Please join independent owners in New Orleans March 14 – 16 for the AHCA/NCA 2018 Independent Owner Leadership Conference.

To improve the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of reporting, DPH has transitioned from a paper-based system to an electronic web-based system for the reporting of Health Care Personnel Influenza Vaccination Data for the 2017-2018 Influenza Season.

After 15 years with Salter HealthCare, most recently as CEO, Bob Driscoll is set to retire at the end of this month. Over his 41-year healthcare career, Bob has worked as a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, Executive Director of several family-owned nursing homes and since 2002 as the Chief Operating Officer and CEO at Salter.

Each winter, clusters of respiratory and gastrointestinal (GI) illness occur in Massachusetts’ long term care (LTC) and assisted living (AL) facilities. Clusters of gastrointestinal and respiratory illness in a LTC or AL facility are reportable to public health upon their initial identification, and can be reported using the Gastrointestinal Illness or Influenza/Respiratory Illness Cluster Reporting Forms, found on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) website.

As a reminder, PBJ data that your center collected from October 1 – December 31, 2017 must be submitted by February 14, 2018.

MassMAP will be holding regional Training and Orientation sessions for new MassMAP members as well as for staff who are not familiar with the MassMAP website.

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, finance and reimbursement and education and training. This information and feedback will assist MSCA staff with developing policy positions and prioritizing strategic initiatives.

On December 22, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released S&C Memorandum 18-08 NH An Initiative to Address Facility Initiated Discharges that Violate Federal Regulations. Federal regulations allow facilities to initiate discharges of residents only in specific instances. As indicated in the memo, despite these protections, discharges which violate Federal regulations continue to be one of the most frequent complaints made to State Long Term Care Ombudsman Programs.

Effective March 1, 2018, MassHealth will begin offering an expanded selection of health plan options to managed care eligible members. These new options are Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and a key part of MassHealth PCDI. MassHealth will also continue to offer Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and the Primary Care Clinician (PCC) Plan as managed care options. Please click here to read MassHealth All-Provider Bulletin 272, November 2017.