KHCA KCAL Members March to the Beat of a Different Drummer

KHCA KCAL broke with tradition and began the 60th Annual Convention and Trade Show with a whole new beat. With over 375 people registered for convention this year, the general session room was packed for the San Antonio based “Drum Café.” Within the premise that “A beat is the first thing we hear in life, no wonder it unites us all.” Leader Dale Monin guided the participants through a series of rhythms that got everyone up on their feet and begging for more. This session was sponsored by McKesson.

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  KHCA Elects New Board Officers

On October 22, 2010 during the KHCA KCAL 60th Annual Convention and Tradeshow annual business meeting, the following individuals were elected to two year terms:
President                     Steve Hatlestad, Americare    
Treasurer                     Kathy Lantz, Medicalodges, Inc
Education                    Linda Carroll, Plaza West
Govt. Affairs                 Kevin Crowley, Sedgwick Healthcare
Membership               Angela Moore, Sharon Lane Health
Public Relations        Wendy Read, Rossville Healthcare              
Facility Standards      Stacie Cardenas, Golden Living Center  
Independent Owner  Kevin Unrein, Lakepoint Nursing and Rehab
Multi-Facility                Fred Benjamin, Medicalodges, Inc.

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  KHCA KCAL Convention - GROOVY

It was a ‘Really Big Shew” at the KHCA KCAL Convention October 21 & 22, 2010 in Wichita, KS as members celebrated the 60th time gathering for an annual convention. Hosted by local entertainer and comedian John Madden, KHCA KCAL’s finest donned wigs, hula hoops and false teeth to entertain the crowd. With nearly 250 in attendance for the show, participants were treated to an evening of off the cuff comedy. The night wrapped up with everyone on their feet sporting pink gloves and dancing to sponsor Medline's “Pink Glove Dance.” Other sponsors for the evening’s event included First Quality Products, Sysco and Bank of Oklahoma.

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  Dorothy Gideon (Medicalodges Columbus) named 2010 Distinguished Citizen

With a laugh that others can’t resist joining in, Dorothy Gideon playfully accepted her title as 2010 KHCA KCAL Distinguished Citizen at the 60th Annual Convention and Tradeshow held October 21 & 22, 2010 in Wichita, KS. Gideon, a resident at Medicalodges Columbus was all smiles as she and her son participated in the festivities.
Described as “ a ray of sunshine” by many of her peers at Medicalodges Columbus, her positive attitude and willingness to share her son (the story teller) at the weekly “ladies night” has made Gideon one of the most popular residents in the house. She has been instrumental in revamping the activities program to include outings to the casinos, mall and restaurants. She encourages others to come out of their rooms and get involved. As a fabulous story teller, she always returns from the day’s outings with a comical story about the day’s events. As a union member, explosive bomb building operator, and PTA mom in the evenings, Dorothy has lived her life fully and with gusto, always stating “We will do what we have to do.”

Six other residents were recognized at the event for their contributions both currently and through their lives. They are:
Ruth Brown  - Medicalodges Kinsley 
Henry Grieshaber - Vintage Park at Wamego
Carl Hansen (In Memory) - Golden LivingCenter Chase County
Lillian Kubo - Wheatland Nursing Center
Boris Richards - Sedgwick Plaza
Cheri Skidmore - Medicalodges Eudora

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  MB Piland – Fat Free Advertising is Coming our Way

KHCA KCAL is working hard  to “tell your story” as vital, quality providers of care for seniors in the heartland. As we move toward this goal, we have engaged the assistance of MB Piland – Fat Free Advertising to help. You will be contacted by MB Piland in the near future for your “good news” success stories that we know you all have. From serving as a polling site for elections to celebrating a centenarian’s birthday, with MB Piland’s help we will begin to create the positive publicity you deserve. Questions? Story idea’s? Contact us at khca@khca.org.

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  Kansas Makes Big Splash at AHCA Convention

Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson, the incoming CEO and president of the American Health Care Association, introduced himself to members Monday as a fellow long-term care owner and operator. He stressed the importance of lobbying aggressively, delivering great care and bridging differences as providers.
"Now it's the time for all of us to come together to fight this fight," Parkinson said during his first address to members at the 61st annual AHCA convention in Long Beach, CA.
The central theme of his tenure will be "We are going to control our own future," said Parkinson, who succeeds Yarwood as president and CEO in January. To accomplish this, he said the organization has to do three things: continue to be a political and lobbying powerhouse, become the quality leader in the United States for the care of the elderly, and come together as a diverse group of providers—not-for-profit, for-profit, large, small, and those delivering various services.
As a way of introducing himself, Parkinson talked about his experiences owning and operating long-term care facilities. He showed AHCA members photos of his three now-grown children, Alex, Sam, and Kit, several years ago with residents. He also shared photos of his wife, Stacy, dressed as the "Cat in the Hat" and an Easter bunny at the communities. Another photo projected on the large auditorium screens showed him at a New Year's party at one of his long-term care facilities in 1999.
"Yes, there really is a governor who spent 10 years in facilities," he said to an engaged audience at the Long Beach Convention Center.
Parkinson, who became governor of Kansas last year, said he and his wife built their first facility in 1996 and then proceeded to build six more. He had an office in an assisted living facility and then a nursing home. He and Stacy worked in the dining room and did activities with residents.
"Our kids were raised in these buildings," said Parkinson, who sold his interests in the facilities when he became governor.
During his speech, Parkinson thanked Yarwood who he said helped to move the organization forward.
"It's an honor to follow you," Parkinson said. "Thank you for all you have done."
Leaders of AHCA who spoke during the opening general session also praised Yarwood and his leadership.

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  Health care reform update

AHCA Continues to provide updates to providers on the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires: (1) changes to the Nursing Home Compare website; (2) CMS to access nursing home staffing data electronically; (3) a national independent monitor demonstration for nursing homes; and (4) fines for administrators of nursing homes that do not notify the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the state long term care ombudsman, and residents and other interested parties of a planned facility  closure.

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  CMS to Issue S&C memo to temporarily relax the MDS 14-day submission requirement

During the CMS SNF Open Door Forum, CMS announced that it would temporarily relax the 14-day transmission requirement for MDS’ in response to the MDS 3.0 final validation report computer glitch. In a forthcoming S & C memo, CMS is expected to instruct surveyors to accept the ASAP date stamp as evidence of MDS transmission over the period October 1 through December 31. CMS also indicated that the memo will also address the case where a facility fails to transmit an MDS within the 14-day transmission window because of an issue unrelated to the ASAP issue. In this circumstance, CMS indicates that it will allow surveyors to cite facilities at a lower severity level. The CMS S&C letter is expected to be released later today.

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  CMS Special Open Door Forum: Update on Medicaid Integrity Provider Audit Program, November 3, 2010

The CMS will hold a Special Open Door Forum (ODF) to discuss the Medicaid Integrity Program (MIP) Provider Audit Program. The primary audience for this ODF is provider groups.
Section 1936 of the Social Security Act required CMS to enter into contracts to perform four key Medicaid program integrity activities:
1. Review of provider actions to determine whether fraud, waste or abuse occurred or may have occurred;
2. Audit provider claims;
3. Identify overpayments;
4. Educate providers and others.
In July 2009, CMS held the first ODF on this topic to discuss the implementation of the MIP Provider Audit Program. CMS staff discussed the MIP audit process; audit timelines, web site information and future meetings.
This special ODF is intended to provide feedback and lessons learned from the initial 18 months of the Medicaid audit program and discuss opportunities for improvement.
We look forward to your participation.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010
1:00 pm to 2:30 PM CST

**Capacity is limited so dial in early. You may begin dialing into this forum as early as 12:45 PM CST.**
Dial: 1-800-837-1935 Reference Conference ID 18705250.

Note: TTY Communications Relay Services are available for the Hearing Impaired. For TTY services dial 7-1-1 or 1-800-855-2880. A Relay Communications Assistant will help.

An audio recording and transcript of this Special ODF will be posted to the Special ODF website at http://www.cms.gov/OpenDoorForums/05_ODF_SpecialODF.asp and will be accessible for downloading on or around November 17, 2010 and available for 30 days.

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  Providers Encouraged to Donate Unused Prescription Meds

KHCA KCAL is happy to support the DRUG unused prescription drug program which turns certain valuable unused medications from harmful landfill liter to helpful aides at indigent clinics. Want to know more? Click here for the state statutes and regulations which allow this program to exist. Click  for a copy of the registration form and drug manifest. Click here for the "intent to participate" form.

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  Prescribing controlled substances in long-term care:

Tips for practicing clinicians on the go
Physicians, nursing homes, and pharmacists have been experiencing aggressive enforcement action by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Long-term care professionals have had to modify longstanding procedures in an effort to ensure compliance with DEA rules. The changes have the potentional for delayed dispensing of controlled substances to patients in long-term care facilities who urgently need them. Click here for helpful prescribing tips to share with clinicians.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a new guideline intended to help ease the delay some nursing home residents face in receiving certain painkillers and anti-anxiety medications.
Physicians may now authorize nurses employed by long-term care facilities to phone in their oral prescriptions for these controlled substances to pharmacies, the agency said in a policy statement published on Wednesday in the Federal Register, the daily publication of changes to government rules.
It is already a common practice for nurses who work at hospitals or for doctors in private practice to transcribe and transmit such prescriptions. But only doctors and certain other medical professionals can prescribe medications.
The new guidelines should “expedite in many cases getting the prescription processed and dispensed by the pharmacist, delivering it to the ultimate user and decreasing the potential for a patient to be in pain or discomfort longer than necessary,” said Lynne Batshon, the director of policy and advocacy at the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, a group of about 7,000 pharmacists who specialize in elder care.
The D.E.A. had not previously recognized nurses employed by nursing homes as the legal agents of doctors in conveying controlled substances prescriptions to pharmacists. The agency previously counseled pharmacists who dispensed such drugs to nursing home patients to do so only via direct oral or written communication with a doctor. The agency’s previous stance, critics said in an article last week in The New York Times, caused many nursing home residents to suffer in pain while they waited for their prescriptions.
The D.E.A. is currently investigating pharmacists in about five states for dispensing such drugs to nursing homes without direct written orders from a doctor.
According to the recent guidelines, doctors may authorize more than one nurse or other medical professionals at a time to communicate their oral prescriptions for certain controlled substances to pharmacies.
Senator Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat who is the chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, called the new policy a step in the right direction. But he said the changes still did not give nurses the ability to transmit prescriptions for other important medications, including morphine.
“In certain situations, the doctors and nursing staff in long-term care facilities would still have to jump through hoops in order to get a patient the pain medication they desperately need,” Mr. Kohl said in an e-mail statement. “But obviously we’re pleased to see the D.E.A. making some progress.”
The Drug Enforcement Agency has eased off of restrictions that have prevented nurses in long-term care from communicating prescription orders for controlled pain medications to pharmacies.
The DEA has established a system in which nurses at long-term care facilities can be designated as agents of physicians for the purposes of prescribing controlled substances, according to a notice in the Federal Register. One way a nurse can establish his or her self as an agent is through a written agreement with a practitioner. After “agency” status is established, the nurse will be able to relay medication orders to a pharmacy, including prescriptions orders given verbally.
Many long-term care and pharmacy groups, including the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, had opposed the DEA restrictions on prescribing in long-term care facilities, arguing that the rules led to unnecessary delays for residents who need pain medication.
“For many years, ASCP has led the long-term care industry in its pursuit of changes to DEA policies that create delays for dispensing controlled prescription medications destined for residents in long-term care facilities,” ASCP President-Elect Albert Barber said in a statement. “We commend the DEA for clearing the way for improved quality care for patients.”

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