E-News Update Articles

Don't miss our 2019 Annual Meeting & Trade Show on Thursday, November 14th at the DCU Center in Worcester. This year's theme, “The Future of Long Term Care: Strategies to Survive and Succeed”, will feature Clif Porter, Senior Vice President of Government Relations at AHCA/NCAL and Secretary Rosalin Acosta, Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

BaneCare Management, has received the Silver Award in the 2019 McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards program. BaneCare is being recognized for their data analysis on residents who are admitted to the hospital after being discharged from a skilled nursing facility.

Massachusetts Senior Care Association is a proud partner organization of The Massachusetts Sepsis Consortium, a public-private effort of more than two dozen organizations to reduce sepsis morbidity and mortality, coordinated by the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety. The Massachusetts Sepsis Consortium marked Sepsis Awareness Month by launching Sepsis Smart, a statewide campaign to alert people to sepsis, its symptoms and the need to act fast if sepsis is suspected.

Implementation of the new Medicare Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) commenced on October 1st. AHCA has also created a survey to secure real-time information on PDPM implementation for the purpose of informing our advocacy efforts with CMS.

The Department of Public Health has published on its website information on preventing falls with injury in nursing homes. A newly published Special Emphasis Report: Nursing Home Falls with Injury, by Patient Characteristics 2013-2018 uses data reported to DPH to better understand individual characteristics that may increase the likelihood of a fall as well as those that may make it less likely for a resident to suffer a fall.

The transition of the Nurse Aide Registry from the IVR Phone System to the new, online Nurse Aide Registry Inquiry System (NARIS) is complete. Moving forward, all Registry checks must be completed online using NARIS.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) has adopted via an Emergency basis the FY 2020 Medicaid nursing facility rate regulation. The EOHHS Nursing Home Provider Payments webpage includes links to the new regulation and summary rate worksheet.

Marquis Health Services held an open house event last week to celebrate the recently completed renovations to North End Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Boston.

Labor and workforce issues continue to be a top concern for Mass Senior Care provider members. Earlier this week, Mass Senior Care electronically distributed to nursing facilities a Labor and Workforce Survey due by October 9, 2019.

Implementation of the new Medicare Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) starts on October 1 st. Over the last year, Mass Senior Care has worked to ensure that members are well prepared for this payment change through a series of educational seminars and workshop trainings, including the PDPM Academy seminar, and provision of the Toolkit Resources. We request that you please contact us immediately if your facility experiences any unanticipated difficulties during the initial transition period so that we can work to

Mass Senior Care invites staff at member facilities to participate in various committees designed to share information on the topics of clinical quality, regulatory, human resources and finance and reimbursement. Please see our upcoming October meetings.

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Mass Senior Care invites staff at member facilities to participate in various committees designed to share information on the topics of clinical quality, regulatory, human resources and finance and reimbursement. This information and feedback will assist MSCA staff with developing policy positions and prioritizing strategic initiatives. Committee meetings are held in Mass Senior Care’s office in Waltham. Facility members are invited to participate. If you are interested in attending one of the upcoming committee meetings, please contact Jennifer Chen

Please join Mass Senior Care, NALCO Water, An Ecolab Company and the Department of Public Health on October 31, 2019 for a webinar on Legionnaires’ disease, a serious, potentially deadly form of bacterial pneumonia. This webinar will focus on the public health risk of Legionnaires’ disease (LD), approaches to preventing outbreaks, and the CMS water management plan requirements.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) yesterday issued a Notice of Proposed Agency Action to implement the FY 2020 Medicaid rate regulation. As noted in Mass Senior Care Association’s communication to members, the regulation would increase Medicaid funding by $53 million, including implementation of the FY 2020 budget act provisions for broad-based funding and targeted funding.

Mass Senior Care invites staff at member facilities to participate in various committees designed to share information on the topics of clinical quality, regulatory, human resources and finance and reimbursement. This information and feedback will assist MSCA staff with developing policy positions and prioritizing strategic initiatives. Committee meetings are held in Mass Senior Care’s office in Waltham. Facility members are invited to participate. If you are interested in attending one of the upcoming committee meetings, please contact Jennifer Chen. Upcoming

This is a reminder that after September 27, 2019 at 3PM, you will no longer be able to check the Nurse Aide Registry using the current phone verification system. Beginning on Monday, September 30, the only way to check the Registry will be through the new online system. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s (DPH) Nurse Aide Registry Services (NARS) is transitioning from the current Interactive Voice Response (IVR) phone verification system to a new online inquiry system for verification

At the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs hearing on September 17th, Tara Gregorio, President of Mass Senior Care presented testimony in support of House Bill 619, An Act Relative to Promoting Innovation in Elder Care Services filed by Representative Ron Mariano (D-Quincy).

The first meeting of the legislatively mandated Nursing Home Task Force is set to meet on Friday, September 20th. The Task Force is charged with making recommendations to ensure the sustainability of the nursing facility sector.

On August 23, 2019, Life Care Center of Stoneham hosted a ceremony and cookout to celebrate the release of 82-year-old resident Arthur Talmadge’s book entitled “This Marine’s American Dream.”

Jiaoyu Xiong began working as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) over a year ago. During this time, she has realized a career in nursing was her passion. Immigrating from China five years ago, Jiaoyu has made tremendous strides in learning a new language, working part-time, obtaining an EMT certificate and graduating from Holyoke Community College with an Associate’s Degree.

The Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality has posted responses to frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) about Circular Letter 18-12-682: Long-Term Care Facility Beds Out of Service – New Process as well as an informational graphic. These responses to FAQs and the related graphic are meant to help clarify the new process related to open long-term care facilities taking beds out of service or reactivating out of service beds.

Last week, Wakefield Center hosted a facility tour and an opportunity for residents and staff to meet State Senator Jason Lewis (D-Winchester).

In July 2019, the Department of Public Heath launched the Medication for Opioid Use Disorders in Long-Term Care Program (MOUD in LTC Program), which aims to reduce challenges to the continuity of care for individuals who receive medication for opioid use disorders at opioid treatment programs and are residents in long-term care facilities.

On September 4, 2019, Attorney General Maura Healey certified 12 initiatives for the 2020 ballot, including a petition to establish adequate Medicaid nursing home funding. At this point, the Attorney General has determined that these proposals have met the requirements outlined in the Massachusetts constitution and may proceed to the next step in the process, the collection of voter signatures from 80,239 registered voters by December 4, 2019.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s (DPH) Nurse Aide Registry Services (NARS) is transitioning from the current Interactive Voice Response (IVR) phone verification system to a new Nurse Aide Registry Inquiry System (NARIS) for verification of certified nurse aides (CNAs) and healthcare employees who have direct contact with patients or residents. This transition will ensure a more efficient self-service method for verification of certification and sanction information.

The CDC recently published the 2019-20 ACIP Influenza Vaccine recommendations in the MMWR: “Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices - United States, 2019." The CDC has also released a Fight Flu Toolkit, which helps providers convey the threat of flu and why flu vaccination is so important.

The next CMS Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)/Long Term Care (LTC) Open Door Forum scheduled for Thursday, September 19, 2019 from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern Time (ET).The agenda includes: PDPM, PBJ and SNF QRP resource updates, and CMS-6058-FC Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Programs; Program Integrity Enhancements to the Provider Enrollment Process. To participate by phone: Dial: 1-888-455-1397 & Conference Passcode: 4676500. Pre-registration for the call is not required.

On Wednesday, the Department of Public Health approved a 3-year extension for nursing homes to comply with the CARES Act requirement that prescriptions be issued on a federally-compliant, secure system. The requirement was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2019.

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its updated list which reflects all OIG exclusions and reinstatement actions up to, and including, those taken in August 2019. This new file is meant to replace the updated List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE) database file available for download last month.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has released an advisory on Recommendations for Tuberculosis Screening, Testing, and Treatment of U.S. Health Care Personnel.

On August 30, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated an array of subregulatory PDPM materials including: PDPM FAQs.

Olanda Molina dreamed of becoming a nurse when she started her career in long term care 15 years ago working in the laundry department. Shortly after that, Olanda became a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) at Oak Knoll Health Care Center in Framingham.

DPH’s Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management (OPEM) has announced details of its “Know, Plan, Prepare” campaign to alert individuals and organizations about disaster preparedness materials.

Mass Senior Testifies in Support of H.1745, An Act Relative to the Safe Care of Residents with Active Substance Use Disorder Accessing Skilled Nursing Facility Care.

CMS announced the launch of the new CMS Beneficiary Notices Initiative (BNI) mailbox portal for beneficiary notices and related policy questions.

Don't miss Mass Senior Care's upcoming 2019 Leadership Convention at Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club in Brewster on September 19-20th. Please join us at this premier conference destination that offers a unique forum to exchange ideas, share experiences, earn CEUs and network with colleagues. Provider member registration and additional details are now available for the Leadership Convention.

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. The data contained within the Preview Reports is based on quality data submitted by SNF's between Quarter 1-2018 and Quarter 4-2018 for assessment based quality measures, and between Quarter 4 -2016 to Quarter 3 -2018 for claims based quality measures. Providers have until September 16, 2019 to review their performance data prior to the October 2019 Nursing Home Compare site refresh, during which this data will

The new Medicare Part A Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) called the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) will cover all resident days starting on October 1, 2019. PDPM requires an acceptable ICD-10 diagnosis code to be entered into MDS item field I0020B to represent the primary reason for the SNF stay. ICD-10 codes not on the list of allowable codes, often referred to as "return-to-provider" codes, will not classify into a PDPM clinical category.

Christine Joy Villa's interest in a nursing career stemmed from her experience caring for her grandparents in the Philippines who faced serious health issues and dementia. For the last four years, Christine has been a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) at The Elmhurt HealthCare in Melrose.

This is a reminder that providers are able to access the CMS LTC Survey Process training videos that all surveyors are required to complete as part of training on the Requirements of Participation and survey process. Click here to access the website.

The CDC published Interim Guidance on July 26, 2019 addressing the "Implementation of Personal Protective Equipment in Nursing Homes to Prevent Spread of Novel or Targeted Multi-drug resistant Organisms (MDROs)". This document is intended to provide guidance for PPE use and room restriction in nursing homes for preventing transmission of novel or targeted MDROs, included as part of a public health containment response.

MassHealth representatives will be joining the SUD Task Force meeting on September 9, 2019 to learn about challenges and barriers to caring for residents with SUD and/or on MAT. In addition, there will be a presentation from DPH on a SAMSHA-funded grant on MAT in nursing facilities.

On August 15th, South Cove Manor at Quincy Point welcomed Executive Office of Elder Affairs Secretary Elizabeth Chen for a conversation on elder care in Massachusetts and a tour.

Earlier this month, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law the FY 2020 Budget, which includes $50 million in new Medicaid funding for nursing facility care and establishes a Nursing Facility Emergency Task Force to make recommendations to ensure the sustainability of the nursing facility sector.

National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care and Quality Assurance Performance Improvement will host a Dementia Care: Supporting Comfort and Resident Preferences call on Tuesday, September 10

PDPM will be here soon and the American Health Care Association has resources available to assist providers in preparing for this transformative change to the way in which skilled nursing facilities are reimbursed for Medicare Part a stays.

Register today for Mass Senior Care's 2019 Leadership Convention at Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club in Brewster on September 19-20th. Please join us at this premier conference destination that offers a unique forum to exchange ideas, share experiences, earn CEUs and network with colleagues.

MA DPH has been made aware of a current national shortage, and anticipated supply interruption, of APLISOL®, one of two purified-protein derivative (PPD) tuberculin products licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for detecting TB infection.

There have been several changes in supervisory positions at DPH Division of Facility Licensure & Certification.