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Archive September 2026

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Fall Conference: Hotel Options & Member Discounts

Still Looking for a Place to Stay for Fall Conference?

If you haven’t booked your accommodations for the 2026 MHCA Fall Health Care Conference & Expo yet, there are still options available in the Rockport and Camden area!

Rockland Harbor Hotel
The Rockland Harbor Hotel still has rooms available at our preferred conference rate of $169 per night. To receive the conference rate, you’ll need to call the hotel directly and mention that you’re attending the Maine Health Care Association Fall Conference. The special rate is not available through online booking. 207-594-2131.

Camden Hotel Options
Conference attendees can also receive 15% off the regular rates at two hotels in the Bayview Collection:

Lord Camden Inn: 207-236-4925
16 Bay View Hotel: 207-706-7990

To receive the discount, contact the hotel directly and let them know you are with the Maine Health Care Association. The discounted rates are not available through online booking.

Whether you’re staying at the Samoset or one of our nearby hotel options, we’re looking forward to seeing you in Rockport this October for Shaping Tomorrow Together!

Maureen “Moe” Carland, MHCA Director of Quality & Regulatory Affairs Announces her Retirement

For the last 3.5 years, Maureen “Moe” Carland has brought her unique talents and unwavering passion for quality improvement to the role of MHCA Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs. Moe has recently announced that she will retire at the end of 2026. She has single-handedly doubled our state’s participation in the AHCA/NCAL Quality Awards and has continued to increase participation year over year.

As an administrator, Moe led the effort for the first ever facility in Maine to receive a Gold award. Moe has also served as Maine’s only Gold Quality Awards Examiner and is a member of the AHCA/NCAL Quality Awards Board. As a silver examiner, she plays a critical role in advancing quality improvement across the long term care and post-acute care sectors at the state and national levels.

Moe led the first person centered CARF accreditation in Maine. She was also a founding member of the Maine Culture Change Coalition. Presently, she is leading Maine’s initiative to have nursing homes implement CoreQ resident and family satisfaction surveys as part of our new value based payment program.

MHCA President and CEO Angela Westhoff comments, “With an infectious spirit, a can-do attitude, and an amazing level of dedication, she spends countless hours visiting with centers across the state and encouraging and supporting their quality journey. There is no bigger Quality Awards champion in Maine than Moe.”

Moe adds, "What a privilege it's been to spend a career advocating for quality care for those in Maine's post-acute care centers, working alongside the best of the best. And what a joy to end it surrounded by the incredible team here at MHCA, who I deeply admire. Here's to the next chapter — cheers!"

Please join us in thanking Moe for her dedicated service and wishing her all the best as she heads into retirement!

She will be taking a well-deserved vacation for the next two weeks. A search committee has been formed and Moe will be assisting with orienting her replacement prior to the end of this year.

Staff contact: awesthoff[at]mehca.org

Five-Star Rating Preview Reports Available

CMS has announced that Five-Star rating preview reports for nursing homes will be available in iQIES starting September 23, 2026. Nursing Home Care Compare is expected to reflect the updated September Five-Star data on or around September 30, 2026.
Centers and communities are encouraged to review their preview reports as soon as they're available to confirm accuracy before the public update.
Need help?
  • For Five-Star rating questions, CMS's Five-Star Helpline will be open September 28–October 2, 2026 at (800) 839-9290.
  • For login or access issues with iQIES, contact the iQIES Service Center at (800) 339-9313 or iQIES@cms.hhs.gov.
 
Staff Contact: mcarland[at]mehca.org

Sponsors Needed for Excellence in LTC Awards Event

Help us celebrate this year's Excellence in LTC honorees by becoming a sponsor! All sponsors' logos will appear in the program book, on table cards at the celebration, and will be featured in the live stream broadcast on YouTube. This year's event will be held at Augusta Civic Center on Monday, November 16. Deadline for sponsorships is October 16 to be included the printed booklet.
 
  • Event Sponsor / $2,000 (1 available)
  • Breakfast (divided into $1,500 each / 3 available)
  • Live Stream (divided into $700 each / 3 available)
  • Awards (divided into $600 each / 2 of 4 available) Sponsors to Date: Maine Veterans' Homes, Northbridge Companies
  • Program Book (divided into $500 each / 2 available)
  • Music / $450 SOLD Genesis Healthcare
  • Flowers / $350 SOLD Scarborough Terrace
  • Supporter / $250
 
We are looking forward to celebrating with honorees and their guests at this live event!
 
If you have any questions, please contact Dianne Chicoine. Thank you for your consideration!
 
Staff contact: dchicoine[at]mehca.org

Skilled Nursing Facilities: Download Your PEPPER Reports

CMS has released the FY 2025 Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER) for skilled nursing facilities. Your PEPPER helps you review your billing data to make sure claims are accurate. Use it to:
  • Spot billing patterns that may need review or improvement
  • Identify areas that may need closer monitoring or internal audits
  • Find services that may be under-coded or over-coded
  • Track trends like longer patient stays
How to Get Your PEPPER
Authorized officials (AOs), access managers (AMs), and staff end users (SEUs) can download their organization's report from the PEPPER Portal.
 
How to Become an SEU
  • Sign in to the CMS Identity & Access (I&A) Management System using your existing NPPES or PECOS credentials.
  • Request the PEPPER business function for your organization. The Comparative Billing Report business function is also available, and you can request it at the same time.
  • Your AO or AM must approve your request.
More Information  
Staff contact: mcarland[at]mehca.org
 

Final MDS 3.0 RAI User's Manual (v1.20.11) Now Available

CMS has released the final version of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) Manual , effective October 1, 2026. Here's a quick rundown of what's changed.
Key updates include:
  • Chapters 1–3: Clarification that state or payer requirements cannot replace, modify, or add to CMS coding requirements for non–Section S items.
  • Chapter 2 (Assessments for the RAI): New guidance on resident transfers during a public health emergency.
  • Section A (Identification Information): Updated guidance on ethnicity and race reassessment, and the resident interview icon has been removed from several items.
  • Sections C (Cognitive Patterns) and D (Mood): Clearer coding language for cases where multiple resident interviews occur during the look-back period (e.g., BIMS and the PHQ-2 to 9© mood interview).
  • Section M (Skin Conditions): Revised guidance on coding pressure ulcers/injuries present on admission that heal and later reopen, plus new information on advanced wound care dressings, skin substitutes, and adhesive bandages.
  • Section O (Special Treatments, Procedures, and Programs): Refined isolation criteria and skilled respiratory therapy guidance.
  • Chapter 6 (Medicare SNF PPS): Updated terminology for depression signs and symptoms.
Beyond these highlights, numerous minor clarifications and corrections run throughout the manual — the chapter/section change tables included with the release spell out the specifics, so it's worth a look before October 1.

Where to find it:
Various minor alignments, clarifications, and corrections have been implemented throughout; specifics can be found in the included chapter/section change tables following the guidance.
   Staff Contact: mcarland[at]mehca.org

CDC Updates Return-to-Work Guidance for Respiratory Viruses

CDC has FINALLY updated its return-to-work guidance for healthcare personnel with COVID-19, flu, RSV, and similar respiratory viruses. The new Viral Respiratory Infections guidance replaces the old virus-specific rules with one consistent standard — and drops testing from the return-to-work criteria entirely. Click HERE for an easy to follow algorithm.

Personnel with symptoms can return once they've had symptoms for at least three days (or tested positive, if asymptomatic), gone 24 hours fever-free without medication, and are improving and feeling well enough to work — day four at the earliest. Source control is required through day seven. Asymptomatic staff with a known exposure don't need to be excluded from work at all; they should mask through day five and watch for symptoms. This does not apply to severely ill or immunocompromised personnel, who need individualized, case-by-case decisions — see the CDC's guidance for immunocompromised healthcare personnel.

Facilities should update infection prevention and return-to-work policies now, train staff on the new day-zero/day-four/day-seven timeline.   Resident isolation and Transmission-Based Precautions are unchanged.

Staff contact: mcarland[at]mehca.org
 

Maine CDC Confirms New Measles Case

The Maine CDC has confirmed a new measles case in an unvaccinated adult from Somerset County—the state's first since five cases were confirmed last February. Nationally, the U.S. CDC has now logged over 3,290 confirmed cases in 2026.

Anyone at MaineGeneral Express Care in Waterville on September 12 between 8–11 a.m. may have been exposed and should watch for symptoms through October 3. Measles is highly contagious: unvaccinated individuals exposed to an infected person have a 90% chance of contracting it. Watch for fever, cough, runny nose, red/watery eyes, and a rash that spreads from the head down. Anyone developing symptoms should call their provider before showing up in person, to avoid exposing others.

For facilities: confirm staff and resident immunization records are current, and review your infection control protocols for suspected cases. Two MMR doses are about 97% effective at preventing measles, and adults born before 1957 are generally considered immune. More details are available on the Maine CDC's measles page.
 
Staff contact: mcarland[at]mehca.org

Rabies Exposures Are Rising Nationwide — Here's What Maine Clinicians Need to Know

Please review this information HAN and clinical guidance from Maine CDC.  US CDC also reports a nationwide increase in reports of potential human rabies exposures and rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) administration.

Rabies is endemic in Maine wildlife. The most commonly reported rabid animals in Maine include raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats. As of September 14, 2026, Maine reported 43 cases of animal rabies from 13 counties. Clinicians can find current information on local animal rabies activity on The Maine Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (Maine CDC) animal rabies dashboard.

To avoid unnecessary rabies PEP and administration errors, clinicians should complete a rabies exposure risk assessment before initiating rabies PEP. The Maine CDC’s epidemiologists are available 24/7 to assist with exposure assessments and rabies PEP recommendations by phone at 1-800-821-5821.

Pre-authorization to administer rabies PEP is not required in Maine. Rabies PEP was removed from the Maine notifiable conditions list in 2025; clinicians are no longer required to report rabies PEP administrations to the Maine CDC.
For more information, including Maine-specific rabies management guidance, visit www.maine.gov/dhhs/rabies
 
Staff contact: Mcarland[at]mehca.org

Welcome New Member!

Join us in welcoming the following new member:

Three Rivers Residential Care Home, 90 Park Street, Milo, ME 04463 Contact: Mark Savard, Owner/Administrator. T. 207.943.9124. This is a 6 Bed Level III Residential Care Facility, Adult Family Care Home. 

Staff contact: dchicoine[at]mehca.org
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