The RN Piece of the Quality Puzzle Makes All the Difference!

​​Research conducted by AHCA/NCAL in 2019 shows that SNFs that employ at least one American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Board certified RN experienced:
    • Higher average SNF VBP Performance Scores (44.2 versus 34.4 national average)
    • Fewer survey deficiencies
    • Fewer IJ citations
    • Lower rehospitalization rates
    • Lower rates of off-label use of antipsychotics
    • ​Higher CMS 5-Star rating

To help RNs prepare for the certification exam, AHCA/NCAL offers an online course developed and managed by UNMC’s College of Nursing called Gero Nurse Prep. RNs who complete the course earn 30 nursing contact hours and experience a 96% pass rate on the ANCC certification exam on the first try. Gero Nurse Prep students see a whopping 24 percent average increase between their pre- and post-test scores.

Gero Nurse Prep is on sale through November 15!  Save $100 off the regular registration fee by using promo code GETGNP20 (all caps).  AHCA/NCAL Gero Nurse Prep provides tremendous value at this AHCA/NCAL member $590 sale price. That’s less than $20 per contact hour for outstanding nursing education that makes a measurable difference on so many fronts. For RNs interested in pursuing Board certification through ANCC, there is an additional and separate cost of $395.

Find out more at https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Blog/Pages/The-RN-Piece-of-the-Quality-Puzzle-Makes-All-the-Difference!-.aspx

AHCA/NCAL Virtual Convention & Expo Starts Thursday!

The Virtual Convention & Expo provides an essential opportunity to learn, share, and connect with one another. From October 8-31, you’ll have 24 days of access so you earn CEs when it is most convenient to you.

To register, or to learn more about all the exciting events taking place, go to https://www.eventscribe.com/2020/AHCANCAL/

This coming Thursday, October 8th at 10:30 AM (CST), talk to Gero Nurse Prep Director Dr. Heidi Keeler at the “Chat Take-Over” in the COVID/Infection Prevention Lounge.

Trio of Webinars to Address Vital COVID Labor, Staffing, and Flu Issues

Long term and post-acute care providers can access a series of webinars this week on significant issues tied to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the traditional flu season, according to an update from the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL).

Find out more by going to http://www.providermagazine.com/news/Pages/2020/SEPTEMBER/Trio-of-Webinars-to-Address-Vital-COVID-Labor,-Staffing,-and-Flu-Issues-.aspx

Preparations for the Upcoming Flu Season

All eyes and resources in the long term care profession currently are focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, and rightfully so. This virus has spread through facilities like nothing seen before.
Unlike COVID-19, the flu season arrives like clockwork on a yearly basis. Unfortunately, in addition to the ongoing pandemic, flu season is looming just around the corner. Now more than ever, facilities need to be proactive in protecting their residents.
This article spotlights four areas for facilities to focus on for influenza prevention and control this fall, while also remaining in substantial compliance with the Focused Infection Control Survey from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

It’s National Assisted Living Week

Established by the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) in 1995, National Assisted Living Week® provides a unique opportunity for residents, their loved ones, staff, volunteers, and the surrounding comm​​unities to recognize the role of assisted living in caring for America’s seniors and individuals with disabilities. The annual observance encourages assisted living communities around the country to offer a variety of events and activities to celebrate the individuals they serve, as well as to help educate members of the public about this distinctive aspect of long term care.​​​​​​​​​​

Find out more by going to  https://www.ahcancal.org/Education-Events/Pages/NALW.aspx

FAQs: Nursing Home Testing Requirements

Frequently asked questions and quick links to COVID-19 testing requirements  for nursing homes brought to you by AHCA/NCAL.

https://www.ahcancal.org/Survey-Regulatory-Legal/Emergency-Preparedness/Documents/COVID19/Testing-Requirements-FAQs.pdf

Providers and Pressure Injuries

Join RN HUDDLE for a new series with the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel. In this episode, we welcome back Renee Paulin, MSN, RN, CWOCN, as she joins a member of the NPIAP Board of Directors and Chair of the NPIAP Education Committee, Dr. Lee Ruotsi. Renee and Dr. Ruotsi discuss the essential responsibility all providers and clinicians  have to combat pressure injuries. Keep an eye out for future episodes with others from NPIAP.

https://rnhuddle.unmc.edu/national-pressure-injury-advisory-panel-npiap-podcast-with-dr-lee-ruotsi-providers-and-pressure-injuries/

Learn more about the National Pressure Advisory Panel by going to https://npiap.com/

Targeted COVID-19 Training for Nursing Homes.

Nursing home providers can now participate in an “unprecedented” infection control training program designed to help them better manage COVID-19 in their facilities.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released details about the program Tuesday. The program was originally announced in late July as part of an additional $5 billion in coronavirus relief funding for nursing homes.

The program, which is available immediately to all Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes, is a tailored course that incorporates the most recent lessons learned by nursing homes during the ongoing pandemic. It also features best practices that frontline workers can implement to fight COVID-19 in their facilities, CMS Administrator Seema Verma explained during a press call Tuesday.

Read more at https://bit.ly/3llaby5

For more information or to register https://qsep.cms.gov/COVID-Training-Instructions.aspx

 

The pandemic has changed the ground rules for defining, measuring, and reimbursing quality.

While the COVID pandemic has changed much in post-acute and long term care, efforts to provide quality care and track outcomes, trends, and opportunities for improvement have continued unabated. Facilities didn’t swap quality measures for COVID care, they just added it to what they were already doing.
Yet the pandemic has put a spotlight on how quality is defined, measured, and reimbursed, and it has exposed what works and where changes are needed.
“It is crystal clear that our nursing home residents are a vulnerable population that should not be exposed to the risk of pandemic, either because they are sent to hospitals or emergency rooms [ERs] unnecessarily or because new patients with potential infections are allowed to come into a building that is not yet exposed to the infection,” says Rajeev Kumar, MD, CMD, FACP, chief medical officer at Symbria in Chicago.
“Hopefully, surveyors and CMS [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] will work collaboratively with nursing facilities to minimize bad outcomes, rather than go on a witch hunt to find and use unfortunate outcomes to penalize nursing homes.”
Read more at