June 6, 2022
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
The Latest News
Congressional Briefing

KHCA Board Chair Staci Cardenas (Medicalodges), KHCA President & CEO Linda MowBray and KHCA Board VP Della Ribordy (Americare) are proud to represent Kansas in Washington D.C. with 500 others across the nation at the largest ACHA/NCAL Congressional briefing to date.  

The federal government must take permanent action to address the long-term care workforce shortage as providers brace themselves for severe consequences following the end of the temporary nurse aide waiver this week. 

“The long-term care workforce crisis has never been more dire, and now is not the time to let crucial supports and flexibilities end,” said Holly Harmon, RN, senior vice president of quality, regulatory & clinical services for the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living. READ MORE
Clarification of In-Service Training Waiver Requirement Terminating June 6, 2022

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided clarification on the In-Service Training requirements of §483.95(g)(1) for SNFs and NFs; this requires nursing assistants to receive at least 12 hours of in-service training annually. This waiver requirement is set to terminate on June 6, 2022. 
 
The original waiver included language indicating the termination of the waiver would take place after the public health emergency (PHE) ends. The original language stated, “postponing the deadline for completing this requirement throughout the COVID-19 PHE until the end of the first full quarter after the declaration of the PHE concluded.”
However, CMS has terminated the waiver under different conditions and provided clarification that it will allow staff to have 12 months after the termination of the emergency waiver on June 6, 2022, to complete the required 12 hours of in-service training.  
 
CMS is also planning to add this clarifying language to the document titled “COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers” located on the CMS Emergencies website. 
 
Please visit Coronavirus waivers & flexibilities for more information from CMS on waivers.

Operators and nursing home industry leaders wait with bated breath for the implementation of new staffing measures in its five-star rating system starting in July, a move seen by some as insensitive in light of a historic staffing shortage and soaring agency use. READ MORE
TOMORROW! Webinar: Survey Top 10 Citation Series – Survey Success! Avoiding Top Citations. #5 Top Citation: F656 Develop/Implement Comprehensive Care Plan

6/7/22 from 1:30PM - 2:30PM
In Case You Missed It
Survey: Nursing Homes Still Facing Staffing & Economic Crisis
6 Out of 10 Nursing Homes Are Limiting New Patients Due To Staffing Shortages
 
Click here to view the survey results
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As more than 500 long term care professionals gather on Capitol Hill this week to meet with the nation’s lawmakers, the American Health Care Association (AHCA), representing more than 14,000 nursing homes and other long term care facilities across the country, released a survey of nursing home providers across the U.S. highlighting how the industry is still facing a serious staffing and economic crisis. READ MORE
Clinical Update from KHCA Consultant Linda Farrar

During the recent Quality Summit, I had the opportunity to attend an excellent session on “communication” around intentional huddling. When I have the opportunity to talk to staff members in facilities, most of them tell me the biggest problem they face in their job is “communication”. Why is that? We can’t seem to get it fixed. The session revolved around the value of intentional huddles. This subject came up at the last Nurse Advisory Committee meeting so I thought I would share my notes with you. Successful communication involves three components: READ MORE
As revenue slips, study aims to calculate true cost of agency staffing 

A new report predicts post-acute care providers will miss out on nearly $20 billion in revenue this year, not due to COVID but rather staffing challenges.

Consulting firm Oliver Wyman calculated that understaffing resulting in lower occupancy will lead to $19.4 billion in unrealized revenue. The biggest hits will come in the Northeast and North Central U.S., the firm projected. The study also sought to measure just how much various staffing needs and strategies are costing providers. READ MORE
AHCA/NCAL State Heads Highlight Major Industry Challenges

Provider Magazine (6/1, 151K) carried comments from AHCA/NCAL state executives who "weigh in on what they see as the sector’s biggest challenges and what issues they are facing head-on in their local communities." For example, Idaho Health Care Association Executive Director Robert Vande Merwe said, "The greatest challenge both in Idaho and nationally is the workforce crisis. We always knew that there would not be enough workers to support the Baby Boomers after 2030, but the pandemic has brought that crisis eight years earlier as millions have left the workforce." Arkansas Health Care Association and Arkansas Assisted Living Association Executive Director Rachel Bunch, meanwhile, said, "The biggest issue facing our sector nationally is funding, which affects all areas of a quality delivery service, especially access to care in rural America." 
Policymakers Reportedly Must Prioritize Long-Term Care Industry Workers

Provider Magazine (6/1, 151K) highlighted long-term and post-acute care advocacy issues, saying, "Policymakers must prioritize the nation’s caregivers with the resources and support they deserve, specifically through the recruitment and retention of the long term care workforce." A recent AHCA/NCAL report "summarized Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showing that that long term care facilities have lost more than 400,000 caregivers since the beginning of the pandemic, more than any other health care sector. According to the BLS, overall long term care workforce levels are the lowest they have been in 15 years." Provider Magazine continued, "Nearly every nursing home and assisted living community in the United States is facing a workforce crisis." 
2023 AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program Year Is Now Open!
The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program is excited to announce that the 2023 application year is now open. For the first time, application packets are available three months earlier than previous years so that skilled nursing care centers and assisted living communities can begin to prepare.

We encourage members to take advantage of this additional time to download application packets and materials and to begin planning, reviewing and gathering relevant data.


WHY APPLY
The National Quality Award Program is a rigorous three-level process (Bronze, Silver, and Gold) that evaluates an organization's capabilities against nationally recognized standards for excellence. The program provides a pathway to improved outcomes in areas including care, workforce, leadership and operations. 

The Value of Applying
  • An outside perspective 
  • Learning from the feedback
  • Team building 
  • Becoming stronger and more resilient 
  • A focus on results
  • Recognition and pride
  • A commitment to the process leads to better occupancy rates and prepare providers to meet regulatory demands.

DATES TO KNOW
  • May 9 - Application packets and materials available to download
  • May 16-18 - Quality Award workshops, sessions and LED Talks at Quality Summit
  • September 15 - Portal opens for application and Intent to Apply (ITA) submissions
  • October 9-12 – AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo​ and 2022 Quality Award Ceremony 
  • November 15​ – ITA deadline
  • January 26, 2023 – Application deadline
  • Summer 2023 – Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award notifications

​HAVE QUESTIONS?
Email the National Quality Award team at qualityaward@ahca.org
Education Spotlight
The Stability Zone

The Stability Zone is a go-at-your-own-pace, online program that is brimming with stress-busting advice! This course contains quick, easy-to-implement actions in bite-sized videos. The Stability Zone is the main course, the pièce de résistance, to get leaders full of stress-free hacks and JOY, delicious joy! One of the best parts of The Stability Zone is that leaders can share this joy by teaching their teams how to banish their stress for good too! 

What comes with The Stability Zone?

  • Lifetime access to The Stability Zone online course and all the stress-busting hacks!
  • 6.75 total NAB and SHRM continuing education credits for completion of The Stability Zone. WOOT WOOT!
Upcoming Education
Webinar: MDS Mastermind Series: Achieving PDPM Success (Part 2)

6/8/22 from 1:30PM - 2:30PM
Nurse Leadership Conference - In Person

Manhattan, KS
6/14/2022 11AM - 6/15/2022 3:30PM
QAPI for Assisted Living - Lunch and Learn - In Person

Topeka, KS
6/17/2022 12:00PM-4:00PM
Webinar: The Proficient Infection Preventionist Series: Competency in Multidrug Resistant Organisms (MDRO) for the Infection Preventionist

6/21/2022 1:30PM-2:30PM
Webinar: MDS Mastermind Series: Surmounting Survey and Audit Preparedness

6/22/2022 1:30PM-2:30PM
FREE Webinar (1.0 CE): Candida auris outbreaks in LTC Communities

6/23/2022 2:00PM-3:00PM
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