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UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR:
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Thursday, June 18 at 11:00 AM
Long-Term Care Webinars - Nursing Home Response to COVID-19
To Join:
Join Zoom Meeting (click this link to go straight to the room without needing to enter the meeting ID and password)
Meeting ID: 948 1795 1711
Password: covid19
Or by Phone: (312) 626-6799
Enter 94817951711# when asked for the meeting ID
Enter # if asked for participant ID
Thurday, June 18 at 1:00 PM:
PEAL Webinar: Analyzing and Using Your Resident Satisfaction Survey Results
Tuesday, June 23:
WHCA Committee and Board Meetings
Click
HERE for more information
Wednesday, June 24:
WHCA/WiCAL Leadership Academy
Click
HERE for more information
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COVID-19 Updates: June 16, 2020
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This update includes:
- Some NHSN Reporting Citations and CMPs Rescinded
- AHCA/NCAL Responds to U.S. House Inquiry Concerning COVID-19
- Upcoming PEAL Webinar on Thursday!
- Webinar: Providers Share Their Experiences with COVID-19 Telehealth Waivers
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As of today, there are 23,198 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state of Wisconsin and 703 deaths caused by the virus. Click
HERE
to view the latest outbreak information from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Click
HERE
to view COVID-19 projections for Wisconsin and the United States.
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Some NHSN Reporting Citations and CMPs Rescinded
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Some members have begun to receive notices in CASPER rescinding the F884 citation and Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) they were issued for allegedly not reporting complete information to NHSN about COVID-19 in the standardized format and frequency specified by CMS and CDC. The letter indicates that due to its internal reviews of the NSHN data submissions, CMS is deleting the F884 deficiency and rescinding the CMP imposed for the June 1-June 7, 2020 reporting week.
These rescission letters may be sent through mail and/or through CASPER as with the F884 citations and enforcement letters and may or may not be accompanied by an email notification to facility staff that have an MDS account in CASPER. If you believe you successfully submitted NHSN data and received a citation and CMP in error, please check your CASPER folder to determine whether you may have received a rescission letter before you consider an IIDR (see below).
WHCA/WiCAL will share any further information we receive.
IIDR Sample Request on NHSN Reporting Citation
For facilities that have not received a rescind letter from CMS, but still believe the F884 citation was issued in error or inappropriately, at this time you must still submit an independent information dispute resolution (IIDR) request, as indicated in the enforcement letter. You must submit that request within 10 calendar days of receipt of the enforcement letter, which is being provided through CASPER. Be sure to include supporting documentation of your data submissions and/or documentation of your efforts to resolve any technical issues with NHSN registration or data submissions in advance of the reporting deadlines.
Please note: if you received a CMP letter on June 8, the 10-day IIDR filing deadline is quickly approaching.
To assist in this process, we are sharing this
sample IIDR request. This is only a sample and you must tailor it to your situation. Please review the instructions in the document before completing it and consult with your counsel in this process as appropriate.
WHCA/WiCAL is working closely with AHCA/NCAL to continue advocacy efforts to push CMS improve this process and make it fairer and more transparent.
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AHCA/NCAL Responds to U.S. House Inquiry Concerning COVID-19
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The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), representing more than 14,000 nursing homes and long term care facilities across the country that provide care to approximately five million people each year, released the following statement in response to the inquiry by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis in the U.S. House of Representatives concerning the long term care industry’s response to the pandemic.
The following statement is attributable to Mark Parkinson, President and CEO of AHCA/NCAL:
“America’s nursing homes and assisted living communities have been on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19 and have performed heroic work to keep their residents and staff safe. From the earliest days of this pandemic, we have been sounding the alarm and calling for help. Unfortunately, in far too many instances, our residents and caregivers were not made a priority.
“Research by David C. Grabowski, PhD, a professor of health care policy in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School; Vincent Mor, PhD, professor of Health Services and Policy at Brown University; and R. Tamara Konetzka, PhD, professor of Health Services Research at the University of Chicago, found that the likelihood of outbreaks in nursing homes are most directly correlated with the size of the outbreak in the larger community where a facility is located, with little to no correlation to facility ownership structure, staffing or quality ratings.
“As long term care providers have gained access to testing, personal protective equipment (PPE), staffing support and other assistance, they have increasingly been better able to respond to this crisis and prevent outbreaks. Meanwhile, the vast majority of residents diagnosed with the virus are recovering or are likely to recover. This underscores the fact that what is needed most is continued support for long term care residents and providers, especially as states move to reopen and local outbreaks increase.
“AHCA/NCAL and our members appreciate any opportunity to work in collaboration with lawmakers to advance solutions that enable us to better serve the residents in our care. While the federal and state governments have been helpful, much more is still needed as this pandemic is far from over. We hope this process will provide an opportunity to have a productive discussion about ways we can continue to work together to protect the vulnerable population we serve.”
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Upcoming PEAL Webinar on Thursday!
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Join us on Thursday, June 18 from 1:00-2:00 PM to walk through the process to review your Customer Survey results. Pat Boyer, WHCA/WiCAL Director of Quality Advancement and Education, will be showing you how to access your reports, what information is available and how to use these results as part of your Quality Improvement Process.
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Webinar: Providers Share Their Experiences with COVID-19 Telehealth Waivers
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AHCA/NCAL has posted a 45-minute
webinar on ahcancalED in which four members, from independent owners to large multistate for-profit and nonprofit organizations, share their experiences in implementing the COVID-19 telehealth waivers, and how the waivers have helped improve care during the public health emergency (PHE). The webinar is free to AHCA/NCAL members and is viewable on-demand.
Since March 1, 2020, the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has removed geographic telehealth limits, limits on the type of services and frequencies of physician telehealth visits, limits on telehealth services that non-physician practitioners such as nurse practitioners can furnish, and removed the prohibition on furnishing physician and occupational therapy and speech-language pathology services via telehealth. Additionally, relaxation of certain privacy regulations by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has permitted an explosion in the use of lower-cost, audio/visual technology including smartphones, tablets, and software such as facetime and skype in the delivery of telehealth services.
The presenters share their thoughts on which waiver details they would like for AHCA/NCAL to advocate to CMS, HHS, and Congress to make permanent.
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Pat Boyer, MSM, RN, NHA
| Director of Quality Advancement and Education |
pat@whcawical.org
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Business Partner Spotlight
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For over 120 years, we’ve delivered the excellence, expertise, and quality products our customers need to design successful food operations and experiences. We’ve grown to become the largest family-operated broadline food distribution company in North America by upholding the same business approach since 1897—being passionately committed to the people we serve.
CONTACT:
Gordon Food Service
Kymberly Wroble
309-781-8259
For the complete listing of WHCA/WiCAL Gold Business Partners, click
HERE
!
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