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CMS Releases Revised Guidance on Vaccine Mandate IFR

CMS has released revised interpretive guidance for the COVID-19 vaccine mandate interim final rule (IFR). Three memoranda have been updated, including QSO-22-07-ALL-Revised, QSO-22-09-ALL-Revised, and QSO-22-11-ALL-Revised.

The revisions were made to clarify the expectations for assessing compliance with the requirement to ensure all staff are vaccinated. AHCA/NCAL has highlighted key revisions below, but providers are encouraged to review the Long-Term Care and Skilled Nursing Facility Attachment A-Revised, as well as the applicable memo listed above, for detailed changes.

CDC Releases Nursing Home Communication Toolkit

The CDC recently released a Nursing Home Communication toolkit to help nursing home health care professionals better communicate with residents and families on antibiotic treatment expectations. Pressure from family members to prescribe antibiotics to nursing home residents when they may not be needed has been identified as an opportunity for providers to engage in discussion around appropriate antibiotic use.

The toolkit reviews a four-part communication strategy which has been effective in improving antibiotic prescribing in outpatient settings. Two nursing home-specific scenarios applying these principles are also provided.

AHCA/NCAL Highlights Nursing Home Quality Improvements Over The Past Decade

The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) released a new report today highlighting data that shows the quality of care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) has been on an upward trend in the 10 years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Information collected by the federal government proves that industry-wide efforts to raise the standard of care have benefited long term care residents across the country.

Key findings from the report include:

Nursing homes welcomed approximately 3.5 million admissions from hospitals each year for the past decade, and nearly two-thirds of those patients were able to return home after receiving rehabilitation therapy from SNFs.
Since 2011, 8.7 percent fewer residents were sent to the hospital during their nursing home stays.
On average, nurses were putting in an additional 198 total hours of care per nursing home each quarter.

One out of three nursing homes received four or five stars from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for staffing.

Fewer than one in seven nursing home residents are receiving antipsychotic medication – a 40 percent decline since 2011.

Nursing homes improved on 19 out of the 22 quality outcomes measured by CMS.

The full Nursing Home Quality Improvement report is available HERE.

March 19 is Certified Nurses Day! Gero Nurse Prep Sets the Course for a Successful Certification Journey

Certified Nurses Day™ is March 19 and is an annual day of recognition for and by health care leaders dedicated to nursing professionalism, excellence, recognition, and service. The AHCA/NCAL Gero Nurse Prep course is specifically designed for RNs working in long term care and provides comprehensive online training that leads to board certification in gerontological nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Research released by AHCA/NCAL in 2019 found compelling reasons to consider the AHCA/NCAL’s Gero Nurse Prep course and ANCC Board certification for RNs. Nursing facilities with at least one ANCC Board certified RN experienced:

Two fewer deficiencies on average (5.71 citations versus the 7.55 national average)
Fewer Immediate Jeopardy (IJ) citations (1.60 versus the 2.27 national average)
More stars — nearly twice as likely to be a CMS 5-Star facility (50% versus the 28% national average)
Significantly lower re-hospitalization rates over a six-year period
Significantly lower rates of off-label use of antipsychotics over a five-year period
Significantly higher average SNF Value Based Purchasing scores (44.17 versus 34.42 for the nation). Higher SNF VBP Score = Higher Medicare Part A reimbursement rates.

Nurses who complete Gero Nurse Prep show an average 24 percent increase between their pre- and post-course test scores. Quite simply, this course delivers smarter RNs who are better prepared to deliver quality geriatric nursing care in skilled nursing and assisted living settings. Both two-year RNs and BSNs may take the Gero Nurse Prep course and sit for the ANCC exam.

All RNs who complete the AHCA/NCAL Gero Nurse Prep course ($690 when members use promo code AHCAPAYLESS {all caps} when they register) earn 30 quality nursing contact hours, enough to meet the criteria for taking the ANCC certification exam. Gero Nurse Prep grads who choose to sit for the ANCC gerontological nursing certification exam ($395 separate fee paid to ANCC) have a pass rate of 95% on their first try. RNs who pass the ANCC exam can then use the GERO-BC™ credential after their RN credential.

Watch this video or visit the website to learn more about this online program designed to help RNs increase their geriatric nursing skills and to pass the ANCC exam. Don’t forget to use the AHCAPAYLESS promo code when you register to save $100 off the regular $790 Gero Nurse Prep registration fee.

OSHA Announces COVID-19 Focused Inspection Initiative in Health Care

The Occupational Health and Safety Agency (OSHA) announced a time-limited enforcement effort for focused inspections in hospitals, nursing facilities, and assisted living communities treating COVID-19 patients. The intent of this initiative is to magnify OSHA’s presence in health care facilities over a three-month period (March 9- June 9, 2022) to encourage employers in these industry sectors to take the necessary steps to protect their workers against the hazards of COVID-19.

Inspections will be limited to organizations with prior COVID-19-related citations or complaints. Inspections will focus on correction of prior citations and compliance with existing OSHA standards. More detailed information can be found on the OSHA website.

Vaccination Tracking and Reporting Tools for Nursing Homes

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) wants to make it easy for nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities to track and report COVID-19 vaccination information. You can find free, one-page forms to record vaccinations and boosters for nursing home residents and staff along with a vaccination tracking tool and a user-guide with step-by-step instructions for using the tracking tool. Facilities reporting data to CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) can use a pre-programmed Excel workbook. Detailed instructions explain how to enter the data electronically or as a paper tool at the time of injection. Use these tools to update your electronic medical records, respond to potential vaccine data requests from local health departments or other regulatory agencies, and plan based on the vaccination administration status and rates of both residents and staff. These tools are part of AHRQ’s ever-growing Nursing Home COVID-19 Resource Collection.

DOWNLOAD FREE NURSING HOME COVID-19 RESOURCES at https://www.ahrq.gov/nursing-home/materials/prevention/vaccine-records.html

National Skilled Nursing Care Week – May 8-14

As human beings we have a natural yearning to connect. Studies have linked people with strong social relationships to many aspects of positive health outcomes, especially among older adults.

Skilled nursing care centers and their staff provide a steadfast commitment to providing high-level of care for their residents. This has never been more evident than the last two years during the pandemic. In addition to protecting and caring for their residents around the clock during a time of limited visitation and social distancing, staff stepped in and served as family members and friends to ensure that residents had the essential social connections they needed.

The 2022 theme for NSNCW, held, May 8-14, will celebrate the essential role that skilled nursing care centers and staff play in Creating and Nurturing Connections for their residents.

Find a planning guide, promotional toolkit and more at https://www.ahcancal.org/Education-Events/Pages/NSNCW.aspx

Boost Your Geriatric RN Skills in 2022 with AHCA/NCAL’s Gero Nurse Prep

Specifically designed for registered nurses working in long term care, the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living’s Gero Nurse Prep course provides comprehensive online training that leads to board certification in gerontological nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for RNs.

Two fewer deficiencies on average (5.71 citations versus the 7.55 national average in last cycle)
Fewer Immediate Jeopardy (IJ) citations (1.60 versus the 2.27 national average)
More stars — nearly twice as likely to be a CMS 5-Star facility (50% versus the 28% national average)
Significantly lower re-hospitalization rates over the previous six years
Significantly lower rates of off-label use of antipsychotics over the previous five years
Significantly higher average SNF Value Based Purchasing scores (44.17 versus 34.42 for the nation). Higher SNF VBP Score = Higher Medicare Part A reimbursement rates.

Gero Nurse Prep makes a big difference even for those RNs who are not interested in pursuing ANCC Board certification. Nurses who complete Gero Nurse Prep show an average 24 percent increase between their pre- and post-course test scores. Quite simply, Gero Nurse Prep delivers smarter RNs who are better prepared to deliver quality geriatric nursing care in skilled nursing and assisted living settings. Both two-year RNs and BSNs can take the Gero Nurse Prep course and sit for the ANCC exam.

RNs have one year to complete Gero Nurse Prep and earn 30 quality nursing contact hours – enough to meet the criteria for taking the ANCC certification exam. Gero Nurse Prep grads who choose to sit for the ANCC gerontological nursing certification exam ($395 separate fee paid to ANCC) have a pass rate of 95% on their first try. RNs who pass the ANCC exam can then use the GERO-BC™ credential after their RN credential.

Watch this video or visit the website at geronurseprep.com to learn more about this online program designed to help RNs increase their geriatric nursing skills and to pass the ANCC exam. Remember to use the AHCAPAYLESS promo code when you register to save $100 off the regular $790 Gero Nurse Prep registration fee.

Nursing Ranked as the Most Trusted Profession for 20th Year in a Row!

2021 was a year for nurses and while there are many things that could be said about that, we’re just going to bring some good news out of it:

For an impressive 20-year running, nursing was rated as the most trusted profession once again in 2021, according to a Gallup poll. To be perfectly frank, 2021 saw some marked changes in how some professions are perceived in trustworthiness—military officers, for example, fell by a full 10 points from 2017 and even grade-school teachers dropped to almost all-time lows.

It appears that American people are more cautious about who they are handing out their trustworthy badges to, so that makes the fact that nursing nabbed the #1 spot yet again—for the 20th year in a row!—all the more impressive.

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.

https://www.cms.gov/files/document/health-care-facility-administrator-covid-19-vaccine-letter.pdf