KHCA/KCAL is committed to providing our members with important updates. Below is a list of the most recent information. Please visit our website for a list of complete updates. www.khca.org/covid-19-resources
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Senate Bill 453 “Open the CNA training pipeline”
The House sent an amended version of SB 453 to the Senate for a Concur or Not-concur vote. The Senate did not accept the amendments added by the House. A conference committee has been formed to hammer out the differences between the two chambers. The Senate appointed to the committee Senators Hildenbrand, Gossage and Pettey. The House appointed Representatives Landwehr, Eplee and Ruiz. At this time, the conference committee time and date has not been set. The Legislature is recessed until Monday, March 28, 2022. We will keep you informed of further progress.
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Attn All Performing testing for COVID-19 under a CLIA Waiver
Beginning April 4, 2022, COVID-19 testing facilities that test under a CLIA certificate of waiver are no longer required to report NEGATIVE results for tests authorized for use under a CLIA certificate of waiver. Click here to view complete memo from KDHE.
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SHIELDS UP
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could impact organizations both within and beyond the region, to include malicious cyber activity against the U.S. homeland, including as a response to the unprecedented economic costs imposed on Russia by the U.S. and our allies and partners. Evolving intelligence indicates that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks. Every organization—large and small—must be prepared to respond to disruptive cyber incidents. As the nation’s cyber defense agency, CISA stands ready to help organizations prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the impact of cyberattacks. When cyber incidents are reported quickly, we can use this information to render assistance and as warning to prevent other organizations and entities from falling victim to a similar attack. To read more, click here.
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Providers may face emergency if PHE ends prematurely: AHCA
An extension of the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration through the end of 2022 is critical to ensure long-term care providers have the necessary resources to respond to the ongoing crisis, the leader of the nation’s largest nursing home association said Tuesday.
The current PHE declaration is set to expire April 16. Federal policy only allows the Department of Health and Human Services to extend it for 90 days at a time. HHS leadership has previously said states would receive a 60 day notice prior to the expiration of the PHE.
Extending the declaration through 2022 would allow long-term and post-acute care providers to continue offering the most “efficient and effective care possible” to seniors, argued Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living. READ MORE
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From the Office of the State Fire Marshal
Emergency Door Release click here for more details.
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AHCA/NCAL Asks Becerra To Extend COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Through 2022
McKnight’s Long-Term Care News (3/23, Brown) reports Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living, advocated for the extension of the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration through the end of 2022 in a Tuesday letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. Parkinson said that the "PHE ensures our health care system, including long-term care, has the policies and resources it needs to address this ongoing pandemic," warning that "now is not the time to let crucial supports and flexibilities necessary to combat the virus end." Also, Parkinson "urged the federal government to prioritize long-term care for access to urgently needed resources, like COVID-19 testing and treatments, in addition to extending the emergency designation."
McKnight’s Senior Living (3/23, Bowers) reports the "current public health emergency is set to expire April 16." Though it has been renewed for 90-day periods eight times, Parkinson insists that it should be extended through the rest of the year to ensure providers "can continue to offer the most efficient and effective care possible to our nation’s most vulnerable population."
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Provider Relief Fund Updates: Phase 4 Awards Continue and Reporting Period 1 Challenges
HRSA announced it is making more than $413 million in Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 General Distribution payments to more than 3,600 providers across the country this week. Providers would have received an email notification on March 21 if their application was among those processed in this latest batch. HRSA is working to review all remaining applications as quickly as possible and anticipates another round of Phase 4 to be released in late April or early May.
More information:
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HHS updated the state-by-state table detailing all Phase 4 payments made to date.
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As individual providers agree to the terms and conditions of Phase 4 payments, it will be reflected on the public dataset.
If you have neither received your Phase 4 award nor a No Pay Letter, your Phase 4 payment likely is still in manual review.
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Free Charting the LifeCourse Framework Learning Opportunities
Join KDADS HCBS-KS to learn about the Charting the LifeCourse Framework. Understand how it can support individuals planning for a good life.
You will learn about tools for every life stage to improve a person-centered approach to planning. These tools help you plan, problem solve and address all areas of a person’s life.
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Active Shooter Preparedness Webinar - April 14, 2022 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Region 7, (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska) invites you to join a two-hour security webinar to enhance awareness of and response to an active shooter event.
Preparing employees for a potential active shooter incident is an integral component of an organization’s incident response planning. Because active shooter incidents are unpredictable and evolve quickly, preparing for and knowing what to do in an active shooter situation can be the difference between life and death. Every second counts.
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KHCA/KCAL President/CEO Update from 3/21/22
Click here if you missed Monday's President/CEO Update.
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"Do you have a moment, I have a request I need you to handle discreetly"
Does this look familiarly to you? It’s possibly you received an email that appears to be from Linda MowBray. This is a SCAM. Please be cautious if you see something like this and take a close look at the sender email address. Do not respond and notify your IT department to block the scammers address.
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Oral Antivirals Now Available to LTC Facilities to Treat COVID-19
The federal government has launched two new initiatives, “Test to Treat” and “Long-Term Care Pharmacy Program,” to create an allocation of oral antiviral medications for utilization in vulnerable populations. Via the Long-Term Care Pharmacy Program, as of March 7, long term care (LTC) pharmacies can direct order from the federal allocation, which has significantly increased the access to these lifesaving therapies for LTC residents who are at increased risk for developing severe COVID-19. READ MORE
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CMS: Quality measure threshold changes coming
Skilled nursing facilities have an additional tool to measure their own quality improvement efforts under a new change to the quality measures rating domain.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Monday issued a reminder to providers that it plans to implement the quality measure rating threshold changes with the April 2022 refresh.
The update was first announced in a March 2019 memo but the public health emergency has delayed its implementation. READ MORE
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AHCA/NCAL Report Finds SNF Quality Of Care Has Risen Over Last Decade
Provider Magazine (3/18, 151K) said a new report [PDF] released by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living on Friday "shows the quality of care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) has been on an upward trend in the 10 years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic." The findings demonstrate "that industry-wide efforts to raise the standard of care have benefited long term care residents across the country." AHCA/NCAL president and CEO Mark Parkinson said of the report, "Providers and caregivers should be recognized for these improvements made over the past decade, even as we raise the bar even higher. But that will only be possible if health policy officials and lawmakers help us secure the resources we need moving forward."
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Parkinson calls on providers to fight Biden’s ‘offensive’ reform plans
The leader of the nation’s largest nursing home association is urging operators to battle “ridiculous” efforts to increase fines and other parts of the administration’s recently announced reform package.
President Biden’s comments about nursing homes in his first State of the Union Address may have been relatively mild, but language released a day earlier about his proposed reform plans was “offensive,” said American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living President and CEO Mark Parkinson. READ MORE
Click here for more information on congressional briefing this June.
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Have You Had Your Weekly Dose?
The Health Quality Innovation Network’s Weekly Dose Office Hours webinar series provides current updates on COVID-19 guidance and vaccine information. As a Medicare Quality Innovation Network – Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO), HQIN is dedicated to helping you increase your vaccination rates.
This forum for vaccine and booster questions features interactive, peer-to-peer collaboration following a brief presentation. Each session includes best practices and innovative idea sharing as well as tips for improving resident and staff safety. Weekly Dose Office Hours are held Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. CT/2:00 pm. ET. Register for the next Office Hours, as well as upcoming sessions, at this link: https://tinyurl.com/575d66tn
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Call for Presentations
An essential service to our association is offering high quality training and education to our members. We invite you to join us in our commitment to delivering timely, relevant, and engaging information as we prepare for our 2022 Nurse Leadership Conference (June) and Annual Convention (September).
We are looking for topics that fit skilled nursing, assisted living, home plus and residential health care communities.
Click here to learn more on our needs and how you can submit a proposal.
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ICD-10 Coding Workshop (2 days in person)
Lawrence, KS
3/29- 3/30/2022
8AM - 5PM
14 CEs!!
Diagnosis coding accuracy is paramount to appropriate payment under PDPM, as ICD-10 Diagnosis codes & other patient characteristics are used as basis for classification in determining MCR payment. The 5-day MDS establishes the PDPM payment category for the entire Medicare stay which is why it is so important to have good processes in place for establishing the principal diagnosis and having information to support coding all active diagnosis prior to the 5-day assessment reference date.
This program will include information regarding the Official ICD-10 Coding Guidelines, best practices for accurate ICD-10-CM code assignment, how to avoid common coding mistakes, and the importance of principal diagnosis identification.
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ICD-10 Coding Workshop (in person)
3/29 - 3/30/2022
Lawrence, KS
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KCAL Assisted Living Conference (in person)
4/5/22 from 8:30AM - 5:00PM
Lawrence, KS
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Webinar: Survey Top 10 Citation Series - Survey Success! Avoiding Top Citations. #3 Top Citation: F761 Label/Store Drugs & Biologicals
4/5/22 from 1:30PM - 2:30PM
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Webinar: Restorative Nursing Series: Restorative Nursing Overview (Part 1)
4/7/22 from 1:00PM - 2:15PM
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Webinar: Restorative Nursing Series: Bowel Bladder, Dining, Communication & Cognition (Part 2)
4/14/22 from 1:00PM - 2:15PM
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The AHCA/NCAL Quality Summit is Back! Registration Now Open!
Quality Summit will be held in Kissimmee, FL, May 16-18.
This year’s AHCA/NCAL Quality Summit delivers three days of education programs and awesome networking opportunities with like-minded, quality professionals in long term and post-acute care. The Quality Summit offers 30 sessions topics focused on leadership, recruitment and retention, infection prevention and PDPM.
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Kansas Health Care Association and the Kansas Center for Assisted Living
1100 SW Gage Blvd. | PO Box 4770 | Topeka, KS 66604
PH: 785-267-6003 FAX: 785-267-0833
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