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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Are you wondering if your BinaxNOW Tests are still good?
Click here to view the letter with extensions on expiration dates.
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AHCA/NCAL To Continue Efforts To Combat Nurse Staffing Agency Practices
In a guest column for Provider Magazine (2/17, 151K), Holly Harmon, senior vice president of Quality, Regulatory & Clinical Services for the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, writes about "the rise of staffing agency nurses and nurse aides." Harmon adds, "As the remaining workforce is stretched even further, it creates an extremely challenging situation where more and more staff burn out, get poached by the agencies, or leave the industry altogether." This "is why leaders in the health care industry recently called on regulators and lawmakers to investigate and take appropriate action against this blatant effort to take advantage of the pandemic and the health care workforce crisis." AHCA/NCAL "partnered with the American Hospital Association...in sending a joint letter to White House COVID-19 Response Team Coordinator Jeffrey Zients to bring attention to this matter." Harmon concludes "AHCA/NCAL will continue our calls for the Biden Administration to advance a solution that ensures health care providers are able to recruit and retain the staff they need to ensure patients and residents have access to the care and services they deserve."
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Clinical Update from KHCA Consultant Linda Farrar
As we review the QCOR information about survey data, for the first time in recent times, F756, Drug Regimen Review, Report Irregular, Act On, is the number ONE tag on Kansas standard surveys…really? So let’s take a quick look at the regulation… READ MORE
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Likely ‘years’ before nursing shortage is solved: expert
Long-term care providers and hospitals still have far to go to overcome the ongoing workforce shortage, and providers in each sector will likely have to contribute creative solutions to survive, according to Forbes columnist Howard Gleckman.
Recent data has revealed that the number of employees in the long-term care industry is the lowest it’s been in 15 years at about 2.97 million overall workers. That’s the lowest since January 2007. READ MORE
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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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Biden Administration Requests Additional $30M In COVID-19 Relief Funding
McKnight’s Senior Living (2/17, Steele Gaivin) reports that the Biden Administration "is requesting $30 million from Congress for additional COVID-19 relief funding, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Tuesday." Psaki said, "While we continue to have sufficient funds to respond to the current omicron surge in the coming weeks, our goal has always been to ensure that we are well prepared to stay ahead of the virus." A spokesperson for AHCA / NCAL told the McKnight’s Business Daily, "Any additional COVID-19 funding that increases the availability of vaccines, treatments and testing can help our nation’s most vulnerable from this ongoing pandemic. However, as we have urged from the beginning, policymakers must prioritize long term care residents and staff for these resources. We also strongly support additional COVID relief funding for health care providers through the Provider Relief Fund, to help long-term care facilities address the economic and workforce crises caused by the pandemic."
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A Reminder from KDADS about Battelle testing option
This note is a follow up to the guidance you received on February 7th (Critical Info for LTCFS Regarding Future Lab Testing) reminding you of the upcoming transition from KDHE-supported contract laboratories to routine testing with Battelle Midwest Coordination Center on March 31st. Please review the link at the end of this message for more information about the Battelle Testing Program.
There are now less than 7 weeks remaining prior to the deadline. Given Battelle’s onboarding process can take about 4 weeks, if you’re interested in continued routine testing support, please sign up as soon as possible to ensure coverage.
As of this week, 143 facilities are registered with the program. READ MORE
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CMS Provides Precaution Guidelines For Unvaccinated Staff
Provider Magazine (2/15, 151K) reports the CMS "staff vaccination rule requires facilities to take additional precautions for those staff who remain unvaccinated due to a medical/religious exemption or newly hired staff who only have the first dose of the two-dose series." Though facilities "are not required to follow all the precautions listed...they should be intentional about establishing appropriate policies around additional precautions and take a layered approach based on risk of COVID-19 transmission to residents they serve." What’s more, "facilities may want to reassign unvaccinated frontline caregivers to residents who are not at particularly high risk for negative outcomes due to COVID-19."
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KCAL Assisted Living Conference (in person)
Lawrence, KS
4/5/2022
8AM - 5PM
A full day of education specifically designed for those that work in the Assisted Living, Home Plus and Residential Health Care settings. Lunch will be included in the cost of your registration.
Education Topics Include:
- KCAL Update
- Regaining your ZING
- Nutrition and Mental Health in Older Adult
- Motivating your Staff During a Pandemic
- House Bill 2004
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Webinar: Winning the Fall Prevention Battle Series: Conquering Falls Through Effective Care Planning
2/23/2022 1:30PM - 2:30PM
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Webinar: Survey Trends in Assisted Living
2/25/2022 1:00PM - 2:15PM
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Assisted Living FCS, NSA and HSP Lunch and Learn (in person)
3/4/2022 12:00PM - 4:00PM
THIS CLASS IS FULL! Please e-mail khca@khca.org to be added to the wait list.
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ICD-10 Coding Workshop (in person)
3/29 - 3/30/2022
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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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Learn How to Create an Effective SNF Revenue Cycle Management System
AHCA offers a five-module online training program titled Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) Academy which offers training about a holistic interdisciplinary approach toward revenue management. RCM can be implemented in a building, more broadly or as an organization-wide approach to enhance revenue by minimizing losses from payments that too often are unnecessarily lost or overlooked. Click here for more details.
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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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