Blog

Archive February 2024

All of the articles archived for the month that you have specified are displayed below.

Did You Miss the Respiratory Illness and Vaccine Webinar?

Recently, the Maine CDC, the LTC Ombudsman program, and MHCA collaborated to host a webinar offering insights into COVID-19 activity and vaccination rates in Maine, along with updated guidance and recommendations for infection control practices within long-term care facilities.
 
During the webinar, the Maine CDC provided an overview of Maine's current respiratory virus status alongside a comprehensive review of vaccination recommendations. The session included the provision of numerous resources and addressed frequently asked questions. The Power of Care Campaign continues to spearhead ongoing support for LTC settings across our state.
 
Recognizing that not everyone could attend the live webinar, we ensured the event was recorded for accessibility. We invite you to watch the recorded webinar by following the link below. Click here to view the webinar.
 
Staff Contact: mcarland@mehca.org
 

Legislative Update

The legislative short session has been in full swing since January, and MHCA has been representing the priorities of long term care at the State House. 

Crucially, the supplemental budget has not been published yet. As rate reform continues to advance, we are advocating for ensuring residential care facilities and nursing homes are adequately reimbursed to sustain quality care across the state. 

Recent highlights include MHCA supporting a bill to empower nurses to more readily delegate tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel and helping advance through the Health and Human Services Committee a bill to establish a blue ribbon commission on studying the status and future needs of long term care in Maine. 

Staff contact: bhawkins@mehca.org

 

Mike McNeil Scholarship Calendar Drawings

The daily drawings for the Mike McNeil fundraiser have begun! So far, seven winners have won over $400 in cash. Below is a list of the winners so far. 

Are you interested in adding your name for a chance to win? You can still join until the very last day of February, when a $500 prize will be drawn! Visit https://www.mehca.org/mmsfcashcalendar to learn more. 
 
Hibbard Skilled Nursing & Rehab Katlyn
Affinity Care of Maine Brian
Seal Rock Nathan
Winship Green Cheri
Stillwater Health Care Lily
Russell Park Kaiden
Inn @ Atlantic Heights Ellen

From NCAL - Share Our Story: Why Residents Love Your Assisted Living Community and Their Caregivers

Last week, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing, Assisted Living Facilities: Understanding Long-Term Care Options for Older Adults. In follow-up, residents and families have been asked to submit their stories and experiences with assisted living.

We need your help in identifying residents and families who are willing to share their positive, life-affirming stories about assisted living. Committee members need to hear directly from residents and their families why they chose assisted living, why they love it, what makes their community a home, and how their care team has become a family. Stories about how assisted living has helped improve quality of life, health outcomes, and supports families are also strongly encouraged.

Please direct residents and families to the NCAL Action Center to learn more and easily submit comments directly to the committee members. It is crucial that we share these stories and show how assisted living is truly providing high quality care at a high value to our nation's seniors. 

Click here to share your story.

Update on MaineCare Provider Enrollment Backlogs

MHCA continues to be in contact with the Department of Health and Human with respect to the backlog of cases waiting for MaineCare provider revalidation. On a MaineCare Advisory Committee call held this week, the Department noted that there has been a 50% reduction in provider revalidation cases pending with the third-party vendor Gainwell Technologies. The total number of cases pending has dropped from 1,294 cases in November to 619 cases today. 
 
They also reported that the turnaround time on a monthly basis has improved from 55 days to 33 days (calendar days) and that the average age of a case is 28 days. They did note that 36% of cases are beyond 30 days waiting and 16% are over 50 days.

MaineCare continues to experience a high volume of provider enrollment cases. Gainwell regularly identifies missing information that delays their ability to complete cases and requires your immediate attention.  For tips on submitting provider enrollment cases please visit the DHHS website here:

https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/oms/providers/provider-bulletins/attention-providers-please-respond-enrollment-cases-need-more-information-nmi-2024-01-18?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
 
If you have questions about your enrollment case, please contact Gainwell Provider Services at 1-866-690-5585, Option 2.

Staff contact: awesthoff@mehca.org

Maine Legal Services for the Elderly

Did you know your residents may be eligible for assistance from Maine Legal Services for the Elderly?  Maine residents aged 60 and older can call the Legal Helpline to get free and confidential help with legal problems.
 
The Helpline Attorneys provide information and advice on a wide variety of non-criminal legal problems including:
 
  • Medicare/MaineCare,
  • Health care coverage disputes
  • Elder abuse and protection orders
  • Housing issues including eviction and foreclosure,
  • Consumer debt
  • Public assistance benefits
  • Guardianship
  • Discharges
  • Powers of Attorney and Health Care Advance Directives
 
They also offer a specific unit, for anyone who is Medicare eligible, assistance with Medicare Part D if they are having trouble getting or affording prescription drugs.
 
 LSE has attorneys located in offices across the state that provide legal representation in some situations. If LSE can’t help, callers are offered referrals to private attorneys, potentially at reduced fees.
 
You can contact them at:
1-800-750-5353 (Legal Helpline)
1-877-774-7772 (Medicare Part D Unit)
 
The Helpline and Medicare Part D Hours of Operation: 9am-12pm; 1pm-4pm
 
Staff Contact; mcarland@mehca.org

MHCA Welcomes Cindy Richards, MPH as new Director of Education

Maine Health Care Association is pleased to welcome Cindy Richards, MPH as our new Director of Education. Cindy has over thirty years of experience as a health care operations and administrative leader working collaboratively, with senior executives, clinicians, frontline teams, and stakeholders. She has been responsible for leading strategic initiatives to improve clinical and population health outcomes including quality of care along with efforts to enhance patient and employee satisfaction in support of the quadruple aim. A significant component of this work has focused on workforce development which has included the development and delivery of a wide variety of education, training, and certification programming. 
 
Cindy’s educational background includes a master’s degree in public health and an undergraduate degree in education making her uniquely qualified for this role. She is also a graduate of the Hanley Health Leadership Institute. In her personal time, she enjoys being active in the outdoors and visiting with family and friends! Please join us in welcoming Cindy to the long term care family! Her first day is February 12th. 
 
Staff contact: awesthoff@mehca.org

Are you reporting COVID-19 Up to Date Correctly?

With the end of the bivalent booster in September of 2023, an individual is now considered “up to date” with their COVID-19 vaccine if they have received a 2023-2024 updated COVID-19 vaccine.

To ensure you are reporting correctly, review the latest NHSN Vaccination Modules.
 
Staff contact: mcarland@mehca.org

Are you looking for educational opportunities for you and your team? MHCA can help!

MHCA has several excellent programs planned in the coming weeks that will be beneficial for you and your staff. Here's a list of what’s on our calendar so far:    For details on any one of these programs, you may click on the titles above to access the corresponding event page on our website. As always, for the latest information on MHCA’s education calendar, we encourage you to visit the Event Calendar on our website.

Coming Soon!  We've entered into the planning phase for both the annual Assisted Living Conference (May) and the Leadership Symposium (June).  Both of these conferences will be full day, in-person events, so stay tuned for details.    

We're thrilled about MHCA's upcoming educational opportunities for members so we hope you will consider participating and/or registering members of your team.   

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at 207.623.1146.  
 
Staff Contact:  kmichaud@mehca.org
 

MHCA Wage & Fringe Benefit Survey Reminder

If you have not yet completed the Wage & Fringe Benefit survey for your facility, we encourage you to do so. The information gathered aids in our advocacy efforts at the Maine Legislature. We expect workforce recruitment and retention to remain a prominent issues. As such, your input is vital and we ask you to please complete and return the survey to MHCA by March 3, 2024. As always, individual responses will remain confidential.
 
Members who participate in the survey will receive a complimentary electronic copy of the completed report.
 
Staff Contact: dchicoine@mehca.org
<< 1 2 3 [4] >>

Calendar

View Calendar