The KHCA/kcal 61st Annual Convention is just around the corner. To celebrate, we are rolling out the "Bling" as we celebrate in Denim and Diamonds. We're kicking off the  convention with three fantastic sessions with nationally recognized leaders in health care. We've moved the always inspirational Award ceremony back to a luncheon event with no extra ticket needed. We've extended the tradeshow hours and added more prizes and give aways. We've added a group of "fun vendors" at the registration area. You can "cash and carry" away your bargain from candles to jewelry. Our afternoon breakout sessions feature regulatory, financial, clinical and customer service tracks. The wraps up with a special Denim and Diamonds party featuring comedian and motivational speaker Jack McCall.

And that's just the first day!

Click here for full convention details and registration information.

Get your hotel room reservations made today before the block sells out.

Happy National Assisted Living Week!
Special greetings to each and every one of you.  This week was first celebrated in 1995 promoting awareness to the public regarding assisted living and  urging  families, staff, volunteers and the surrounding community to come together to show the residents how we care and value their life contributions.
We at KHCA/kcal feel that this year’s theme “Forever Proud,” had a double meaning.  It encourages us as a community to share in our nation’s pride of those who serve as military, firefighters, police and first responders every day and it also serves to focus on you and your achievements and your undaunting spirit in helping our Seniors. 

You are amazing – day in and day out your dedication is reflected in your professionalism and skill.  We are proud to work for you . 

Your staff at KHCA/kcal

Dr. William "Bill" Thomas, a gerontologist and author, will present "Eldertopia, How Elders Will Change the World" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, in K-State's All Faiths Chapel. Thomas' free presentation will focus on the insight and creativity that later life can bring. In conjunction with the lecture, the Beach Museum will be open until 7 p.m. for anyone who wants to view the Langford exhibition before Thomas' presentation.

Thomas' lecture will look at why developing a new perspective on age and aging is both necessary and possible, particularly in light of the impact of aging on families and society. For Thomas, a part-time position as medical director of a small rural nursing home early in his career turned into a full-time, lifelong passion for improving the well-being of older people. He is the author of several books about aging, including "The Eden Alternative: Nature, Hope and Nursing Homes," "The Eden Alternative Handbook" and "What are Old People For? How Elders Will Save the World."

The lecture is sponsored by the Beach Museum of Art Richard Coleman Lecture Fund; office of the K-State president; K-State Center on Aging; K-State Libraries and its Dow Chemical Multicultural Resource Center Endowment; K-State College of Human Ecology; Manhattan's Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community; K-State department of psychology; K-State department of interior architecture and product design; the Retire to the Flint Hills Committee of the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce; and the Manhattan Public Library.
A former K-State psychology professor for 40 years, Langford's exhibition traces his methodological approach as a painter and provides an avenue for a better understanding of his research in perceptual psychology and teaching about the psychology of art.

Inc. magazine has ranked Silverchair Holdings, Inc. #1992 on its fifth annual Inc. 500|5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy—America’s independent entrepreneurs. Online retailer ideeli tops this year’s list. Silverchair Holdings, Inc. joins Spirit Airlines, television maker Vizio, Honest Tea, Dunkin Donuts and Metrokane, makers of the Rabbit corkscrew, among other prominent brands featured on this year’s list.

“Silverchair is very fortunate that our innovations have...Click here for full press release. 

Windsor Place in Coffeyville, Kansas will be hosting a three-day Certified Eden Associate training October 19-21, 2011. Don't miss this "in your own backyard" chance to  assist your staff with their growth and development in person centered care. Click here for more information regarding cost and registration.

Lights, Camera, Activities! is the theme for the Kansas Activity Director Association's 2011 conference. The K.A.D.A. board has worked hard this year to create the best possible conference with the most current and up to date information. Reward your Activity Director with this conference and they will return back to your facility refreshed, renewed, and full of ideas. For more information, click here.

Kansas Activity Directors Association
Fall Conference
September 25th, 26th & 27th, 2011
Wichita Marriott
9100 Corporate Hill Drive
Wichita, Kansas 67207
316-651-0333
Reservations 1-800-610-0673

Mental illness in older adults remains a challenging and sometimes taboo subject. The Kansas Mental Health and Aging Coalition is offering a one day workshop Friday, November 4, 2011 to discuss normal aging, medical/mental health comorbidity, understanding and responding to difficult behaviors, mood continuum from grief to suicide and evidence-based practice. Please click here for more details about the workshop and information on how to register.

On July 20, 2011, AHCA  reported that the development of bundling models was being accelerated by CMS.  On Earlier this summer, AHCA  reported that the development of bundling models was being accelerated by CMS.   Bill Hartung and Elsie Smith with AHCA attended a panel presentation at the Center for American Progress (CAP).  They learned that, in the coming weeks, CMS was to launch the first in a series of models in which providers receive “bundled” payments from Medicare for the total range of treatments needed for “episodes of care,” such as care for heart attacks, rather than the traditional system of being paid for individual services. 

The ACA calls for bundled models by 2013.  These first issuances will be the first phase of a two part initiative, the latter coming toward 2013. To read more about bundled payment systems, please click here.

The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) today announced the recipients of its 2011 National Quality Awards. The three-tiered award program commends those facilities that focus on improving quality service in the long term health care sector. This year a total of 476 facilities will receive an award in the category of Bronze, Silver, or Gold.

"The achievement of these facilities is not in winning an award, but in becoming a leader of the quality journey,” stated Mark Parkinson, President and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. “I congratulate each and every one of these care providers for meeting the rigorous criteria of the program, and for always working to advance quality in our profession.”

Implemented by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, the National Quality Award program is centered on the criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. This progressive program, which encourages the continuous learning and development of long term and post-acute care facilities to achieve performance excellence, has three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. This year, more than 1,000 applications were received from facilities in 46 different states. The program maintains meticulous criteria at each level, and the awards must be earned in succession of Bronze, Silver, and Gold. There was only one Gold Award recipient this year, and only 11 facilities have ever received that particular level of achievement.

“At the heart of each step of this program is a focus on the residents,” stated John “Chick” Stepahin, Chair, AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Board of Overseers. “The award recipients are paving a path towards exceptional quality care, and the future of superior care is founded in these facilities.”

The awards are sponsored by AHCA/NCAL Associate Business My InnerView, a Web-based applied research and quality-management company that supports leaders across the entire assisted living, senior housing and skilled nursing profession with tools to measure, benchmark and improve performance. The awards will be presented during AHCA/NCAL’s 62nd Annual Convention & Expo, September 18-21, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 2011 AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Recipients
BRONZE – COMMITMENT TO QUALITY AWARD RECIPIENTS
Kansas
Eaglecrest Retirement Community
Medicalodges Clay Center
Medicalodges Eudora
Medicalodges Gardner
Vintage Park at Atchison
Vintage Park at Osage City
Vintage Park at Ottawa

On Aug. 30, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published a final rule requiring employers to post a notice containing information about an employee’s right to union organizing. Employers must begin posting these notices by Nov. 14, 2011.

The NLRB has created a fact sheet describing where the poster has to be posted, along with other requirements including the size of the poster, and requirements for employers if they download the poster from NLRB’s website.

Some employers will have to provide the rule in multiple languages. In workplaces where 20 percent of workers are not proficient in English and speak another language, the employer must provide the notice in the language the employees speak. If the workforce includes two or more groups totaling at least 20 percent of employees who are not proficient in English, the employer must either post the notice in both languages or post the notice in the language spoken by the greater number of employees while providing copies in the second language to employees who are not proficient in English. The rule implies that an employer must monitor the languages spoken by employees and the English proficiency of its employees.

Copies of Notices will be available from the NLRB, in multiple languages. Failure to comply with this rule is an unfair labor practice (ULP) violation. Although there is no civil penalty attached, if an employer is not in compliance during an union organizing drive, there could be other consequences to an employer.

The NLRB will provide the notice at no cost to employers on or before Nov. 1, 2011 by contacting NLRB Washington, D.C. headquarters. Employers can also download the notice from the Board’s website. Or employers can purchase the workplace posters from a commercial supplier.

Employers are also required to post the notice on its internet or intranet sites if personnel rules and policies are customarily posted there. Click here to reach to fact sheet.
 
fact sheet

The 2012 AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award application process has begun! The Quality Award program is based on the criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence program, the nation's premier performance excellence and education program. The Quality Award program encourages the application of systematic approaches to produce consistent results. Applicants will gain a true picture of their organizations’ strength and weaknesses and receive customized feedback to improve performance. 

The 2012 application packets are available on the Quality Award website.  To date, approximately 22% of the AHCA/NCAL membership has received a Quality Award. We are requesting your assistance in promoting the award program to your members. Attached, you will find a PDF copy of the 2012 Quality Award brochure for your use. If you would also like to receive hard copies of the brochure, please contact quality-award@ahca.org. 

Two important changes have been made to the Silver application process. First, the Silver criteria has changed from a focus on the Core Values and Concepts of the Baldrige criteria to reflect the Baldrige criteria directly. Second, a new pre-screening protocol has been implemented at the Silver level. All Silver applications will be subject to a pre-screening process prior to being forwarded to the Examiner teams for review.  Applications that do not meet the pre-screen Criteria will receive a foundational feedback report.

2012 Program Deadlines (all deadlines are at 8 p.m. EST):
• Intent to Apply process opens – November 1, 2011
• Intent to Apply Deadline – January 12, 2012
• Bronze Application Deadline – February 15, 2012
• Silver Application Deadline – March 1, 2012
• Gold Application Deadline – March 1, 2012

If you have any questions, please contact quality-award@ahca.org..

Survey and Certification Memos
New Survey and Certification Memos have been released. Two directly affect our members. The complete memo and any attachments can be found at www.khca.org. You must log in to the member's only section before you can access the CMS update section. Please contact Miranda at mmetcalf@khca.org if you need help logging in.

11-37: Issuance of Revisions to Interpretive Guidance at F tag 322, as Part of Appendix PP, State Operations Manual (SOM) (9/7/11)

Revisions will be made to Guidance to Surveyors at F tag 322 in Appendix PP of SOM concerning Feeding Tubes. F tag 321, which contains language about not using feeding tubes unless unavoidable, will be deleted and the guidance will be incorporated into  F tag 322. Regulatory language will not change. This revision will be implemented on November 30, 2011.  At that time, a final copy of this new guidance will be available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Transmittals/ and ultimately incorporated into Appendix PP of the SOM.   An advance copy of the revised guidance follows the memo.  All new language is presented in red and italics. 

11-38: Compliance with Food Procurement Requirements for Nursing Homes with Gardens Producing Foods for Residents (9/7/11)

Facilities with nursing home gardens are compliant with the food procurement requirements at 42 CFR 483.35(i), Sanitary Conditions, Tag F371 as long as the facilities have and follow policies and procedures for maintaining the gardens. The facility should immediately report any outbreaks of food borne illnesses, from any cause, to their local health department.  Surveyors should request the policy and procedures for maintaining nursing home gardens if there is an outbreak of food-borne illness and the facility’s primary food service source has been ruled out as the cause of the outbreak. 

CMS and Inspector General have been doing audits to see if facilities are hiring disqualified employees. Check this website of disqualified employees on a monthly basis to make sure you aren't hiring these people. Auditors are taking the position that if you have a person hired who's ineligible, all the care they're involved with for which claims are filed may be considered a false claim for Medicare and Medicaid. For example, hiring a disqualified Charge nurse can invalidate all care claims on their unit.

When you access the OIG website, you can subscribe for free to email alerts which inform you when their list has been updated.

The Department of Labor has agreed to give a very short presentation (followed by a Q&A session) via conference call on Thursday, September 15th at Noon Eastern regarding its enforcement policy with respect to teens operating resident lifting devices.  DOL is interested in clarifying its enforcement policy and answering questions about the policy, which is detailed in the attached document.  AHCA will keep you updated as to the outcome of this call.

Information on the KDOA MDS 3.0 Website has been updated.

Included are links to the updated October 2011 MDS 3.0 Manual, MDS 3.0 (V.107) and RUG-IV Updates and Training for FY 2012 - Effective October 1, 2011; a Transition Document for Implementation of FY 2012 SNF PPS Policies (a must read to ensure correct reimbursement); and two set of CMS Released Frequently Asked Questions.

And in case you want to see the new MDS Forms (Subsets)  They are available at
http://www.cms.gov/NursingHomeQualityInits/30_NHQIMDS30TechnicalInformation.asp#TopOfPage 
Under downloads –  MDS 3.0 Item Subsets V1.00.5for Oct 1 2011