You're receiving this email because of your relationship with the Office of Inspector General, Division of Health Care. Thank you for your continued commitment to serving the citizens of our Commonwealth!
Cabinet for Health & Family Services
Office of Inspector General
Division of Health Care
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Long Term Care Provider Newsletter
April 2020
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The Kentucky Office of Inspector General is committed to the protection of patients and residents of healthcare facilities from the spread of infectious disease. Regarding any coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, you may refer to the following website for the most up-to-date news and information:
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COVID-19 Emergency Circumstances LTC Bed Change Requests
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS has demonstrated unprecedented flexibility to long-term care facilities in order to protect residents during the pandemic. CMS has released the “
COVID-19 Long-Term Care Facility Guidance”, issued
blanket waivers for certain CMS requirements of participation for LTC facilities, as well as offered flexibility regarding timeframes for COVID-19 emergency bed change requests. In response to the relaxed requirements offered by CMS and Governor Andy Beshear’s Executive Order 2020-215 declaring a state of emergency in the Commonwealth, a new bed change request process has been developed. The
COVID-19 Emergency Circumstances LTC Bed Change Request Process
allows for the faster processing of temporary bed change requests due to emergency circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This process waives all licensure and architectural review fees, allows for architectural desk reviews, removes the typical CMS timeframe requirements and eliminates the requirement for color coded floor plans when requesting certification status changes.
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Emergency CMP Grant Project
It is with great pleasure that we announce an emergency Civil Money Penalty (CMP) Grant Project opportunity for all certified nursing facilities within the Commonwealth. Specifically, CMS has notified our office that a grant program, Communicative Technology Project, has been approved to assist in alleviating communication limitations due to COVID-19. This grant program will allow Medicare-certified nursing facilities to apply for a CMP fund grant for up to $3,000 to cover the costs of certain communicative technology devices and accessories. More information can be found on the
OIG Civil Money Penalty Funds website.
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Department for Medicaid Services Update on Optional State Assessment
On March 19, 2020, CMS announced that changes to the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 v1.18.1 are being delayed, therefore,
an Optional State Assessment (OSA) is not needed on October 1, 2020
, as originally anticipated, in order to continue Resource Utilization Group (RUG) based Medicaid reimbursement.
We continue to expect that in the future, CMS will remove items from the MDS item set that are needed for maintaining RUG case mix reimbursement. As CMS modifies the items on the MDS assessments in the future, DMS will evaluate if OSAs will be needed to continue its RUG‐III reimbursement system. Communications regarding any future OSA requirement will be issued at that time. We will continue to publish information as it becomes available.
Should you have any questions, please contact Jacob Wilson at (502) 564-8196, extension 2103. Questions regarding the coding of the MDS assessments may be directed to Chrystal Daugherty, RAI Coordinator with the Office of Inspector General at 606-330-2030, extension 283.
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PDPM v1.0004
A revision to the PDPM DLL Package (V1.0004 FINAL) was posted, and the previous version (V1.0003 FINAL) was removed. This version adds support for the new ICD-10-CM code for Coronavirus, U07.1. Note that this code is ONLY in effect for assessments with target date 04-01-2020 and later. The package contains updated test files and documentation.
Also, the lookup file for the allowable ICD codes in item I0020B has been updated to include U07.1, and it is posted as a separate ZIP file. Again, please note that this code is ONLY in effect for assessments with target date 04-01-2020 and later. The files are located in the Downloads section of the
MDS 3.0 Technical Information site
.
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jRAVEN v1.7.3
j
RAVEN v1.7.3 is now available for download under the Downloads section of the
MDS 3.0 Technical Information site
. Users do not need a previous version of jRAVEN to download, install or use jRAVEN v1.7.3.
jRAVEN v1.7.3 includes the following enhancements:
- The new MDS VUT, V3.3.0, updated to include the new ICD Code Table that contains the COVID-19 ICD Code
- The new PDPM Grouper, V1.0004, updated to include the new ICD Code Table that contains the COVID-19 ICD Code
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CMS Region IV LTC Quality Improvement Initiative Resource Center
COVID-19 Resources from AMDA
Visit
www.cpgltc.org
for the latest information from the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care (AMDA) for the COVID-19 resources. These FREE resources include: Podcasts and Webinars on topics including Infection Control and Mitigating Emotional Impact, AMDA Guidance & Resources and daily AMDA update emails, CDC Updates, CMS Updates, Other Resources, and State Bills Related to COVID-19.
Access the website,
www.cpgltc.org
, with the facility-specific username and password. Need assistance? Contact the Help Desk at
help@cpgltc.org.
The CMS Region IV LTC Quality Improvement Initiative is a collaboration between CMS Region IV, State Survey Agencies and the University of Louisville, Kent School of Social Work. Materials were produced pursuant to the Long Term Care (LTC) Quality Improvement Initiative/ AMDA Clinical Practice Guidelines and CMS Region IV Website: Sponsored by University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc., Alabama Medicaid Agency; State of Florida, Agency for Health Care Administration; Georgia Department of Community Health, Grant #16051G; Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of the Inspector General, Grant # PO2 723 1600004042 1; Mississippi State Department of Health, Mississippi Division of Medicaid in the Office of the Governor; and South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. CMS Project Numbers: 2015-04-AL-UOL-0303; 2015-04-FL-UOL-0303; 2015-04-GA-UOL-0303; 2015-04-KY-UOL-0303; 2015-04-MS-UOL-0303; 2015-04-SC-UOL-0303.
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Southern Partners Action Collaborative for Excellence (SPACE)
Alliant Quality, the QIN-QIO for seven states in the Southeast, is here to support your needs through the COVID-19 pandemic. We are sensitive to daily struggles you have in dealing with preventing the spread of the coronavirus in order to protect the health and well-being of your residents. By joining us in our Nursing Home Collaborative (see
flyer
), you will have free access to tools, resources, subject matter experts, and best practices to use in this crisis as well as in your future work to help improve your Total Quality Score, reduce Adverse Drugs Events, reduce unnecessary admissions and readmissions and more. We will bring value, not burden, to this partnership, but the window is quickly closing on our recruitment deadline of May 1, 2020. Beth Greene –
Beth.Greene@allianthealth.org
– is the Senior Quality Adviser for the states of Alabama and Kentucky. Beth invites you to participate in the Southern Partners Action Collaborative for Excellence (SPACE). Please sign up as a collaborative partner to achieve your quality improvement goals, and find the collaborative agreement at
https://www.alliantquality.org/news/space-agreement/.
To learn a bit more about Alliant Quality, please visit our website, or watch some of the videos about our work on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9mITtil3mHpVNd87vaxD6w
. Additionally, Alliant Quality reminds you to take care of yourself during this time of COVID-19! While on our YouTube channel, check out “Mindful Minutes”, a self-help exercise for healthcare providers, or, connect directly to the self-help exercise at
https://youtu.be/uRh8t0rfuUo
.
You are all heroes on the front lines, saving lives every day and making a tremendous impact. Please contact Beth Greene at her email above or at 919-745-4734 so we can have the opportunity to support you in all that you do!
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Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)
Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining!"
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FREE WEBINAR
Providing Telehealth Services in Nursing Homes:
Implementation and Billing Considerations
CMS recently announced a waiver for telehealth services, so what does this mean for nursing homes?
Alliant Quality’s Donna Cohen will explore this topic during this 30-minute Learning & Action Network event on 4/21.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the 1135 waiver impact on billing for telehealth services for Medicare-eligible patients
- List multiple methods of providing telehealth services to Nursing Home residents
- Implement various types of telehealth services for residents in Nursing Homes
See the attached
flyer
for registration and other details.
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Kentucky's Top 10 Citations
for Nursing Homes
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Informal Appeal of Survey Findings
Interested in Serving on an IDR Panel?
Kentucky requires one member of the IDR panel to be "a person currently engaged in the provision of Long Term Care services who has no affiliation with the provider disputing a deficiency." Typically, a Long Term Care Administrator is on each IDR panel. There is no payment or travel reimbursement for an Administrator serving on a panel. Administrators will be rotated. If a Long Term Care Administrator is interested in serving on a panel, a confidentiality statement must be signed prior to the participation in the first IDR panel.
Chrystal Daugherty, IDR/IIDR Coordinator
Office of Inspector General
116 Commerce Ave.
London, KY 40744
Fax: (606) 330-2054
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MDS/RAI CONTACT INFORMATION
Chrystal Daugherty
MDS Assessment/Coding Issues
Rhonda Littleton-Roe
Transmission or Technical
Please note: Do not send any identifiable patient information through e-mail. This includes patient names, SSNs, dates of birth, or any other data items considered identifiers or Protected Health Information (PHI) under HIPAA. Please redact any PHI prior to sending.
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Is your certified nursing facility signed up for ePOC? If so, be diligent about keeping your account and password up to date. A
ll correspondence is handled in the ePOC system, including the plan of correction. Furthermore, if there is a change in administrator, it is incumbent upon the facility to update the system.
If your facility is not signed up, see the
Account Setup
instructions.
Not sure if your facility has any ePOC accounts or have other questions? E-mail
ePOC.Support@ky.gov
or call Rhonda Littleton-Roe at 502-564-7963 x.3300.
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Have you notified your residents?
Click the link below to download and/or print the contact list for various agencies.
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Which Branch is Serving You?
To provide the highest level of service, the Division of Health Care operates through four regional offices. Knowing the appropriate Branch to contact with questions and concerns will ensure you receive maximum service in minimum time. Review links below for detailed information.
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CMS Survey and Certification memoranda, guidance, clarifications and instructions to State Survey Agencies and CMS Regional Offices.
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Transfer/Discharge Hearing Appeals
Please submit your requests for transfer/discharge hearing appeals to Acting Secretary Eric C. Friedlander, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, by emailing:
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LTC Facility Self-Reported
Incidents & Complaints
New email addresses have been established for communications regarding LTC Facility Self-Reported Incidents and for use by residents and the general public to report possible violations of regulatory requirements.
Click Here
for the email addresses and additional contact information.
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Quality, Safety & Education Portal
CMS's
QSEP
provides the full curriculum of surveyor training and guidance on health care facility regulations. All training is available on-demand on a top-notch self-service portal. 24/7 access means you have the freedom to learn what you want, where you want, when you want.
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Employment Opportunities
To search and apply for positions within the Office of Inspector General, please visit the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet's web page by clicking below.
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DHC Leadership Team:
Inspector General
Deputy Inspector General
Director
Assistant Director
Assistant Director
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Want to Sign Up for This Newsletter?
If you have received a copy of this newsletter from a friend or co-worker, you can click
here
and enter your information to join our mailing list, or contact
MelissaD.Richard@ky.gov
.
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Commonwealth of Kentucky | Office of Inspector General | 275 East Main St., Frankfort, KY 40621
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The Office of Inspector General is the regulatory and licensing agency for all health care, day care and long-term care facilities and child adoption/child-placing agencies in the commonwealth.
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