E-News Updates

Wishing our community love, peace, health, and happiness during this Passover season.

Wishing our community joy, renewal, health, and togetherness this season.

Mass Senior Care is proud to recognize the dedicated individuals from our state who have been selected to serve as 2026 AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Examiners. These outstanding professionals play a vital role in advancing quality improvement across long-term and post-acute care nationwide.

As Lawmakers actively prepare the FY 2027 state budget recommendations, your continued advocacy is critical to preserve the hard-won gains in workforce stability, resident care quality, and access to essential services for thousands of vulnerable residents. Please join us in advocating in support of funding for quality nursing facility resident care and the dedicated staff who make this care possible!

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued the proposed rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates for skilled nursing facilities under the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) for fiscal year (FY) 2027.

An errata change table for the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Quality Measures (QM) User’s Manual v18.0 is now available. This update provides clarification to Chapter 1, Section 6 regarding the Long-Stay Antipsychotic measure, reflecting the respecification effective January 1, 2026.

The CDC has recently updated the definition of “up to date” for COVID-19 vaccination status for both residents and health care staff. While this change was initially anticipated to apply only through the first quarter of 2026, the CDC has confirmed that it will remain in effect until further notice.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded IPRO, in partnership with the non-profit healthcare quality improvement group Healthcentric Advisors, the 13th Scope of Work Quality Innovation Network–Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) contract for the Northeast Region 1, which includes New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As respiratory illness season winds down, it is important for nursing facilities to continue to be diligent in their infection control practices to limit the spread of respiratory illness to residents and staff. Nursing facilities must comply with the DPH’s guidance on Organizational Policies and Procedures for Mitigating Respiratory Illness and continue to identify and monitor respiratory illness metrics to indicate when there are increased levels which may necessitate implementing additional infection control measures. 

The Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) is now accepting nominations for the 2026 Immunization Champion Award. This award recognizes outstanding local champions – nominated by their peers – who go above and beyond to promote and advance immunizations for children and adults across Massachusetts.

AHCA/NCAL’s Gero Nurse Prep course significantly increases nurses’ gerontological nursing knowledge and competency test scores. Nurses who complete Gero Nurse Prep show an average 24 percent increase between their pre- and post-course test scores even after working in long term care for a number of years. 

Register Now!