72nd AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo | https://www.providermagazine.com/Issues/2021/September/Pages/72nd-AHCA-NCAL-Convention-&-Expo.aspx | 72nd AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo | <p><img src="/Issues/2021/September/PublishingImages/0921_Expo.jpg" class="ms-rtePosition-2" alt="" style="margin:5px;" />The long term and post-acute care profession will gather Oct. 10-13 for the first in-person American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living Convention & Expo since 2019.<br></p><p>The annual event, held virtually in 2020, will inspire, engage, and reunite with a slew of exciting speakers, education, entertainment, and numerous opportunities to network with colleagues.<br></p><p>It all takes place at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor just outside of Washington, D.C. With plenty of indoor and outdoor spaces, spectacular views, loads of restaurants within walking distance, and a variety of activities, it’s a premier location for reconnecting and learning.<br></p><p>When not participating in the <a href="/Issues/2021/September/Pages/Education-Sessions-Have-the-Tools-and-Strategies-You-Need-to-Rebuild.aspx" target="_blank">education sessions</a> or browsing in the Resource Center or Expo Hall, attendees will be able to take a cab into D.C. or a ferry across the Potomac River to Alexandria, Va. There’s no shortage of interesting sites to explore or restaurants to try.</p><h2>Educational Sessions</h2><p>This year’s convention offers an important opportunity to reflect on the experiences of the past year and learn how best to tackle the significant challenges facing providers today. Attendees can earn up to 15.5 CEs. Key topics include:<br>• Rebuilding Census<br>• Trauma-informed Care<br>• Workforce and Leadership<br>• Infection Control & Prevention<br>• Survey & Regulatory Compliance<br>• Reimbursement<br>• Quality Improvement<br>• Technology & Innovation<br>• Assisted Living<br>• Clinical Care Practice<br>• Person-Centered Care<br>• Post-Acute Care<br>• Behavioral Health<br>• Rehabilitation Therapy<br>• Operational Analytics<br><br>Independent owners, providers of homes for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and not-for-profit providers can participate in specific constituency education.<br></p><p>The 15th Annual NCAL Day takes place on Sunday, Oct. 10, as does the Rehabilitation Therapy Program. Both are separately ticketed events. See <span><a href="/Issues/2021/September/Pages/Education-Sessions-Have-the-Tools-and-Strategies-You-Need-to-Rebuild.aspx" target="_blank">convention education</a></span> for more details and visit the convention website at <a href="http://ahcaconvention.org/" target="_blank">AHCAconvention.org</a> or <a href="http://www.ncalconvention.org/" target="_blank">NCALconvention.org</a> to see all the tracks of learning and read full-session descriptions.</p><h2>Opening and Closing General Sessions</h2><p>Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, long term and post-acute care staff went above and beyond what anyone could consider everyday routines, setting their fears aside to care for and protect their residents in the face of great personal risk. The Opening and Closing General Sessions will specifically honor them and provide a platform to reflect and acknowledge what the profession has endured. <br></p><p>The general sessions will feature a variety of speakers and special events that are sure to inspire, including LED Talks—short, powerful messages designed to Lead, Engage, and Discover. The LED Talks will focus on COVID-19 care stories with different perspectives, from direct care staff to CEO to family member, providing a way to recognize and process the personal and professional impacts of the pandemic.</p><h2>Awards Given</h2><p>In addition, the CDC Foundation will award the 2021 McKnight Prize for Healthcare Outbreak Heroes, recognizing all frontline nursing home staff in a formal ceremony. The Evelyn and Thomas McKnight Family Fund for Patient Safety and the CDC Foundation jointly created the award to honor those who serve and protect patients from harm related to health care outbreaks.<br></p><p>“The McKnight Prize for Healthcare Heroes is intended for an individual, but the COVID-19 response has shown us that we are all in this together. The heroism of all the nursing home staff that showed up and kept showing up day after day truly captures the spirit of the award,” said Thomas and Evelyn McKnight. <br></p><p>The entire assisting living workforce will be honored with a new award, graciously sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL), that recognizes the continuous support, unwavering commitment, hard work, and selflessness demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.<br></p><p>Capping things off, AHCA/NCAL will present the Gold Quality Award as well as the Mary K. Ousley Champion of Quality Award and the Jan Thayer Pioneer Award.</p><h2>A Tale of the Past, A Look at the Future</h2><p>AHCA/NCAL leadership will share updates, review important issues impacting the profession, and discuss what’s next. <br></p><p>Attendees will also get a sneak peek at the brand new AHCA/NCAL documentary, “COVID-19 in Long Term Care.” This short film explores the past year from different perspectives of staff, residents, and others who lived it firsthand. Full screenings of the film take place each day at convention. Consult the Schedule of Events for details on time and location.<br></p><p>The Opening General Session takes place on Monday, Oct. 11, while the Closing General Session takes place on Wednesday, Oct. 13.</p><h2>More Special Events</h2><p><span><img src="/Issues/2021/September/PublishingImages/0921_convention_Gala-with-Chase-Rice.jpg" class="ms-rtePosition-1" alt="" style="margin:5px;width:182px;height:308px;" /></span>On Tuesday, Oct. 12, the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Ceremony will recognize both the 2020 and 2021 recipients, honoring the commitment to quality care demonstrated by the recipients of the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards. A celebration with light refreshments will be available immediately following the ceremony.<br></p><p>With A Night of Inspiration: 2021 Gala & PAC Concert Featuring Chase Rice happening on Wednesday, Oct. 13, AHCA/NCAL has combined the Gala Dinner & Show and the PAC Concert into one spectacular evening. The dinner and entertainment provide a fun and relaxing way to wrap up convention. Note that it is a separate ticketed event.<br></p><p>Country music artist Chase Rice, known for hits like “Ready, Set, Roll” and “Eyes On You,” will share some of his new music, such as “Belong,” which he completed during the pandemic. Says Chase, “My favorite line in the song is ‘Where we’re going, we don’t know, but we’re going there together.’”<br></p><p>Additional receptions and social events take place throughout the four days of convention, offering formal and informal opportunities to reunite, network, and connect with colleagues.</p><h2>Expo Hall</h2><p>In the Expo Hall, providers can learn about the latest industry innovations. <br></p><p>“It will be so nice to see current clients and meet new people in person,” says Erin Mooney, chief operating officer of Healthcare Academy, one of the more than 350 business partners who will give product demonstrations, answer questions, and talk about the concerns and challenges facing the sector. <br></p><p>“We are so excited to be able to discuss how our programs, in partnership with AHCA/NCAL, can help providers meet day to day operational and regulatory needs,” Mooney says.<br></p><p>The Expo Hall is a great place to network with company representatives as well as colleagues. Lunch is provided for all who attend each day.</p><h2>Virtual Convention Package</h2><p>For those that cannot attend in person, there is also a virtual convention package available that includes the opportunity for CEs and contains a combination of curated live-stream and on-demand content. Live-stream sessions will be converted to on-demand for those who cannot watch live. The sessions will be timely and attractive to both skilled nursing and assisted living audiences and contain a range of topic areas. Key sessions of the virtual package include both of the general sessions, the Quality Award Ceremony, and a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) update.<br></p><p>Online registration is available through Sept. 24 and offers a $100 discount. After that, registration is offered on site.<br></p><p>“I encourage providers to join us. We have an amazing event planned and a very special Quality Award Ceremony, a highlight for me,” says AHCA/NCAL President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Parkinson. “I can’t wait to see everyone.”<br></p><p>See the complete Schedule of Events and register at <a href="http://ahcaconvention.org/" target="_blank">AHCAConvention.org</a> or <a href="http://ncalconvention.org/" target="_blank">NCALconvention.org</a>. <br><br><em>Danielle Levitan is senior director, marketing & product development, for the American Health Care Association. She can be reached at <a href="mailto:dlevitan@ahca.org">dlevitan@ahca.org</a>.</em></p> | Convention & Expo will reunite the long term and post-acute care profession after a very tough year. | 2021-09-01T04:00:00Z | <img alt="" src="/Issues/2021/September/PublishingImages/0921_convention_ferriswheel.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | Caregiving;Management | Convention |
Education Sessions Have the Tools and Strategies You Need to Rebuild | https://www.providermagazine.com/Issues/2021/September/Pages/Education-Sessions-Have-the-Tools-and-Strategies-You-Need-to-Rebuild.aspx | Education Sessions Have the Tools and Strategies You Need to Rebuild | <h2>15th Annual NCAL Day</h2><p>A full day of education and networking specifically tailored to senior care professionals, this year’s NCAL Day focuses on telling the story of how critical assisted living (AL) is to the world of health care. Featuring a keynote from the world-class Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: Brand Differentiating Service Delivering an Elevated Experience, the day also includes a luncheon honoring assisted living heroes from the past year as well as more AL-focused education sessions:<br></p><ul><li>Nobody Fights Their Own Ideas: How Innovation Drives Engagement</li><li>Five Strategies to Take a Woe Marketing Plan to Wow</li><li>Telling Our Quality Story (Quality Awards)</li><li>Closing Panel: Re-telling the Assisted Living Story<br></li></ul><p>Annual AHCA/National Association for the Support of Long Term Care Rehabilitation Therapy Program<br>The first part of this half-day program will focus on interdisciplinary best practices that have been identified to address the unique functional needs of short- and long-stay skilled nursing (SNF) and AL residents impacted by COVID-19. <br></p><p>The second part will explore what is known to date about the clinical definition of “frailty,” how it is assessed, and its impact on function. Additionally, the program will discuss interdisciplinary best practices to address the functional needs of “frail” short- and long-stay SNF and AL residents. Speakers will share their experiences, lessons learned, and recommendations for best practices based on these efforts.</p><h3>Rebuilding Census</h3><p><em>Giving Census a Reboot</em><br>Census in post-acute settings and senior living communities has suffered tremendously since COVID-19. The competition for the same type of patients has also created an even bigger threat to the census and occupancy. <br></p><p>How can you begin creating census and occupancy strategies to influence referral sources, ensure resident-centered care throughout the continuum, create a better customer experience, and ultimately resuscitate your census? This session will explore how to identify targeted referral sources, create a selective process for choosing the right post-acute partners, align goals, and have a simple but effective method of communication and marketing that clearly defines the advantages of your amenities, care model, outcomes, and resident satisfaction. It will also discuss how to better utilize your health care partners to increase referrals and better manage discharges.<br></p><h3>PDPM</h3><p><em>PDPM and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A CMS Payment Policy Perspective</em><br>Get valuable CMS perspectives on the patient-driven payment model (PDPM), its implementation, the lessons learned over the past two years, and what might be coming next.<em><br></em></p><p><em>PDPM: Looking Back, Transforming Tomorrow</em><br>The transition to the PDPM has not been without its challenges. This session highlights what we have learned from the national data since the implementation of PDPM to today. Provider case studies will be reviewed as well as strategies to identify and address unfavorable trends and missed opportunities.</p><h3>Care Practice</h3><p><em>Trauma-informed Care: Working Through the Pandemic</em><br>This session will explore trauma and how best to provide trauma-informed care. You will learn how to provide trauma-informed care to your patients, your colleagues, and yourself.<em><br></em></p><p><em>Optimizing Quality Dementia Care: Tackling Loneliness and Social Isolation</em><br>For those who have Alzheimer’s or other dementia, social connection means everything while social distancing is a difficult concept to understand. This session will review practical and cost-effective strategies to positively impact quality of life when residents are confined to their rooms.</p><p><em>Interprofessional Practice Competencies: A Catalyst for Person-centered Care</em><br>It is imperative that all staff be prepared and equipped to practice person-centered care in each interaction with residents, families, staff, and external partners. This session will use the interprofessional education competencies model to guide person-centered care development within the entire care team. Evidence-based updates to person-centered care will be reviewed, and then interprofessional practice competencies will be demonstrated as a framework for achieving high-level performance. Attendees will walk through the domains of interprofessional practice and compare these with existing care requirements as articulated by CMS. Finally, learners will participate in building a sample facility action plan using the tools provided for ALL staff in diverse health care settings.<br></p><h3>Workforce and Leadership</h3><p><em>Coping and Stress Management During a Pandemic: Helping Staff Build Resiliency</em><br>For most working in skilled nursing facilities and assisted living communities, the COVD-19 pandemic has been one of the most stressful experiences they have been through personally or professionally. This session reviews specific stressors relevant for frontline health care workers and looks at ways to cope and stay resilient.</p><p><em>Working Side by Side: Empowerment and Leading by Example</em><br>Sometimes the best leadership is hands-on. When we take the time to step in and work beside our team members, we enhance care, solve problems, and demonstrate our support for our teams. This interactive session will share practical techniques on how leaders can make the most of opportunities to lend a hand, leading by example, mentoring, and strengthening both quality of care and working relationships.</p><p><em>Bridge Building: Intentional Strategies for Building an Inclusive Organization</em><br>This thought-provoking session is designed to help leaders begin to effectively strategize to address the issues of diversity and inclusion. Participants will have the opportunity to identify clear, measurable goals for creating inclusion at all levels of their organizations. The focus of the session is on action steps that leaders can take to expand their professional networks to develop recruitment pipelines that are inclusive. Participants will also develop action plans that are realistic for their organizations.</p><p><em>Arbinger Institute: Engaging and Retaining Top Talent</em><br>This session will provide a foundational understanding of Arbinger’s two mindsets and address the challenge in the industry to engage and retain needed talent. <br>Attendees will learn how an outward mindset can help tremendously in this and other leadership areas.</p><h3>Infection Control and Prevention</h3><p><em>Lessons from COVID-19: Infection Prevention and Control in Long Term Care</em><br>As long term care facilities continue to recover and return to normal operations, returning to key concepts of infection prevention and control will be imperative. This presentation will highlight what is needed to return to the basics of infection control, and address strategies on how to sustain best practices while most importantly remaining prepared for the next outbreak.<br><br><em>The Long-Term Effects of the Pandemic on LT/PAC Facilities</em><br>This session will discuss the importance of positioning yourself as a leader in the SNF market by providing premier infection control treatment and prevention and maintaining the highest quality of care for residents, especially during an emergency. Learn about the importance of investing in ongoing infection control training and look at having a dedicated Infection Preventionist on staff. Review how to prepare your facility budget for the increased need of PPE. The continued use of telehealth services and other electronic will be part of the discussion as well.<br></p><h3>Survey and Regulatory Compliance</h3><p><em>Regulatory “Re-Set”- Where Are We Now?</em><br>The COVID-19 pandemic has brought continual change in the landscape of long-term care survey and regulations. <br></p><p>From the blanket 1135 waivers issued during the public health emergency to the release of new infection control regulations, changing CMS survey and enforcement guidance and the implementation of a new focused infection control survey process, providers have navigated an array of changing survey/regulatory policies and approaches. This session will help providers “re-set” their understanding of the current survey/regulatory environment, what has changed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and insights into what to expect in the year ahead.<br><br><em>OSHA Regulations and Inspections in Long Term Care</em><br>This session will focus on OSHA regulations of concern to long term care, including key focus areas related to COVID-19. It will discuss how best to come into compliance, share tools and resources to prepare for a potential OSHA inspection, and ultimately what to expect in the event of an OSHA inspection.<br><br><em>Managing Life Safety and Emergency Preparedness Coming Out of the Pandemic</em><br>As we settle into a new sense of normalcy, the focus on survey and compliance is quickly re-emerging. <br>This session will review a variety of life safety compliance topics, including the status of 1135 waivers, inspection/testing/maintenance best practices, and options for creating new storage spaces (specifically for PPE). <br></p><p>Emergency Preparedness will also be addressed with a focus on annual updates, training, and testing. Learn how COVID-19 should affect your future planning.<br></p> | With more than 85 education sessions in 16 tracks of learning, you can earn up to 15.5 CEs that cover a variety of critical topics.
| 2021-09-01T04:00:00Z | <img alt="" src="/Issues/2021/September/PublishingImages/0921_Gaylord.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | Workforce | Convention |
Putting the Care Back in Care Planning | https://www.providermagazine.com/Issues/2021/September/Pages/Putting-the-Care-Back-in-Care-Planning.aspx | Putting the Care Back in Care Planning | <p>F-tag 656, failure to develop and implement a comprehensive care plan, has been on the top 10 deficiencies list for years. Although this is not a new regulatory requirement, facility staff still struggle to achieve compliance with care planning during annual and complaint surveys. <br></p><p>Negative and siloed views such as, “No one looks at the care plan anyway” or “Only the nurse assessment coordinator is allowed to update the care plan,” serve only to further distance the care plan from its actual intent. While some may mistakenly view it as useless paper compliance, care plans should be viewed as a valuable tool for all staff.<br></p><p>The overall intent of the care plan is to articulate an approach to meet the resident’s goals and preferences and address medical, physical, mental, and psychosocial needs. However, care plans often look instead like lists of general interventions for nonspecific problems, which cannot actually drive resident care.<br></p><p>Refocusing the development and use of the care plan as a valuable tool for the interdisciplinary team (IDT) may help to provide more resident-centered care, improve outcomes, and reduce the risk of receiving an F656 citation during survey.</p><h2>Redefine the Care Plan as an Invaluable IDT Tool </h2><p>The guidance provided in the “State Operations Manual (SOM)” for §483.21(b) requires that “facility staff must work with the resident and his/her representative, if applicable, to understand and meet the resident’s preferences, choices, and goals during their stay at the facility.” However, the regulation allows the facility to determine how this process will be completed and to delegate to appropriate staff members.<br></p><p>The guidance continues that, “the facility must establish, document, and implement the care and services to be provided to each resident to assist in attaining or maintaining his or her highest practicable quality of life.”<br></p><p>While this regulation is well-known to most facility staff and is used to develop the comprehensive care plan, the final product often falls short of becoming an ongoing IDT tool to drive the care and services that the resident receives daily. The focus must be on developing the care plan to meet the needs and preferences of the resident, which will meet the regulatory requirements. However, if the focus is on checking a box for regulation, the team will miss critical elements or interventions. <br></p><p>If a physician asks, “What are we doing for Mr. Jones’ chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]?” The answer, from medication to diet, should be articulated in the care plan, providing the full holistic approach from the IDT. If Mrs. Johnson’s daughter asks what the facility is doing to prevent her mother from falling, all current interventions, from activities to rehabilitation, should be present in the care plan. <br></p><p>Using the care plan as a collaborative tool among all departments helps align the care and services the resident receives to assist them toward their goals. However, to achieve this, facilities must establish clear expectations regarding the level of detail and enforce and monitor timely updating.<br></p><p>If the team shifts its focus from meeting the minimums of regulatory requirements to instead elevate the purpose of the care plan, they can accomplish both by more effectively driving the care and services for the resident.</p><h2>Self-Identify Problems with Care Planning </h2><p>Care plans can come in various shapes and sizes; they may be handwritten on paper, completed electronically and printed, or maintained in electronic medical records (EMRs). Although EMRs have many benefits, they can also leave some gaps. Often, EMR users add interventions by simply checking an electronic box, which can lead to generic care plans that are not resident-centered.<br></p><p>Ready-to-go interventions often require individualization once added to the care plan. Failing to individualize results in confusing and incomplete care plans. <br></p><p>While direct care staff should frequently be accessing and updating the care plans, clinical leaders should also monitor for compliance and the quality of these updates. If a resident’s care or interventions have changed, did the team member responsible for the change update the appropriate care plan? Have resolved interventions been appropriately archived? Are the care plans easy to read for non-medical individuals? <br></p><p>Each time clinical leaders identify an incomplete or generalized intervention, or failure to timely update, they also identify a potential survey tag. While the process of monitoring and identifying these problems may be labor-intensive initially, as the facility’s culture adopts the care plan as a tool, the task becomes easier. </p><h2>Remove the Siloes </h2><p>Often, staff develop multidisciplinary care plans and believe they are creating interdisciplinary care plans. The key difference is that multidisciplinary care plans focus on the discipline, not the resident. One way to move toward a successful interdisciplinary care plan is to focus on the resident and their actual or potential needs. <br></p><p>For example, often the dietary department is responsible for completing section K of the Minimum Data Set, Swallowing and Nutritional Status. If a resident is coded as having a therapeutic diet, such as a diabetic diet, it will trigger the nutritional status care area assessment (CAA). This may result in the dietary manager or dietitian creating a care plan by focusing on the triggering reason. <br></p><p>The problem statement may read, “Mr. Jones receives a therapeutic diabetic diet due to having a diagnosis of diabetes.” This type of siloed care planning does not allow for an interdisciplinary approach because it does not focus on the resident’s needs. The resident’s need is not for a therapeutic diet, but rather, the management of his diabetes; the therapeutic diet is just one intervention the IDT provides the resident.<br></p><p>When the team shifts the focus to the resident’s needs and the resident’s goal is established with the team, the care plan becomes the IDT’s holistic approach to addressing these needs. As the road map to care, it is used to measure progress toward goals and ensure the resident’s preferences are being met.<br></p><p>The SOM, §483.21(b), states, “Care planning drives the type of care and services that a resident receives. If care planning is not complete, or is inadequate, the consequences may negatively impact the resident’s quality of life, as well as the quality of care and services received.” </p><h2>Include the Resident</h2><p>Among the tools available to surveyors are the Long-Term Care (LTC) Critical Element Pathways (CEPs). While there are over 40 tools, there is not one specifically for care planning. However, there are numerous pathways, from activities to behavior, and emotional status to nutrition.<br></p><p>All ask the same question: Did the facility develop and implement a comprehensive person-centered care plan that includes measurable objectives and time frames to meet the resident’s medical, nursing, mental, and psychosocial needs and includes the resident’s goals, desired outcomes, and preferences? <br>If this was not achieved, the facility will receive a F656 citation.<br></p><p>It is not enough to address what the IDT is doing for the resident’s needs—the resident must play an active part in developing the goals, expressing to staff what his or her desired outcome is, and the staff must understand his or her preferences for care. And just like updating the care plan when changes occur, the resident’s goals and preferences must be frequently reviewed with the resident to ensure it continues to reflect those goals and preferences. <br><br><em>Jessie McGill, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, is a curriculum development specialist for the American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing (AAPACN). She can be reached at <a href="mailto:jmcgill@AAPACN.org" target="_blank">jmcgill@AAPACN.org</a>.</em></p> | The overall intent of the care plan is to articulate an approach to meet the resident’s goals and preferences and address medical, physical, mental, and psychosocial needs. | 2021-09-01T04:00:00Z | <img alt="" src="/Issues/2021/September/PublishingImages/0921_cgiving.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | Caregiving | Focus on Caregiving |