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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A Message from the Kansas State Board of Nursing
Click here for the KSBN Update from today that reviews the provisions of HB 2477 that will expire on January 20, 2023. There is one new provision that is in this bill that was not in the prior bill and executive orders. Employers need to be very aware of this provision. The bill allows nurses licensed and in good standing in another state to practice in Kansas without a license with us. Some things to remember about this:
- This provision does not apply to a nurse with a multistate license that was granted in another member state of the NLC
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This bill has a new provision that states this nurse may notify the Kansas Board of Nursing within 7 days of starting practice in the state. Here is a form that has been developed and placed on our website they will need to complete. It is a simple form requesting a little bit of information. It will not take them long to complete. It is the responsibility of the employer to convey this requirement to the nurse when the employer brings the nurse into Kansas to work. We cannot do it and we will not know they are in Kansas until we receive the completed form. I realize this is an additional step, however the bill states we have to do this. There is a link in the update to the form that must be completed. There is nothing else they have to do with us and they will not receive a temporary license from us.
Executive Administrator
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More Nursing Homes Facing Longer Wait Times For COVID-19 Test Results
Kaiser Health News (2/2, Pradhan) reports that "more nursing homes are waiting longer for COVID-19 test results for residents and staffers, according to federal data." This "double whammy of slower turnaround times for lab-based PCR tests and a shortage of rapid antigen tests has strained facilities where quickly identifying infections is crucial for keeping a highly vulnerable population safe." An analysis by KHN "of data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finds that 25% of nursing homes that sent tests to a lab waited an average of three or more days for results as of Jan. 16." The American Health Care Association "recently said the [Biden] administration plans to send the sector an additional 5 million rapid tests in the coming weeks, but the industry says that’s not nearly enough." AHCA "asked the Biden administration to increase the sector’s testing supplies and related equipment. The group estimates the sector needs 5 million tests per week."
Roll Call (2/2, Clason, 130K) reports, "The AHCA/NCAL recently asked the administration to increase testing shipments and retain priority for long-term care." AHCA/NCAL said, "There has been soaring demand for tests among the general public and among other industries across the country due to the Omicron surge. ... So as a result, many long term care facilities are having difficulty acquiring tests and/or experiencing delays in getting back PCR test results."
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CMS Issues Letter on the Importance of COVID-19 Staff Vaccinations
Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure issued a letter to health care facility administrators on the importance of COVID-19 staff vaccinations and the current CMS requirements. CMS recommends that facilities review the vaccine rule guidance released on December 28, 2021; January 14, 2022; and January 20, 2022 for additional information.
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KHCA/KCAL President/CEO Update from 1/31/22
Click here if you missed yesterday's President/CEO Update.
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FDA Approves Moderna COVID Vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Monday, January 31, 2022 the approval of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine which has been brand named “Spikevax” is the same formulation and is interchangeable with the Moderna COVID vaccine which was first authorized by the FDA under Emergency Use Authorization in 2020. READ MORE
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AHCA/NCAL, AHA Ask White House To Investigate Staffing Agency Prices
Becker’s Hospital Review (1/28, Plescia, 91K) reported the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living and the AHA in a letter Thursday asked "Jeffrey Zients, the White House’s COVID-19 response team coordinator," to investigate staffing agencies. The industry groups "accuse these agencies of exploiting workforce shortages amid the COVID-19 pandemic to charge high prices, often two to three times pre-pandemic rates." Their letter follows a similar request last week "by nearly 200 House members also asking for an investigation."
McKnight’s Long-Term Care News (1/30, Brown) reports the letter argues that the agencies are "engaged in anticompetitive practices that are detrimental to hospitals’ and LTC facilities’ ability to care for their patients," and that their uniformly higher prices suggest "widespread coordination and abuse of market position." The groups go on to say that "preventing these agencies from exploiting our organizations’ desperate need for health care personnel should help mitigate one of the enormous pressures on our hospitals, health systems, and LTC facilities and enable them to focus on caring for the patients who rely so heavily upon them as the pandemic continues."
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Tuesday, February 8, 2022 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
KDADS LTC Provider Webinar on Staff Vaccination Regulatory Oversight and Enforcement, with time for Q &A
Presenters: Deputy Secretary Scott Brunner, Commissioner Lacey Hunter, Assistant Commissioner Dawne Stevenson
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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.
Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality for the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services, Lee A. Fleisher, MD, is the opening keynote speaker.
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Assisted Living FCS, NSA and HSP Lunch and Learn (In Person)
3/4/22 12PM - 4PM
Topeka, KS
The Functional Capacity Screen (FCS). Who knew such a simple looking document could be so complicated? During this lunch and learn you’ll learn how to accurately complete a Functional Capacity Screen (FCS). Together you’ll collaborate and work through common ‘gray areas’ and how to document them. Once you’ve tackled the Functional Capacity Screen (FCS), the Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) and Health Services Plan (HSP) are next! A completed FCS will be provided to all participants and Joan Hudson, RN-BC, LNHA will walk you through how to take the data from the FCS, add your resident ‘wants’ to the assessment and produce a Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) to capture all the billable services for your resident.
Joan will also address situations for Negotiated Risk Agreements, NSA Addendums and ideas for completing them. Once the FCS and NSA are done we’ll use the information to create our Health Services Plan (HSP) that describes to our direct caregivers how to provide the services we’ve negotiated for our residents.
This workshop is a great opportunity for Operators and Nurses to work through this process as a team. It’s also a chance for you to make sure you’re on the same page and meeting the requirements as set out by KDADS.
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8 Week Webinar Series: Winning the Fall Prevention Battle
Every Wednesday Starting February 2 and Ending March 23, 2022
1:30PM - 2:30PM
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Focus on Dementia Care (3-part webinar series)
1:00PM - 2:15PM
2/10/22
2/17/22
2/24/22
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Webinar: The Proficient Infection Preventionist Series: Developing an Exceptional Infection Control & Prevention Program
2/15/2022 1:30PM - 2:30PM
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ICD-10 Coding Workshop (in person)
3/29 - 3/30/2022
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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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