With the hearing for the Nursing Home Stabilization bill quickly approaching on September 11, 2017 at 1:00pm in State House Hearing Room A-1, the Association is mobilizing a grassroots campaign. We urge members to participate in our efforts by asking staff, residents, and family members to make calls to their Representatives and Senators and urge them to cosign written testimony in support of the bill. These calls have been incredibly helpful in the past and resulted in 120+ cosponsors. Please

The following forms and notices that are issued by providers to Medicare patients are now available in a large print Word version as well as the PDF and original Word format in English and Spanish. CMS-R-131 - Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage CMS-10124 - Detailed Explanation of Non-Coverage CMS-10123 - Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage For more information see the Beneficiary Notification Initiative website. https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-General-Information/BNI/

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has launched a new Jimmo Settlement Agreement webpage for the Medicare community. The webpage includes: Background on the settlement Links to resources Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) It also includes the following Important Message About Jimmo Settlement from CMS. Source: CMS’s Jimmo Settlement Webpage

Research conducted by AHCA/NCAL last year found that the rehospitalization rates in nursing facilities with at least one RN certified in gerontological nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) consistently have run at least two percentage points lower than the national average since 2011. Lower rehospitalization rates will be key to success under the new CMS Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) program. CMS currently is tracking skilled nursing rehospitalization rates on for the new SNF VBP program. Under the VBP program

CareOne at Millbury welcomed local officials, staff, residents, families, and community seniors to its 8th Annual Senior Appreciation Luau on August 22nd. The luau brought in their largest crowd of over 350 guests who enjoyed the fun festivities with great food, live entertainment and raffle prizes. Attendees heard from State Senator Michael Moore, Worcester County Sherriff Lew Evangelidis, Millbury Town Manager Francis King and Mass Senior Care’s Jennifer Chen. Pictured: State Senator Michael Moore and Administrator Kristine Binette

While a relative newcomer to long term care, Layla Rougeau is following in her family’s footsteps in pursuing a nursing career. She was accepted into Southern Vermont College’s pre-nursing program, and after completing a psychology class focused on Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementia, was drawn to working in long term care. As a CNA in training at Williamstown Commons, Layla loves her job and the bonds she has forged with residents and staff. In turn, facility staff praise her work

AHCA (American Health Care Association) received notification from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that it is making significant changes to the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP) reporting deadlines, as well as report availability, due to system coding issues. The specific reports impacted are the Review and Correct Report and Confidential Feedback Report that SNFs use to help monitor compliance with MDS 3.0 assessment-based quality measures, and identify assessments that may need updating. Please click here

The Joint Committee on Elder Affairs announced its public hearing on H.2072/S.336, Acts Relative to Stabilizing the Commonwealth's Nursing Facilities will be on Monday, September 11th at 1:00 p.m. in Room A-1 at the State House. The Nursing Home Stabilization Bill filed by Representative Tom Golden, Jr. (D-Lowell) and Senator Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) and 124 additional legislative co-sponsors would provide critically needed funding for quality resident care and frontline staff wages. We urge Mass Senior Care members to please join

“My strong drive of perseverance and success gave me the courage and strength to work hard to achieve my goal of becoming a nurse.” Ever since she was a young girl growing up in Uganda, Aisha knew she wanted to be a nurse. In secondary school, she began working as a caregiver in peoples’ homes during school holidays, a part-time job that enabled her to raise money to help cover her school expenses. After years of hard work, her lucky

An audio recording and transcript are available for the July 25 call on the Revised Interpretive Guidance for Nursing Homes and New Survey Process, effective November 28, 2017. Learn about the major components of Phase 2 implementation, changes to the survey process, and training resources available to the public.