May 2021 Newsletter

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

MAY 2021

LATEST UPDATE

COVID-19 Testing of NF Staff & Residents

On April 30, 2021, the information on testing of staff and residents was updated to reflect recent changes to QSO 20-38 based on the CDC’s updated Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for health care settings in response to the COVID-19 vaccination.
As of April 27, 2021, health care personnel who are fully vaccinated are not required to be routinely tested based on the county positivity rate.
However, health care personnel who are fully vaccinated should still be tested if they are symptomatic, if they experience a higher risk exposure, or if the facility is in outbreak testing.
Unvaccinated health care personnel should continue to be routinely tested based on the county positivity rate as required under QSO-20-38.

IHCA/INCAL NEWS

There is still time to register for the 2021 IHCA/INCAL Spring Conference that is scheduled for May 3-21.

What does the virtual experience include?
As a virtual attendee, you’ll have 24x7 access to:

The live recordings of all of our expertly curated sessions focused on Clinical Strategies for Program & Infection Management. Watching virtual presentations on the Spring Conference website will mirror attending a live event.
Earn up to 9.5 CEUs and sharpen your skills and enhance your knowledge on some of the most important topics pertinent to your current role.

Got more questions? Contact Katie Niehoff at kniehoff@ihca.org.

Registration Now Open: Directors of Nurses (DON) Workshop

Join us for a two-day workshop that is designed for new Directors of Nursing or new Nurse Leaders in a SNF setting that have been in their position for two years or less.

Topics include:

Managing your infection prevention & control program, lessons learned from COVID-19
Managing employees and time management skills
Care planning for accuracy
Writing a plan of correction
Survey prep and how to have a successful survey
Understanding how the MDS affects your industry’s business
Understanding the regulation of the most frequently cited SNF tags
Falls prevention and wound/skin programs
Who Should Attend
Directors of Nursing in the SNF setting who have been in their position 2 years or less, Assistant Directors of Nursing, Nurse Managers, Charge Nurses

When: June 29-30, 2021

Where: Renaissance Indianapolis North Hotel, 11925 N Meridian St, Carmel, IN 46032

CEUs: 12 for IN Administrators

Sponsors: BKD CPA & Advisors

Save the Date: Indiana Health Care Foundation 11th Annual Golf Outing
The Indiana Health Care Foundation (IHCF) is pleased to announce its 11th annual Golf Outing. Proceeds from the golf outing benefit the IHCF’s scholarship program.

Did you know the IHCF awarded more than $21,000 in scholarships in 2020 benefiting long-term care professionals? We look forward to raising more dollars this year to continue supporting the scholarship program.

When: June 14, 2021

Where: The Country Club of Indianapolis

Questions: Please contact Colin Hebenstreit at chebenstriet@ihca.org

LEARN MORE

COVID-19 UPDATES & RESOURCES

April 28: CMS and CDC Update Guidance on Testing, Visitation, and Activities in Response to COVID-19 Vaccination
April 27: CDC lifts restrictions on dining, other activities for fully vaccinated nursing home residents
April 21: HHS Extends Public Health Emergency

Important Members-Only Toolkits

Personal Protective Equipment Conservation Toolkit
Fit Testing Toolkit
COVID-19 Outbreak Response Toolkit
#GetVaccinated Toolkit

VISIT COVID-19 INFORMATION HUB FOR MORE UPDATES

UPCOMING EDUCATION EVENTS

May 5: Policies & Procedures: Should you have a policy for everything?
May 7-21: Building an Infection Prevention Savvy Workforce
May 19: SDi Preceptor Course

On-Demand Offerings
The Stability Zone: Finding Peace in the Middle of Chaos
Online Skin & Wound Management Course
Preceptor Online Course
Social Services Designee Course
Gero Nurse Prep Course | On Sale until May 31, 2021

BROWSE OUR FULL EVENTS LISTING

REGULATORY & CLINICAL UPDATE

Skilled Nursing Immediate Jeopardy Citation and G Level Trends – March 2021
The Indiana Department of Health (IDH) conducted seven surveys that resulted in two immediate jeopardy citations and five G-level citations in the month of March 2021.

Immediate Jeopardy Citations are as follows:

F684 J/QC – Quality of Care: Failure to ensure appropriate care and treatment were provided to a resident with head injuries, facial bruising, abnormal neurological checks, suspected internal/external rotation anomaly, and complaints of pain after a fall when the resident was moved prior to arrival of Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Read more.

Residential Citation Update – March 2021
The IDH conducted complaint and or infection control concerns in 26 licensed residential communities in the month of May. There were a total of 71 Residential tags and of those 12 were Offensive Tags.

Offense Tags are as follows:

Tag 052 (6 times) – Residents’ Rights Offense for failure to ensure the right to be free from sexual abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, corporal punishment, neglect, and involuntary seclusion. Read more.

It is Time for Your Facility COVID-19 Vaccination Data Check-up

Fully integrating a robust system of collecting COVID-19 vaccination and COVID-19 recovery information into your facility existing systems and processes is important. As CDC, CMS and IDH continues to make changes to the guidance related to COVID-19, providers will need to ensure vaccine data is timely, accurate, documented and readily retrievable.
Ensuring an efficient system to coordinate/administer ongoing vaccinations, collect vaccination information on residents, employees and visitors will decrease the chance for gaps and provide safety when serial testing, planning visitation, group activity and social interactions. Read more.

PAYMENT & REIMBURSEMENT UPDATE

CMS Guidance on Medicare advantage Disenrollment of Nursing Facility Residents
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance for nursing facilities regarding resident disenrollment from Medicare Advantage plans in 2015, and will soon be re-releasing this guidance. In anticipation of CMS’ release, AHCA/NCAL has provided a summary of this guidance for members.

AHCA/NCAL will also be developing a webinar and template documentation for providers to use with company and facility staff. These resources will be disseminated to members after CMS has re-released the guidance to ensure any additional information is captured. Read more.

OMPP Announces 3% Rate Extension for Nursing Facilities

On April 9, 2021, the Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning announced that additional COVID relief has been approved for nursing facilities for 2Q 2021.
A temporary rate increase of 3.0 % will be implemented beginning 4/1/2021 and ending 6/30/2021.
The 3% increase for 2Q 2021 represents a reduction to the 4.2% rate increase that had been in place for the thirteen months ending 03/31/2021.

Read the full update here.

FSSA Issues Official Notice to End 3% Nursing Facility Rate Cut

As reported by IHCA/INCAL earlier in April, FSSA announced its intent to end the 3% rate cut for Medicaid enrolled nursing facilities starting July 1, 2021. This rate cut as been in place for nearly a decade.
On April 28, 2021, FSSA released the official notice that it will not continue 3% reduction that is currently set to expire on June 30, 2021. The official notice can be found in full here.

Medicare Sequestration Relief Extended Through The End of the Year

President Biden recently signed legislation that extends Medicare sequestration relief through the end of the year. AHCA expects CMS to resume issuing claims shortly.
Last year, recognizing the challenges facing the provider community during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, Congress suspended “Medicare sequestration” that would typically take two percent out of all Medicare fee-for-service claim payments, as well as payments to Medicare Advantage and Part D programs.

You can find more details in this AHCA article.

WORKFORCE UPDATES

Bridge to CNA – Webinar Recording and Handouts

On April 14, 2021 the IHCA/INCAL hosted a webinar in partnership with the Ivy Tech Community College.
This webinar detailed the information and the required paperwork for Temporary Nurse Aides (TNA) and Personal Care Assistants (PCA) who wish to become a Certified Nursing Aide (CNA).
Access the resources here to gain an understanding of the requirements of the process, as well as, gain knowledge of the required paperwork and how to complete it.

NOW AVAILABLE: 2021 IHCF Scholarships for Long-Term Care Professionals

The Indiana Health Care Foundation (IHCF) scholarship cycle is now open.
Each year, the IHCF awards education and training scholarships for clinical, medical, and administrative positions in long-term care.
The submission deadline is June 7, 2021.
Learn more about the available scholarships here.

INCAL UPDATES

Aged and Disabled Waiver Assisted Living Services

The final version of the state’s biennial budget was released in April and included $2 million a year in new state dollars for Aged & Disabled Waiver assisted living services to increase reimbursement over the next two fiscal years.
We are expecting approximately a 5% increase for the daily rate.
The new fiscal year begins July 1, 2021, so we will be working with FSSA ahead of that date to ensure the rate increase goes smoothly.
The $2M in state dollars will draw down at least an additional $4M in federal monies a year, for a total of at least $12M over the biennium.