NHSN Data Collection Update & Need to Verify Data Submission This Week Last week, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) announced updates to the NHSN LTCF COVID-19 Module Resident Impact and Facility Capacity pathway. Specifically, new testing questions will be added regarding facility access and capacity for COVID-19 viral testing of residents and facility personnel. The previous questions Does your facility have access to COVID-19 testing while the resident is in the facility? and If YES, what laboratory type? will be removed after August 9, 2020.
This morning, the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS) shared they are working to align the data reporting elements in EMResource to that of the updated NHSN questions. Although this work is expected to be completed this week, MDHHS is recommending that all facilities log into NHSN this week to verify their data submissions and correct as needed.
The updated data collection form, form instructions, and CSV templates are available on the LTCF COVID-19 Module web-page.
Governor Whitmer Vetoes Immunity Bill - Negotiations Ongoing Governor Whitmer today vetoed Senate Bill 899, which would have given limited civil immunity to health care facilities and providers, including nursing facilities and homes for the aged and their employees. The immunity would have applied to the services rendered as part of the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic from March 10, 2020 until January 1, 2021. Similar to the Governor's executive orders 2020-30 and 2020-61, the bill would not have granted immunity for actions arising to gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Though Governor Whitmer has vetoed this bill, negotiations between the legislature and administration are ongoing on the issue of immunity for health care providers. HCAM will continue its advocacy efforts with policy makers to achieve immunity for facilities and their employees during this unprecedented crisis.
You can find SB 899 by clicking HERE.
All Member Call with Mark Parkinson: HHS Provider Relief Funds Please join AHCA/NCAL for an all member call with President & CEO Mark Parkinson and the team this Thursday, August 13 at 3 PM Eastern to provide details on upcoming COVID-relief distributions to skilled nursing facilities from the Provider Relief Fund.
QIES/iQIES Help Desk Update Beginning Monday, August 17th, the QIES/iQIES Level 1 Help Desk Support will now be handled by a new Help Desk team who will work diligently to resolve all QIES/iQIES-related inquiries. The current Help Desk team will still be actively available to assist with escalated Level 2 Support. For questions or concerns, please call 1-800-339-9313 or email us at: iqies@cms.hhs.gov.
Shout-out from POTUS This weekend, AHCA/NCAL President & CEO Mark Parkinson shared a memo regarding a press conference held by President Donald Trump. Parkinson's memo included: Friday evening President Trump held a press conference and made some supportive comments about our sector. This is very welcomed and appreciated and I wanted you to know about it. An excerpt of his comments is listed below.
"That's an incredible number when you hear half of the deaths have been in nursing homes and long term care facilities. And I will tell you that I met with owners and representatives of nursing homes and they are very, very vigilant. They're doing a very good job now. They've really done something that I think is special. They're doing very well in terms of the virus. They're working very hard and a lot of things happened. A lot of forces came together and hit the nursing homes very hard, but the representatives of nursing homes, in some cases the ownership of nursing homes they're working very hard." Our collective efforts are making an impact and I wanted you to be aware of these comments from the President of the United States.
This year, 861 long term and post-acute care providers in all 50 states and District of Columbia have received an AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award. This program honors long term and post-acute care providers that have demonstrated a strong commitment to improving the quality of care for seniors and individuals with disabilities.
Implemented by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, the National Quality Award Program is centered on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework, which is also the basis of the metric-based AHCA/NCAL Quality Initiative. The Baldrige framework helps organizations across different business sectors use strategies to improve performance and organizational effectiveness. The program has three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
146 recipients have achieved the second step in the Quality Award Program, Silver - Achievement in Quality. These recipients have developed effective approaches to help improve performance and health care outcomes. Our Michigan recipients of the Silver Quality Award include:
Four recipients nationwide have achieved the third level in the Quality Award Program, Gold - Excellence in Quality. Gold Award recipients demonstrate overall performance, resulting from sustainable, systematic, effective processes. They are among the best in the post-acute care profession and overall, the applicant can serve as a role model for the industry. A full list of the recipients is available on the AHCA/NCAL Quality Award website here. The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) recently updated standardized COVID-19 case definitions. This updated definition supersedes the prior version released in April 2020. Clinical Criteria:
Laboratory Criteria:
Definitions:
Governor Whitmer Extends Declaration of Emergency On Friday August 7 2020, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-165, extending the governor's emergency and disaster declaration until September 4, 2020 at 11:59pm. This extension ensures state emergency operations can continue to address COVIDS-19 needs across the state including COVID testing, tracing of infections, and directing additional resources to hot-spots as they emerge.
For questions or concerns please contact Cathy Sunlin at CathySunlin@HCAM.org.
Aug. 10, 2020 |