Ten LTC Facilities in Maine Earn AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award

• By: Angela Westhoff
• On: 06/06/2024 10:39:37
• In: Announcements/Reminders

Ten facilities in Maine have been recognized as 2024 recipients of the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) for their commitment to improving the lives of residents through quality care.

This distinction is the first of three progressive award levels through the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program. The Program honors providers across the nation that have demonstrated their dedication to enhancing the quality of care for our nation’s elders and individuals with disabilities.

The facilities are:

• Avita of Wells - Wells, ME
• Cedar Ridge Center - Skowhegan, ME
• Harbor Hill - Belfast, ME
• Maine Veterans Home - Augusta, ME
• Maine Veterans Home - South Paris, ME
• Marshwood Center - Lewiston, ME
• Mount Joseph at Waterville - Waterville, ME
• Orono Commons - Orono, ME
• Sedgewood Commons - Falmouth, ME
• Springbrook Center - Westbrook, ME

 
“We are incredibly proud of the ten Maine facilities that have earned the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award,” said Angela Cole Westhoff, President & CEO of the Maine Health Care Association (MHCA). “This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our providers to continually enhance the quality of care and services for Maine’s older and disabled residents. It underscores our ongoing commitment to excellence and the continuous improvement of long term care in our state.”

The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program is a rigorous three-level process reviewed and evaluated by trained experts against a set of nationally recognized standards for organizational excellence. The standards of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program help organizations achieve superior performance over time to improve the quality of life and care of long term care residents. Awards will be presented during Delivering Solutions 24, the AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo, October 6-9, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. They will also be recognized at MHCA’s Annual Fall Conference at the Samoset in Rockport, Maine, October 15-17, 2024.

Staff contact: awesthoff@mehca.org

Maine Participates in AHCA/NCAL Congressional Briefing in DC

• By: Angela Westhoff
• On: 06/06/2024 10:38:02
• In: Legislative/Government Affairs

Earlier this week, members of the Maine Health Care Association attended meetings in Washington DC as part of AHCA/NCAL Congressional Briefing. This year’s event drew record participants as over 600 long term care providers descended upon Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers. All the participants were focused on sharing this important message: A federal staffing mandate won’t fix the labor crisis. The CMS staffing rule will only serve to reduce access to care for our nation’s older adults who need long term care.

Angela Westhoff, MHCA President and CEO was joined by John Bolduc, Executive Director of Odd Fellows’ and Rebekahs’ Home of Maine; Gabrielle Herbig, President of Sweet Seniors; Meghan Welch, Market President for Genesis Healthcare; and Dana Ritchie, Assoc. VP of Constituency Services and Workforce at AHCA.

This group met in person with Senator Collins, Senator King, and Representative Pingree as well as with staff from Representative Golden’s office to highlight the nationwide shortage of caregivers that is particularly acute in Maine. Over 2/3 of Maine’s nursing homes would not be able to meet the new federal staffing requirements due in large part to the mandate of 24/7 registered nurse (RN) coverage. Like many other states, Maine relies on licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and on-call RNs due to difficulties in hiring RNs for overnight shifts. The new rule does not allow LPNs to count toward the 24/7 on-site RN requirement.

According to analysis by AHCA/NCAL, 94% of nursing homes do not meet these new staffing requirements and this mandate will force more nursing homes to either limit the number of residents they care for, or they will close altogether. Maine already has 26 nursing home closures over the last 10 years; four of those closures have been announced in 2024 alone.
Maine’s congressional delegation understands how devastating this rule would be for access to care in our rural state. We thank them for their continued support of common sense solutions to invest in training and education programs and innovative models that support more health care workers, and not unfunded mandates that will lead to more closures in the oldest state in the nation.


Members of MHCA meet with Senator Susan Collins in DC on June 4.

Staff contact: awesthoff@mehca.org

June Educational Programs - Register Today!

• By: Dianne Chicoine
• On: 06/06/2024 07:54:36
• In: Education

Updating Facility/Company Information

• By: Dianne Chicoine
• On: 06/06/2024 07:42:41
• In: Announcements/Reminders

SNF VBP June 2024 Quarterly Reports are Now Available

• By: Maureen Carland
• On: 06/04/2024 13:00:07
• In: Quality/Regulatory

The June 2024 Quarterly Confidential Feedback Reports for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) Program are now available to download via the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES).

These reports contain facility and stay-level data for the SNF 30-Day All-Cause Readmission Measure (SNFRM) for FY 2023, the FY 2025 SNF VBP Program performance period. These results will be used for the FY 2025 SNF VBP Program year scoring and incentive payment calculations that will take effect October 1, 2024. Performance scores and incentive payment multipliers for the FY 2025 SNF VBP Program year will be disseminated in the August 2024 Performance Score Reports.

SNFs may submit corrections to their FY 2023 readmission measure rate up to 30 days following this report being made available, until July 3, 2024. Corrections are limited to errors made by CMS or its contractors when calculating a SNF’s readmission measure rate. SNFs must submit correction requests to SNFVBP@rti.org with the subject line “SNF VBP Review and Correction Inquiry” along with your SNF’s CMS Certification Number (CCN), SNF’s name, correction request, and reason for requesting the correction.

To locate your new report in iQIES, please follow the instructions listed below:

1. Log into iQIES at https://iqies.cms.gov/ using your Health Care Quality Information Systems (HCQIS) Access Roles and Profile (HARP) user ID and password. (If you do not have a HARP account, you may register for a HARP ID.)
2. In the Reports menu, select My Reports.
3. From the My Reports page, locate the MDS 3.0 Provider Preview Reports folder. Select the MDS 3.0 Provider Preview Reports link to open the folder.
4. Here you can see the list of reports available for download. Locate the desired SNF VBP Program Quarterly Confidential Feedback Report.
5. Once located, select More next to your desired SNF VBP Program Quarterly Confidential Feedback Report and the report will be downloaded through your browser. Once downloaded, open the file to view your facility’s report.

For additional questions about accessing your SNF’s report, which can only be accessed in iQIES, please contact the QIES/iQIES Service Center by phone at (800) 339-9313 or by email at iqies@cms.hhs.gov.
 
Staff Contact: mcarland@mehca.org

Age Friendly Communities

• By: Maureen Carland
• On: 06/03/2024 10:46:33
• In: Quality/Regulatory

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has updated its guide, "Age-Friendly Health Systems: Guide to Care of Older Adults in Nursing Homes." This guide is designed to help care teams test and implement a specific set of evidence-based best practices in the care of older adults through the 4Ms Framework: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility.
 
These updates are part of a regular process to incorporate the latest learnings from Age-Friendly Health Systems participants. The revisions include new tools for integrating equity into every step of the process, added clarity about the meaning of mobility, new examples and connections to case studies, and refreshed data and links to tools and resources.
 
Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of the John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) and IHI.
 
To learn more about Age Friendly Communities in Maine contact: peter.baker@mainehealth.org
  
Staff Contact: mcarland@mehca.org

Maine CDC Encourages Steps to Protect Your Health from Hepatitis C

• By: Maureen Carland
• On: 06/03/2024 10:15:41
• In: Quality/Regulatory

Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) is encouraging Maine people to take steps to protect their health from these viral illnesses. The Maine CDC is highlighting new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) screening requirements for hepatitis C. The U.S. CDC now recommends that every adult get tested for hepatitis C at least once in their lifetime, pregnant people get tested during each pregnancy, and everyone with ongoing risk factors get tested regularly. Additionally, infants exposed to hepatitis C during pregnancy and childbirth should be tested for hepatitis C between 2–6 months of age and monitored by a health care provider with hepatitis C expertise until they are eligible to receive treatment at 3 years of age.

“Viral hepatitis remains a significant public health concern here in Maine,” said Dr. Puthiery Va, Director of the Maine CDC. “The Maine CDC is working to ensure all Maine people and health care providers are aware of the updated testing recommendations and availability of effective treatment. By focusing on prevention and treatment of hepatitis C, we can help protect the health of Maine people.”

Hepatitis causes inflammation of the liver and can cause serious health problems, including liver damage and liver cancer. Although there is no vaccine to prevent hepatitis C, treatments are highly effective, well-tolerated, and can cure most people in as little as eight weeks. New hepatitis C infections have increased nationally as a result of the opioid crisis, misinformation about treatment, stigma, and other social determinants of health, leading to a new generation at risk of future liver cancer, cirrhosis, and premature death. Meanwhile, approximately 40 percent of people living with chronic hepatitis C are unaware of their status. New data spanning 2013 through 2022 revealed that only a third of people with a documented hepatitis C diagnosis nationally were cured over the past decade. For patients without health insurance under the age of 40, only one in six has been cured. Nationally, hepatitis C kills more people than HIV/AIDS.

To increase access to hepatitis C testing and treatment, the Maine CDC is strengthening patient navigation and linkages to care to help people with hepatitis C engage in care and curative treatment. As part of Hepatitis Awareness Month, Maine CDC reaffirms its commitment to making Maine a place where new hepatitis C infections are prevented, every person knows their status, and every person with viral hepatitis has access to high-quality health care and treatment free from stigma and discrimination.

Hepatitis C is one form of the viral disease. In the United States, the most common types of viral hepatitis are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.
Many people with hepatitis do not have symptoms and do not know they are infected. If symptoms occur with an acute infection, they can appear anytime from 2 weeks to 6 months after exposure. Symptoms of acute hepatitis can include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain, and jaundice. Symptoms of chronic viral hepatitis can take decades to develop.
 
Staff Contact: mcarland@mehca.org