Member Resources

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is making available, to multiple sectors, departments, and agencies, excess PPE which can be requested to create or bolster existing PPE levels at the municipal, state agency, and nonprofit levels.

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) released a new report outlining the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nation’s nursing homes, join President & CEO Mark Parkinson and the AHCA/NCAL team for a member webinar to discuss the details of President Biden’s proposals for nursing homes presented during the State of the Union address and the Association’s response, informational webinar to review Administrative Bulletin 22-02 101 CMR 206.00: Standard Payments to Nursing Facilities, and MassHealth has scheduled a training regarding changes to MassHealth Nonemergency Wheelchair Van Transportation Services.

The White House unveiled a plan Protecting Seniors and People with Disabilities by Improving Safety and Quality of Care in the Nation’s Nursing Homes, the Administration has notified Massachusetts employers that the COVID-19 Massachusetts Emergency Paid Sick Leave Program (MEPSL) will be ending in 15 days, join MassHealth and Mass Senior Care for an informational webinar to review Administrative Bulletin 22-02 101 CMR 206.00: Standard Payments to Nursing Facilities, MassHealth has scheduled a training regarding changes to MassHealth Nonemergency Wheelchair Van Transportation Services, and information on the MEMA & DPH Excess PPE Program.

MassHealth has scheduled on March 10, 2022, from 1 PM – 2:30 PM, a training regarding changes to MassHealth Nonemergency Wheelchair Van Transportation Services, the Interim Direct Care Cost-Quotient (DCC-Q) Filing is due on March 1st, and nursing facilities must file the form electronically on the UMASS portal, and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) yesterday announced it is making more than $560 million in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 General Distribution payments this week.

The American Health Care Association is pleased to announce that National Skilled Nursing Care Week (NSNCW) products and planning guide are now available at nsncw.org.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) has posted of a Notice of Upcoming Procurement announcing its intent to procure qualified entities to serve as Accountable Care Partnership Plans (ACPPs) and Primary Care Accountable Care Organizations (PCACOs) under its Accountable Care Organization (ACO) program.

Mass Senior Care is reminding nursing facilities that any nursing home that advertises or holds itself out as providing specialized services and programming for dementia special care units must: meet the requirements for dementia special care units at 105 CMR 150.022 through 150.029 and complete a disclosure statement that is available to the public and filed annually on March 1 with the Department of Public Health, regardless of whether the information previously reported in the form has changed.

The DPH has released guidance for nursing homes and rest homes on the process to report mandatory healthcare personnel (HCP) influenza data to fulfill the requirement for submission of annual HCP influenza data to DPH by April 15, 2022. In addition the DPH has provided a list of resources to assist healthcare facilities in developing influenza campaigns and identifying best practices for increasing HCP vaccination rates.

Mass Senior Care continues to remind nursing facilities that per the Long-term Care Facility COVID-19 Personnel Vaccination Requirement the booster vaccine mandate requires all nursing homes and rest homes to ensure that all eligible personnel have received a COVID-19 additional dose or booster vaccination by February 28, 2022.

Per the Long-term Care Facility COVID-19 Personnel Vaccination Requirement the booster vaccine mandate requires all nursing homes and rest homes to ensure that all eligible personnel have received a COVID-19 additional dose or booster vaccination by February 28, 2022, the DPH has released guidance for nursing homes and rest homes on the process to report mandatory healthcare personnel (HCP) influenza data to fulfill the requirement for submission of annual HCP influenza data to DPH by April 15, 2022, Dementia Special Care Unit Disclosures due March 1st, and the Department of Mental Health Preadmission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) team has created a portal to collect data on current nursing facility residents.

Mass Senior Care congratulates Jennifer Pelletier, Administrator at Country Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Newburyport and Corey Beaudette, Administrator at Webster Manor Rehabilitation & Health Care Center in Webster on being selected as recipients of the 2022 Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award. Awarded by the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA), the Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award program uses data-driven criteria to objectively identify high-performing skilled nursing facilities and the leaders who make them excel. The Eli Pick

After a two-year hiatus, the AHCA/NCAL Quality Summit is back, and registration is open. Join your colleagues at The Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, Florida and discover new ideas that you can bring home and implement immediately. Please click here for detailed program and registration information. VIRTUAL REGISTRATION OPTION If you are unable to travel to The Gaylord Palms but still wish to participate in the 2022 Quality Summit, then this Curated Virtual Content option is for you! This option will

Mass Senior Care would like to remind nursing facilities that per the Long-term Care Facility COVID-19 Personnel Vaccination Requirement the booster vaccine mandate requires all nursing homes and rest homes to ensure that all eligible personnel have received a COVID-19 additional dose or booster vaccination by February 28, 2022.

Governor Baker has signed an FY 2022 Supplemental Budget Bill which will fund additional testing within the Commonwealth and provide free masks for schools and congregate settings including nursing facilities. The Legislature’s bill also includes the following three nursing facility related items:

Mass Senior Care would like to remind nursing facilities that per the Long-term Care Facility COVID-19 Personnel Vaccination Requirement the booster vaccine mandate requires all nursing homes and rest homes to ensure that all eligible personnel have received a COVID-19 additional dose or booster vaccination by February 28, 2022.

Governor Baker signed an FY 2022 Supplemental Budget Bill which will fund additional testing within the Commonwealth and provide free masks for schools and congregate settings including nursing facilities, the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Reporting Portal opened on January 1, 2022 for Reporting Period 2 (RP2), PRF Phase 4 and American Rescue Plan (ARP) Rural Reconsideration process is now open through the submission deadline at 11:59:59 PM EST on May 2, 2022, and EOHHS online PASRR portal communication.

Given the rise of patients in hospitals who have been medically cleared for discharge yet are unable to find skilled nursing facility placements, MHA and Mass Senior Care have worked together to establish the Post-Acute Care Transition (PACT) Collaborative which is a mechanism for hospital discharge case managers to communicate with MHA and Mass Senior Care to escalate and address challenges in skilled nursing facility placements, and nursing facilities have received an additional $60 million this quarter to support workforce expenditures.

Mass Senior Care is pleased to welcome new members to our Association. Our members have demonstrated their commitment to the senior care provider community by joining Mass Senior Care and we are grateful for their support. Facility Members: Vantage at Hampden, in Hampden, MA, a 100-bed skilled nursing facility. Contact: Augustine Aiguosatile, Administrator. Vantage at South Hadley, in South Hadley, MA, a 132-bed skilled nursing facility. Contact: Yasmin Binns, Administrator. Vantage at Wilbraham, in Wilbraham, MA, a 135-bed skilled nursing

The Boston Medical Center is offering free, virtual X-waiver training February to April 2022 for all prescribers regardless if they currently prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). The training is necessary to prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) in 30 or more residents. For those who treat fewer than 30 residents, the training is still highly recommended.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted a second edition of the COVID-19 Public Reporting Tip Sheet. This resource will help providers understand CMS’ public reporting approach to the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) to account for CMS quality data submissions that were either optional or excepted from public reporting due to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).

The 2022 AHCA/NCAL education product guide is now available and includes program information on topics relevant to the long term care provider community, including COVID-19 Infection & Prevention, Workforce, Behavioral Health and Trauma Informed Care, PDPM, IPCO, Supervisory Training and more. We encourage you to share this information with your staff and take advantage of the discounted pricing offered to MSCA/NCAL members.

AHCA offers a five-module online training program titled Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) Academy which offers training about a holistic interdisciplinary approach toward revenue management. RCM can be implemented in a building, more broadly or as an organization-wide approach to enhance revenue by minimizing losses from payments that too often are unnecessarily lost or overlooked.

As part of Mass Senior Care Association’s ongoing efforts to support our workforce, we are pleased to inform you that Governor Baker has announced an implementation plan for the $460 million COVID-19 Essential Employee Premium Pay Program for low-income workers. This premium pay program, which nursing facility workers will be eligible for, will provide a $500 bonus payment to lower-income staff who worked during the COVID-19 state of emergency that began in 2020.

It has come to Mass Senior Care’s attention that some temporary staffing agencies are recommending potential employees enroll in and take the AHCA Temporary Nurse Aide program in order to be placed as a temporary nurse aide/resident care assistant in a nursing facility.

Governor Baker’s Administration today announced the method it will use to distribute the first portion of the $460 million Essential Employee Premium Pay Program for low-income workers that was funded through the state’s COVID-19 recovery law enacted last December, and the DPH will be holding a nursing home provider call on Wednesday, February 9, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.

The DPH will be holding a nursing home provider call on Wednesday, February 9, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.

CMS released an updated version of the Nursing Home Visitation Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). The updates provide important clarifications.

Mass Senior Care urged EOHHS to extend the Supplemental Workforce Payments through the remainder of the current rate year, and the legislature sent to Governor Baker a FY 2022 Supplemental Budget Bill which would fund additional testing within the Commonwealth and provide free masks for schools and congregate settings including nursing facilities.

The Boston Globe’s 19th annual special section will launch on Globe.com on May 6, in observance of National Nurses Day, and publish in the May 8 issue of The Boston Sunday Globe. This special section celebrates the frontline workers who’ve gone above and beyond this past year to ensure the health of their patients and their families in times of need. The section will feature letters from patients and families giving thanks to special nurses in their lives, as well

On March 21, 2022, MassHealth will implement changes to the Eligibility Verification System (EVS) and the HIPAA Health Care Eligibility Benefit Inquiry and Response (270/271) transaction to include the additional benefit plans:

EOHHS Secretary Marylou Sudders recently released a letter addressed to families of long-term care residents. This letter includes guidance for families and visitors on keeping long-term care residents safe during visits.

CMS made updates to the Long-Term Care Survey Process Procedure Guide effective January 27, 2022.

We are pleased to inform members that the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) has begun the process of issuing the new 10% COVID-19 Supplemental Payments authorized under Administrative Bulletin 22-02: Payment Methodologies for New and Existing Nursing Facility Payments under 101 CMR 206.00: Standard Payments to Nursing Facilities.

Due to the popularity of the CMS National Nursing Home Stakeholder Call, CMS has upgraded the meeting link so that everyone can gain access. Please see new registration link.

Join the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a National Stakeholder Call providing updates on COVID-19, revisions to nursing home guidance, and best practices, and the DPH updated the clinical guidance document on therapeutic treatments for COVID-19 that replaces the one issued on January 12, 2022.

Yesterday the DPH released updated guidance on the Implementation of Order of the Commissioner of Public Health Regarding Control of COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Facilities, and CMS made updates to the Long-Term Care Survey Process Procedure Guide effective January 27, 2022.

Today, Secretary Marylou Sudders released a letter addressed to families of long-term care residents, and on January 25, 2022 CMS issued memo QSO-22-10-ALL to all State Survey Agencies, requiring onsite surveyors - including CLIA and Life Safety surveyors - to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or have an acceptable medical or religious exemption.

Today is the last chance to submit a National Quality Award Application – applications must be submitted by 8pm EST on Thursday, January 27.

Massachusetts Representatives Lori Trahan, Jake Auchincloss, Katherine Clark, Jim McGovern, Ayanna Pressley and Seth Moulton have signed on to a Congressional letter to President Biden’s COVID-19 Response team coordinator listing their concerns that certain nurse-staffing agencies are taking advantage of the pandemic to increase their profits at the expense of patients. The letter urges the White House to enlist one or more of the federal agencies with competition and consumer protection authority to investigate this conduct to determine if it

As outlined in QSO memo 22-08-NH from earlier this year CMS has added 5 five additional staffing measures to Care Compare (formerly Nursing Home Compare). Three staff turnover and two weekend staffing measures have been added to with the latest update.

The Baker-Polito Administration yesterday filed its Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) budget proposal totaling $48.5 billion, in which the Governor proposes maintaining the current nursing facility funding levels.

Yesterday the DPH released updated guidance on Caring for LTC Residents during the COVID-19 Emergency which required testing of all staff that were not up to date with COVID-19 vaccine at the beginning of each shift, and on Friday, January 21, 2022, the FDA approved Remdesivir (Veklury), administered in a series of three daily intravenous infusions (200 mg, 100 mg, 100 mg), for patients not hospitalized due to COVID-19 and with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 within seven days of symptom onset in patients at risk of progression to severe disease.

Mass Senior Care has been informed by DPH that there will be a subsequent revision to the Update to Caring for Long-Term Care Residents during the COVID-19 Emergency guidance that was released today.

The DPH will be holding a nursing home provider call on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 11:00 a.m, DPH released revised Update to Caring for Long-Term Care Residents during the COVID-19 Response guidance, today the DPH released additional information about the Skilled Nursing Facility Short-Term Rehab Temporary Program and the list of skilled nursing facilities that are currently participating in this program, and last week, the DPH released Updated Comprehensive PPE Guidance.