric Complex Care Association Conference
The conference brings together providers of care for children with medical complexity that include physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, nursing home administrators, pediatric therapists, social workers, and educators. Conference highlights this year include a keynote address by Rick Guidotti, an internationally known photographer speaking on “Positive Exposure: Seeing Beyond Diagnosis and sessions on leading generational diversity, infection prevention teams, augmentative technology, sensory environments and behavioral intervention.
For further information on the conference and to register, please click here or contact pat@pediatricomplexcare.org. For more information about the Pediatric Complex Care Association or to become a member, visit their website pediatriccomplexcare.org
2018 DDNA Conference
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. For more information about
the DDNA or to become a member, visit their website at: DDNA.org.
We’ve Got You Covered! AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions Website
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
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.
Articles and Resources of Interest
-
Three Long Term and Post-Acute Care Providers Earn Top Distinction in Quality Care – ahcancal.org
- Submit Your Intent to Apply for the 2018 National Quality Award – longtermcareleader.com
- Quality Initiative Recognition Program Data Submission Deadline – longtermcareleader.com
- Did you complete the AHCA survey yet? – longtermcareleader.com
- Customizable Emergency Preparedness Program Tool Helps Providers Prove Compliance with New CMS Requirements – longtermcareleader.com
- Bathing, Dressing, and Grooming: Alzheimer's Caregiving Tips – nia.nih.gov
- Cerebral Palsy Can Be Diagnosed By 6 Months Of Age, Study Finds – disabilityscoop.com
- Nowhere To Go: Young People With Severe Autism Languish In Hospitals – khn.org
- Medicaid Agency Partnerships with State Health Insurance Programs: Opportunities to Improve Care for Medicare-Medicaid Enrollees – integratedcareresourcecenter.com
Legislative and Agency Corner
-
Statement from President Donald J. Trump on Down Syndrome Awareness Month – whitehouse.gov
- Senate Pulls Repeal and Replace Vote – longtermcareleader.com
- New OIG Review Planned of Medicaid Nursing Home Life Safety – longtermcareleader.com
- ACLU: Police Brutality ‘Magnified For People With Disabilities’– disabilityscoop.com
- Supreme Court Punts On ADA, Special Ed – disabilityscoop.com
- States Fund Services for Adults in Institutions for Mental Disease Using a Variety of Strategies – gao.gov
AHCA/NCAL Learning Management Website
"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.
Webinars of Interest
Stay informed and tune in to ahcancalED for several
pre-recorded and live webinars on topics impacting the long-term care
profession. A webinar series that might be of interest is below.
You also might be interested in an AADMD Virtual Grand Rounds Aging in Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities webinar, which can be viewed here. The ARC has also has webinars this year that might be of interest. Finally, this month, there will be a State of the Science: Advances at the Intersection of Aging and Long-Term Disability webinar series hosted with support from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research and the National Council on Aging. More details on this webinar series, including how to register, can be found here.
You also might be interested in an AADMD Virtual Grand Rounds Aging in Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities webinar, which can be viewed here. The ARC has also has webinars this year that might be of interest. Finally, this month, there will be a State of the Science: Advances at the Intersection of Aging and Long-Term Disability webinar series hosted with support from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research and the National Council on Aging. More details on this webinar series, including how to register, can be found here.
From the Blog of Josh Linkner
Read some of Linkner’s blogs below. In addition, you can view some of his keynote speaking addresses here.
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
-
68th Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo in Las Vegas – October 14-18, 2017
- ID/DD Day at the AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo – October 17, 2017
2017 Health Care Observances
November 2017 marks,
among other observances, National
Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, National Hospice
and Palliative Care Month, and American Diabetes
Month. The full 2017 health care related observances
calendar can be found here.
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