National Assisted Living Week® (NALW) 2023 is quickly approaching, so make plans now to celebrate! Gerald Hamilton, Chair at the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL), has a few words of encouragement in this short video message to help you get started.
Tag: GeroNursePrep
CMS Final Rule Removes COVID-19 Testing and Staff Vaccination Requirements
This rule will be effective 60 days after it is published in the federal register, which is scheduled to happen on June 5, 2023.
Read more at https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Blog/Pages/CMS-Final-Rule-Removes-COVID-19-Testing-and-Staff-Vaccination-Requirements.aspx
Collaboration Is Key to Effective Pain Management
Recent estimates indicate more than half of residents in nursing homes suffer from chronic pain. Yet multiple studies over the years show it remains largely undertreated.
That’s not suprising, given the challenges of pain management across the population generally. There’s simply no clear way to measure pain. And identifying the source can be just as tricky.
In senior communities, particularly in nursing homes, there are additional complexities—from residents living with cognitive impairments and communication limitations to access to diagnostic and specialty services.
Making sure pain is being properly evaluated and treated requires a coordinated and personalized approach involving the residents’ doctors, specialists, therapists, nursing center staff, and families.
Read more at https://www.providermagazine.com/Articles/Pages/Collaboration-Is-Key-to-Effective-Pain-Management.aspx
The Quality of Your Care Is Connected to the Competency of Your Staff
The safety of a health care facility is completely dependent upon the competency of its staff.
This may seem like an obvious observation, but this is a challenge health care organizations face every day. They must provide life-saving care to their patients while also simultaneously advocating for their employees’ competence and well-being. If one of these areas slips, the other one suffers. And when the lives of patients are in your hands, your facility cannot afford not to prioritize competency-based staffing.
Find the complete article at https://www.providermagazine.com/Articles/Pages/The-Quality-of-Your-Care-Is-Connected-to-the-Competency-of-Your-Staff.aspx
National Nurses Week Freebies, Deals & Coupons
Every year from May 6th to 12th, nurses are recognized for their service and dedication to caring for others and improving the health of patients nationwide through National Nurses Week. Throughout the week, healthcare organizations celebrate their teams, and you’ll even see nurses featured on the news. People across the nation thank the nurses that have made a difference in their lives.
Nurses Week celebrates the effort, dedication, and sacrifice nurses make every day. Nurses are essential members of America’s healthcare workforce who provide care through every stage of life, working with patients at their most intimate and vulnerable moments. Nurses Week offers a chance to highlight and celebrate nurses for all they do.
Find all the Nurses Week Deals for 2023 at https://nurse.org/articles/free-nurse-week-giveaways/
SAMHSA Establishes Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently established the Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities (COE-NF) to offer nursing facility staff a centralized resource hub with easy access to training, technical assistance, and additional resources, at no cost. Its focus areas include: Serious Mental Illness (SMI), Substance Use Disorder (SUD), Co-Occurring Disorders (COD), and Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED). In addition to the resources listed below, the COE-NF provides tailored technical assistance, such as an individualized plan to assist facilities with specific behavioral health needs.
Find out more at https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Blog/Pages/SAMHSA-Establishes-Center-of-Excellence-for-Behavioral-Health-in-Nursing-Facilities.aspx
Improving Skin Care and MDRO Prevention in LTC with the AHRQ Safety Program
Skilled Nursing Facilities are invited to participate in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) program to reduce the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other multi-drug resistant organisms. This is a free 18-month program that provides tips, tools, and resources to improve bathing and skincare techniques that have been shown to reduce pressure injuries, wounds, and transmission of infectious pathogens.
Beginning in June 2023, this program combines evidence-based guidance with strategies on how to change the culture of infection prevention and effectively implement infection control practices in your facility. This program will help guide infection preventionists to educate and engage direct care staff on best practices including improvement of hand hygiene, proper skin care, antibiotic stewardship, and environmental cleaning.
Visit https://safetyprogram4mrsaprevention.org/ or email MRSAPrevention@norc.org for more information.
MDS Transition on April 17
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is preparing to move to the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) for Minimum Data Set (MDS) submissions. In order to ensure access to the new system, please follow these instructions to create a new account and establish credentials by April 13, 2023.
Completed assessments should be submitted before 8 PM on April 13 to ensure users are within the MDS transmission requirements outlined in the Resident Assessment Instrument manual. Between April 13-17, users will not be able to transmit any assessments.
- April 13 at 8 PM: Access to the QIES system for MDS submission will end.
- April 17 at 8 AM: Access to iQIES will be available and users will have the ability to transmit assessments, view validation reports, and other MDS-related reports. Once the transition is completed, iQIES will be used for anything MDS-related.
Please note that Payroll Based Journal will remain in the QIES system with the next data submission deadline on May 15, 2023. Please email the iQIES Service Center or call (800) 339-9313 for assistance.
It’s Careers in Aging Week!
This week is Careers in Aging Week (CIAW), a week dedicated to bringing greater visibility and awareness to the wide-ranging careers in long term care and aging services and to celebrate current employees in the profession. A perfect way to celebrate Careers in Aging Week is to amplify your hiring efforts!
https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Blog/Pages/It%E2%80%99s-Careers-in-Aging-Week!.aspx
4 Ways to Reduce Fall Risk in the Most Vulnerable Hours.
Data shows that fall risk peaks between 6-9 pm and again from 3-6 am, when senior care staffing is reduced. What’s more, 50 percent of residents who fall overnight will have another overnight fall. These statistics become even more critical as they are applied to those living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia—as the sun goes down, these residents are at even greater risk for falls as they experience sundowning, increased restlessness, anxiety, and disorientation—all of which can become more intense as the diseases progress.
Read more at https://www.providermagazine.com/Articles/Pages/4-Ways-To-Reduce-Fall-Risk-in-the-Most-Vulnerable-Hours.aspx