Coronavirus Update #98
Professional Liability Benchmark Report, Amended MDH Order for
Various Healthcare Matters, Additional Reminders
Professional Liability Benchmark Report
 
Marsh & McLennan is conducting a long term care professional liability report for our sector. Through Marsh’s National Senior Care practice and Oliver Wyman’s Actuarial practice, Marsh & McLennan will now produce the Professional and General Liability Benchmark Report for Long Term Care Providers.
 
The information presented in this study is a critical component in various insurance industry initiatives and supports multiple state tort reform efforts. This benchmark study is also an important resource relied upon by insurance carriers, actuaries, and of course, long term care and senior living providers.
 
This year’s analysis is critical to establish a pre-COVID-19 baseline and we strongly encourage participation with a completion date of June 1.
 
The information Marsh & McLennan is collecting is listed below.

  1. Individual claim listings (excluding Protected Health Information) in Excel-readable format, containing all professional liability and general liability claims. This claim listing should provide claim level detail valued as 12/31/2019. If historical valuations are also available, please include claim listings valued as of 12/31/2018, 12/31/2017, 12/31/2016, and 12/31/2015.
  2. Occupied bed equivalent exposure information for the past 10 calendar years if available.

 This information should be provided separately for assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities.
 
Please contact Oliver Wyman regarding the data collection process or with any additional questions at  [email protected] .
Amended MDH Directive and Order Regarding Various Healthcare Matters

Today the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) released this Amended Directive and Order Regarding Various Healthcare Matters.

This Order amends the Secretary's May 6 Order and provides updates regarding patient testing for COVID-19, testing locations, etc.

Please note that this April 29 Order regarding home matters remains the most recent order specifically for nursing homes.

Heroism is taking place at nursing homes, too

Click here to read a great op-ed by Howard Guzik, MD, is medical director of Northwell Health’s Stern Family Center for Rehabilitation.

This op-ed highlights what we have always known and continue to share: "Nursing home and adult care workers are among the most-dedicated caregivers and should be recognized as such."

We appreciate all you and your teams are doing. Thank you!
The emergence of COVID-19 has compounded the need for centers to have an effective infection prevention and control program. AHCA/NCAL’s new and expanded version of its popular Infection Preventionist Specialized Training, IPCO Version 2   is now available. The online training is recommended for individuals responsible for infection prevention and control in all long term care settings, including assisted living communities. 

IPCO Version 2 is designed to train the Infection Preventionists to run a comprehensive infection prevention and control program. It is also now available for administrators to take to gain a deeper understanding of the infection prevention and control in the overall operation of a nursing facility. AHCA/NCAL recommends that each skilled nursing facility train at least two Infection Preventionists through AHCA/NCAL’s IPCO training program should one Infection Preventionist leave the facility. The training is also highly recommended for assisted living communities because they care for a similar population and can face similar infection risks. 

As an added feature to all participants registered for the IPCO Version 2 program, bonus content related to COVID-19 is included. The bonus content includes topics such as: Interim COVID-19 Guidance, courses on PPE, and N-95 mask use. 

Members will need to login with their AHCA/NCAL usernames and passwords to register for IPCO Version 2 . For assistance obtaining AHCA/NCAL usernames and passwords, members should e-mail [email protected] with their name and facility contact information.
Meals for Healthcare Heroes

Capital Funding Group (CFG) and CFG Bank (CFGB) are reinvesting some of the funds earned from facilitating Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to provide meals to frontline healthcare workers at skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Maryland.

CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Engagement Calls – Week of 5/18/20

CMS hosts varied recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the healthcare community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer attendees an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.

Call details are below. Conference lines are limited so you are highly encouraged to join via audio webcast.

Calls recordings and transcripts are posted on the CMS podcast page.
 
CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls (Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern)

Office Hour Calls provide an opportunity for hospitals, health systems, and providers to ask questions of agency officials regarding CMS’s temporary actions that empower local hospitals and healthcare systems to increase hospital capacity, rapidly expand the healthcare workforce, put patients over paperwork, and further promote telehealth in Medicare.

Tuesday, May 19th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; 
Access Passcode: 1908409
 
Thursday, May 21st at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; 
Access Passcode: 9984433
 
Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 (Fridays at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern)

Lessons from the Front Lines calls are a joint effort between CMS Administrator Seema Verma, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Physicians and other clinicians are invited to share their experience, ideas, strategies, and insights with one another related to their COVID-19 response. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters.

This week’s Lessons from the Front Lines:
Friday, May 22nd at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 877-251-0301; 
Access Code: 6086125
 
Weekly COVID-19 Care Site-Specific Calls

CMS hosts weekly calls for certain types of organizations to provide targeted updates on the agency’s latest COVID-19 guidance. One to two leaders in the field also share best practices with their peers. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters if time allows.

 
Nursing Homes (Wednesdays at 4:30 PM Eastern)
Wednesday, May 20th at 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; 
Access Passcode: 4879622
 
Dialysis Organizations (Wednesdays at 5:30 PM Eastern)
Wednesday, May 20th at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; 
Access Passcode: 3287645

Nurses (Thursdays at 3:00 PM Eastern)
Thursday, May 21st at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; 
Access Passcode: 2874976
Who are your healthcare heroes?

There are so many amazing stories of dedication, sacrifice, and compassion by long term care professionals who are going above and beyond to ensure the safety, health, and happiness of residents during this unprecedented time. These individuals are saving lives; they are heroes.

We want to hear your stories!

 Please email   [email protected]   to share a current story and picture of members of your team who are going above beyond to provide quality care during this unprecedented time. 
Did you miss HFAM's previous alerts?

Visit our website to view all previous HFAM alerts, as well as guidance
from our federal and state partners.
Thank you.

We cannot thank you enough for the dedication and diligence in doing all that you can for the residents in your communities. HFAM continues to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic with our state and national partners and will do all we can to support you during this time.