This message contains confidential information and is intended only for KHCA/KCAL membership. Dissemination, distribution or copying the contents of this email beyond this group is strictly prohibited. |
|
|
Holiday Message
In observance of Thanksgiving, we will not publish on Thursday, November 24th or Friday, November 25th. Our daily message will resume on Monday, November 28th. We wish you a safe and happy holiday.
|
|
White House announces big nursing home COVID-19 vaccination push and providers push back
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a six-week $475 million campaign to raise the COVID-19 vaccination rate among nursing home residents, and the sector’s leaders responded immediately with a unified demand for shared responsibility by other providers and stakeholders.
|
|
New CMS guidance nudges nursing homes to offer COVID shots, timely treatments
The agency reminds nursing facilities of the requirement to actively offer updated COVID vaccines and urges them to provide approved treatments early to keep mild symptoms from escalating. READ MORE
|
|
COVID-19 Rapid Response Staffing Support
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has partnered with KFMC Health Improvement Partners (KFMC) to assist long-term care facilities and state licensed homes, impacted by COVID-19, with emergency temporary staffing services. KFMC has developed a Rapid Response Staffing Support Center (RRSSC) to manage the intake and fulfillment of the staffing support requests.
The RRSSC rolled out in April 2022 and continues today with funds still available to support our Kansas care providers. This funding supports long term care, assisted living and home plus providers who are experiencing staffing shortages directly related to an active COVID outbreak. These funds can be used to dedicate staff to COVID cares to reduce the potential for spread or to cover hours for a staff member who is out with COVID. Requests are submitted via a designated intake form, is limited to short term assistance, and is not intended to be a long-term staffing solution.
To date, per the hours reconciled, the RRSSC has provided 36,048.87 hours of support with a current cost savings to Kansas homes of $2,088,649.65.
If your home is experiencing a staffing shortage due to COVID-19 and would like to request assistance through this program, please complete the request form located here https://www.kfmc.org/rrssc-request/.
|
|
Biden Administration Announces Campaign to Improve COVID-19 Bivalent Booster Uptake
Yesteday, the Biden Administration announced a 6-week campaign to improve COVID-19 booster uptake rates. The campaign will focus on reaching seniors and other communities hardest hit by COVID-19, including a focus on nursing homes.
As part of this campaign, CMS will focus on the requirement for nursing homes to educate and offer the COVID-19 vaccine, including subsequent boosters, outlined in QSO-21-19-NH. State survey agencies will be verifying that this requirement is being complied with, particularly in facilities with low publicly reported vaccination rates, including booster rates. Facilities out of compliance will be faced with enforcement actions.
AHCA/NCAL recommends that facilities verify their vaccination rates, including booster rates, which can be found on the CMS COVID-19 data website. If the posted rates are low, facilities should prepare for outreach from the state survey agencies to ensure compliance with QSO-21-19-NH . If the posted rates are not accurate, facilities should verify the accuracy of their NHSN reporting and address where needed.
While the overall up-to-date (including bivalent booster) rate in nursing homes is 43% (substantially higher than the general population), there is wide variation in booster rates, with over a quarter of nursing homes having up-to-date rates over 72.4% and a quarter of nursing homes with rates less than 7.3%.
COVID-19 boosters are proven to be effective in protecting individuals from serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 even when they have a breakthrough infection. Staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines is particularly important for nursing home residents due to their underlying health conditions that make them more susceptible to serious illness and hospitalization from COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.
CMS also issued QSO-23-03-ALL encouraging facilities to focus on the timely use of COVID-19 therapeutics. These treatments can prevent serious illness, hospitalizations, and save the lives of high-risk individuals who would otherwise be at risk of severe complications even when vaccinated.
You can read AHCA/NCAL and LeadingAge's joint press statement on the announcement here and our all-hands-on-deck plan we shared with the Administration to encourage a collaborative approach to increase vaccination rates.
|
|
CARE Upload Tool Information
The CARE Upload Tool will be available in December. Anyone that will be uploading admission documentation will need to complete the short survey, link here - https://forms.office.com/g/Lh8BwMhhnz This survey provides the information necessary for IT staff to set up access to the upload tool. Training for the Tool will be provided on December 14th at 2:00 pm and will be recorded for future reference. Be watching for the invitation for the training next week. However, in the meantime, please see the attached CARE and PASRR information and checklist:
If you have questions KDADS.CARE@ks.gov is the best email to use for updating contact information.
|
|
KDHE has Point of Care COVID Tests Available to you
KDHE has a large number of point of care COVID tests that expire in 2023 that they would like to make available to LTCFs. For facilities that would like to order tests, please use the online survey: Click here
|
|
Ramp Down Plan for Battelle Midwest Coordination Center testing in LTCF
Attention those that are using Battelle Midwest Coordination Center for Testing.
Please see the following ramp down plan as the Battelle testing program is ending December 31, 2022 Click here
|
|
NHSN Refresher Webinar
The CDC National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Vaccination Unit will provide a refresher webinar on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, from 12:30 - 1:30 PM Central Time to review the up to date COVID-19 vaccination definition for Long-term Care facilities reporting data through the COVID-19 Vaccination Modules. The current up to date definition incorporates the updated (bivalent) boosters and applies to reporting weeks beginning on September 26, 2022. As a reminder, most individuals who have not yet received an updated (bivalent) booster are no longer considered up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and should not be counted in Question #5.
When: Tuesday, November 29, 2022, at 12:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Refresher Training on Reporting Up to Date Vaccination Status in NHSN for Long-Term Care Facilities
Register in advance for this webinar:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
|
|
AHCA/NCAL Changing How LTC Sector Shares, Gathers Data Through Long Term Care Data Cooperative
Provider Magazine (11/1, 151K) reported AHCA/NCAL "is changing the way the long term and post-acute world gathers, analyzes, and shares data through the Long Term Care Data Cooperative." The Cooperative, which "is the first of its kind in the world," aims "to improve the quality of care within skilled nursing care centers through a new – and collaborative – approach to gathering and sharing patient data." AHCA/NCAL Chief Medical Officer and Center for Health Policy Evaluation in Long Term Care Director David Gifford said, "This project was born out of a real need for better data during the pandemic. ... It started with an idea of gathering data to truly understand how infection prevention methods were working within centers across the country and to gain better insights into the effectiveness of the vaccines. It grew from there into a look at the effectiveness of practices and the research required to make critical decisions about patient care." READ MORE
|
|
𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿—𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 (𝗥𝗔𝗖-𝗖𝗧®) 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 - 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮
Increase your knowledge of clinical assessment and care planning, completion of the MDS, the regulations surrounding the RAI/MDS process, and managing the PDPM by attending an AAPACN Resident Assessment Coordinator—Certified (RAC-CT) certification workshop. Having the RAC-CT credential behind your name shows that you are a knowledgeable and capable MDS professional.
|
|
Webinar: Survey Success! Avoiding Top Citations. Post Survey Activities: Developing Effective Plan of Correction & IDR
12/6/2022 1:30PM-2:30PM
|
|
Webinar: The Proficient Infection Preventionist Series: Astute Survey Preparedness & Application of Infection Control Regulatory Requirements
12/20/2022 1:30PM-2:30PM
|
|
Looking for options for required Staff In-Service?
KHCA’s online learning platform is BACK! We’ve loaded the in-services for SNF and for AL first. Many more education sessions to come.
Questions about education can be directed to Polly Berkley VP of Operations and Education.
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
