MDH Updates
COVID-19 Revenue Supplemental Schedule: Below are the updated instructions regarding the COVID-19 Revenue Supplemental Schedule, the Questionnaire, and a listing of Frequently Asked Questions. Please direct any questions regarding these requirements to Myers & Stauffer LC at (410) 356-9256. Thank you.
Redetermination Extension: Please see the October 20, 2021 memorandum announcing that the Department has extended Medicaid redeterminations to March 31, 2022.
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Announcing a New Trauma Informed Care Certificate Program
Trauma Informed Care (TIC) is a regulatory requirement and an approach to care that requires specific staff competency and a system of care delivery that achieves the regulatory intent and provides the necessary support to care for residents who may suffer from trauma. At least eight CMS F-tags cover various aspects of TIC making compliance with this critical form of care vital to nursing facility survey success and quality care.
The Trauma Informed Care Training contains simple foundational steps and practical recommendations for implementing a TIC program that can help improve resident outcomes. Individuals will learn how to screen and assess for trauma and incorporate TIC into the discharge process. There also is a focus on building awareness of TIC among staff to help them deliver appropriate care and deliver meaningful activities and other services from a TIC perspective.
About the Course
This nine-module program contains simple foundational steps and practical recommendations for implementing a Trauma Informed Care (TIC) program that can help improve resident outcomes. Individuals will learn how to screen and assess for trauma and incorporate TIC into the discharge process. The training is designed to educate nursing facility providers and nurses about how to implement TIC in their facilities with staff who are appropriately trained and competent to care for residents who are at risk for re-traumatization.
Why This Training is Important to SNF Providers
TIC is a regulatory requirement and an approach to care that requires specific staff competency and a system of care delivery that achieves the regulatory intent and provides the necessary support to care for nursing home residents who may suffer from trauma. At least eight CMS F-tags cover various aspects of TIC making compliance with this critical form of care vital to nursing facility survey success and quality care.
Cost, Registration & CEs
The cost of the program is $350 for AHCA/NCAL and AAPACN members and $650 for non-members. AHCA/NCAL members will need to login to ahcancalED with their usernames and passwords to register for the course. For assistance obtaining usernames and passwords, members should e-mail educate@ahca.org with their name and facility contact information.
The program is approved for 5.75 NAB CEs for administrators and 5.10 AANC continuing education hours for nurses. Certificates are available upon successful completion of the course. Nurses must complete at least 80 percent of the educational activity to be eligible for ANCC CE hours. Administrators must take and pass the final exam with a score of 70 percent or higher to receive NAB CEs.
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AHCA/NCAL Sends Letter To Federal Trade Commission On Staff Agency Price Gouging
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, sent a letter this week to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan, requesting assistance with an anticompetitive practice with direct care staffing agencies.
In the letter, AHCA/NCAL President and CEO Mark Parkinson describes how the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred an unprecedented workforce crisis within the long term care sector. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nursing homes and residential-care facilities employed three million people in July, down 380,000 workers from February 2020. Providers are doing all that they can to hire and recruit workers, including sign-on bonuses, wage increases and referral bonuses.
Amid these circumstances, direct care staffing agencies are charging exorbitant prices to long term care facilities that need workers. AHCA/NCAL state affiliates are undertaking legislative efforts to prevent these agencies from charging more than double and – in some cases – as much as quadruple the amount operators are currently paying their staff. AHCA/NCAL requests that the FTC use its authority to investigate this price gouging and take appropriate action to protect long term care facilities.
Read the full letter here.
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AHCA/NCAL 2021 Fall CEO Conference
The Conference offers a unique opportunity to network with other leaders in the field while taking time to explore cutting-edge business strategies that will help you tackle today’s challenges. Topics covered will include:
- Maintaining Census
- Population Health Management
- Staffing
- Lessons learned from COVID-19
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Population Health Management Summit
Population Health and Value-Based Care: Where Do We Go from Here?
Location: JW Marriott Washington, D.C.
Date(s): December 6-7, 2021
Come hear from nationally renowned speakers, innovators, and industry leaders on the exciting opportunities in population health and value-based care. Learn how to lead and grow, so you don’t get left behind.
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AHCA/NCAL Summary of HRSA Phase 4 and Rural Documentation Webinar
Last week, Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) held its third Phase 4 and Rural distribution webinar focusing on documentation needed for the single application. HRSA also released detailed guidance on submitting Phase 3 Reconsideration Applications.
Highlights from the October 13 webinar include:
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HRSA emphasis on, “Failure to submit the correct supporting documentation may result in HRSA deeming your application ineligible for payment.”
- Review of five scenarios which health care providers have tax requirements, use financial documentation, and/or have organizational structures which fall outside of their standard application documentation requirements.
As part of this discussion, HRSA noted guidance on parent-subsidiary relationships contained in its reporting guidance. Additionally, in an October 15 transmittal, HRSA outlined Phase 3 Reconsideration Application key steps. Phase 3 Reconsideration detail is located here.
AHCA/NCAL has also provided a summary of last week's webinar for members to easily reference.
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ATTENTION ASSISTED LIVING PROVIDERS!
The Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ) is seeking informal public comments as it continues to revise the assisted living regulations in COMAR 10.07.14. We are reviewing the changes and will engage in the process. We urge our members and the broader members of the sector to review the proposed changes and top over any feedback to HFAM and participate in the public informal comment process. Three more public meetings will be held to provide the opportunity for stakeholders to propose changes to the regulation. Specific sections of the regulation will be discussed at the first, second, and third meetings. The fourth meeting will include comments on all sections. These live on-line meetings are open to the public and are not being held in-person. You can pre-register via this AL registration form and view the draft of the proposed regulations that will serve as the starting point of these discussions.
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September 15, 2021, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., COMAR 10.07.14.00 - 10.07.14.21 (completed)
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October 19, 2021, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., COMAR 10.07.14.22 – 10.07.14.37 (completed)
- November 16, 2021, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., COMAR 10.07.14.38 – 10.07.14.64
- December 16, 2021, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., all sections
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Free Online or In-Person Infection Control Training Now Available!
The Maryland Department of Health Project Firstline learning management system (NextThought) is now available as a free service for all Maryland healthcare workers, including Environmental Services staff.
A total of seven CDC-prepared courses are available as self-guided modules. Materials for the introductory infection control course are also provided in a format for group training sessions with a facilitator. Additional content for group training sessions will be released in October 2021.
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Health Care Cybersecurity Symposium
November 8, 2021
3PM – 5PM ET
Virtual
Managing Risk Within the Health Care Supply Chain
Registration is free.
Join us as we reflect on the past and plan for the future! Hear from industry leaders locally and nationally as they share perspectives on the changing cybersecurity landscape, supply chain vulnerabilities, and strategic matters, technical and cultural, including best practices for securing the health care supply chain.
Presentations will highlight the need to secure protected health information more than ever with the increasing use of telehealth, web-connected medical devices, and other third-parties, including impacts and lessons learned from the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Questions
Contact Eva Lenoir
410-764-337
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Building a Culture of Safety in Long-Term Care
VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL EVENT
December 3, 2021 | 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
This educational activity has been approved for 3.25 total
participant hours for Long Term Care Administrators.
OVERVIEW
This virtual half-day program will provide participants with a foundational program on how to build a culture of safety for long-term care. This program will provide participants with strategies to engage their staff in a culture of change and provide tools to build a strong safety culture in their organization. Participants will come away with ideas to implement the following week.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be better able to:
Identify basic tools for building a safety culture
Describe the importance of measurement, feedback, and
education for performance improvement
List strategies to include the patient and family in safety
and quality improvement initiatives
Identify at least three strategies to employ for
improvement change in their organization
Registration:
MPSC Members: $30
Non-Members: $50
Learn more at:
Questions?
410.540.9210
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Did you miss an update?
Visit our website to view all previous HFAM alerts, as well as guidance
from our federal and state partners.
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