E-News Update Articles

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development will be holding seven public listening sessions on draft Department of Family and Medical Leave regulations. The Department has indicated that it intends to post draft regulations on its website on or before January 23. Please click here for details on the time and location of the listening sessions. Additional information on the Paid Family Medical Leave, including a Q &A for employers and employees can be found on The Department of

An audio recording and transcript are available for the December 11 call on the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS). On October 1, 2019, the new Patient Driven Payment Model is replacing Resource Utilization Group, Version IV. Learn about this new case-mix classification system for SNF Part A beneficiaries.

MassMAP will hold an orientation session on February 26, 2019 from 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm at the Mass Senior Care office in Waltham. This session is for new MassMAP members as well as staff from member facilities who are not familiar with the MassMAP website or plan. Please click here for registration information. This session is for MassMAP members only.

Mass Senior Care will be offering a webinar on February 12th at 1:00pm, "What to Say When the News Is Bad: Crisis Communications Skills & Systems", presented by Irving Stackpole. This webinar will review how to develop a crisis communications plan and effective strategies to manage communications internally and externally. The webinar is offered complimentary to members in collaboration with American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) and Stackpole & Associates. For additional information and to register for this webinar

Take Action Today! We need your help to make ensure the voice of the nursing home community is heard.

This week, Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and members of the 191st Massachusetts Legislature were sworn in to their respective terms in office at the State House on Beacon Hill. As one of their first actions, the Legislature and Governor Baker’s budget staff have agreed to develop their state fiscal year 2020 budget (FY 2020) recommendations with the expectation that state tax revenue will increase by 2.7 percent over the current fiscal year. Governor Baker’s House 1 FY

Martha’s Vineyard Hospital (MHV) has released a Request for Information (RFI) to identify potential partners. MVH is looking to relocate Windemere to another location on the island of Martha’s Vineyard and is most interested in having an innovative model of long term care. Responses are due by January 31, 2019. For more information, please see the full RFI here.

One-third of SNF residents experience an adverse or temporary harm event, and the majority of those are preventable. As part of CMS’s focus on raising awareness of nursing home safety and to support safer nursing home care across the nation, CMS and the Quality Innovation Network National Coordinating Center released a new resource: a Change Package to prevent all cause harm in nursing homes. The Change Package is a compendium of successful practices of high-performing nursing homes, illustrating how they

Mass Senior Care invites staff at member facilities to participate in various committees designed to share information on the topics of clinical quality, regulatory, human resources and finance and reimbursement. This information and feedback will assist MSCA staff with developing policy positions and prioritizing strategic initiatives. Committee meetings are held in Mass Senior Care’s office in Waltham. Facility members are invited to participate. If you are interested in attending one of the upcoming committee meetings, please contact Jennifer Chen. Upcoming

MassHealth electronically collects nursing facility census data information quarterly, and is currently collecting census form filings for January 1, 2019. MassHealth issues an e-mail to an individual designated by the nursing facility to complete the form, typically to a contact person in the business office. If your facility has not yet filed the January 1, 2019 census form with MassHealth, we urge you to complete the census form and file electronically. The MassHealth census form (click here for a copy)

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its updated list which reflects all OIG exclusions and reinstatement actions up to, and including, those taken in November 2018. This new file is meant to replace the updated List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE) database file available for download last month. Individuals and entities that have been reinstated to the federal health care programs are not included in this file. The updated files are posted

As part of an overall effort to review and modernize the longstanding moratorium on new long term care facility beds, the Department of Public Health on December 11, 2018 issued a Circular Letter indicating that the Department will no longer grant approvals for beds out of service (BOOS) in previously closed buildings.

Please note that Mass Senior Care Association and American Health Care Association 2019 membership renewal notices will be mailed out next week. In addition, MassMAP dues renewal notices for skilled nursing facilities and rest homes will also be mailed next week. If you have any questions about these notices, please call the office at 617-558-0202. Thank you for your ongoing support and participation.

The Public Health Council last week adopted amendments to the Department of Public Health’s Determination of Need (DoN) regulations which were significantly revised in 2017. In operationalizing the 2017 DoN regulation, DPH identified areas that required clarification to improve implementation. In updating the regulations, DPH again affirmed that nursing facilities with DoN approvals prior to January 2017 will be permitted to implement the projects, as originally approved. In addition, the regulations update the so-called "Factor 4/Financial Feasibility" criteria to better

Mass Senior Care is pleased to welcome new members to our Association. Our Associate Members have demonstrated their commitment to the senior care provider community by joining Mass Senior Care and participating as exhibitors and sponsors for events and educational conferences. Mass Senior Care members are encouraged to contact Associate Members when they are in need of long term care products and services. You can find all of our Associate Members listed on our website, www.maseniorcare.org/preferred-vendors. Facility Member: Sunrise of

Amidst the historic Carriage House at Gore Place in Waltham, the Mass Senior Care Foundation celebrated its 33rd Anniversary of supporting the long term care workforce with a wine tasting event hosted by Bob Griffin, Managing Partner, Krokidas & Bluestein, LLP. The southern Italian wines sampled at the tasting were generously donated by Bob, who along with his colleague Dave Gansler, shared their passion and expertise for the wines of this region. Mass Senior Care Foundation President Bill Bogdanovich acknowledged

In response to member questions regarding multi-drug-single-dose packaging of medications, Mass Senior Care staff met with the Department of Public Health's Associate Commissioner, Director of the Boards of Professional Licensure and DPH Legal Counsel to obtain clarification on this issue. The Department of Public Health confirmed that multi-drug,-single-dose packaging is not prohibited in the long-term care setting. Revisions to the Board of Pharmacy regulations for "Return and Repackaging of Multi-Drug-Single-Dose Packaging" are currently under review. In addition, an Automated Dispensing

As part of CMS’s focus on raising awareness of nursing home safety and to support safer nursing home care across the nation, CMS and the Quality Innovation Network National Coordinating Center released a new resource: a Change Package to prevent all cause harm in nursing homes. The Change Package is a compendium of successful practices of high-performing nursing homes, illustrating how they prevent harm while honoring each resident’s rights and preferences. A webinar is scheduled for January 24, 2019 from

After three and half years as Secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, Alice Bonner is returning to her roots in healthcare and nursing education in late January. She will be joining the staff of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and will work in Massachusetts and other states on issues relevant to the long term care community, including creating and improving age friendly health systems, promoting dementia friendly communities and support for caregivers of individuals living with dementia

First Lady Lauren Baker visited Alliance Health at Abbott in Lynn to present a proclamation from Governor Charlie Baker for outstanding quality. Pictured in photo (L-R): Christopher Robbins, Alliance Board of Directors, Linda Corridan, Alliance Board Chair, First Lady Lauren Baker, Tom Lavallee, COO at Alliance, Frank Grady, CEO at Alliance, Jackie Censullo, Director of Nursing Alliance Health at Abbott, Bethany Beauregard, Executive Director Alliance Health at Abbott, Paul Kemp, CFO at Alliance.

DPH is planning a system upgrade to the Massachusetts Health Professions License Verification Site beginning Friday, December 28, 2018 through Monday, January 7, 2019. During the system upgrade period, DPH does not anticipate any disruption in service for providers using the license verification site to check the status of a certified nurse aide (CNA). Also, please note that the maintenance will not impact the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) phone verification system. DPH is encouraging early renewals for CNAs. Please click

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that they are taking steps to ensure that skilled nursing facilities are adequately staffed through three actions detailed below. First, CMS will utilize Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data to identify providers that have a significant drop in staffing levels on weekends or have several days in a quarter without a registered nurse (RN) working. The names of these providers will be shared with state survey agencies so that some weekend surveys

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is continuing to offer monthly "Bug of the Month" webinars featuring HAI/AR pathogens of concern as well as infection control and response recommendations. In this webinar, DPH expand this scope to include antibiotic stewardship strategies. The next webinar is scheduled for Thursday, December 6th from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm. Please click here to register.

Beginning in January of 2021 most workers in Massachusetts will be eligible to obtain up to 12 weeks of paid family leave and up to 20 weeks of paid medical leave. The program will be funded by premiums paid by employees, employers, and the self-employed. Contributions to the program will begin on July 1, 2019, and will be managed through the Department of Family and Medical Leave. The Commonwealth has introduced its website for the Department of Family and Medical

Join long term care providers, associate members and colleagues from across the state at Mass Senior Care Foundation's Annual Fundraising Event on Wednesday, December 12th.

With the flu season now upon us, a recent report by The Gerontology Society of America (GSA) National Adult Vaccination Program gives long term care providers recommendations on how to advance immunization efforts in their facilities. While acknowledging that even "the most motivated facility leaders" face obstacles at times to get staff and residents immunized, the report includes five priority actions. These areas are: increase use of mandatory staff vaccination policies, make vaccination a condition of hire, implement mandatory resident

CMS last week launched an effort to improve patient safety and quality of nursing home care under the Civil Money Penalty Reinvestment Program (CMPRP). This three-year initiative aims to improve residents' quality of life by equipping nursing home staff, administrators and stakeholders with technical tools and assistance to enhance resident care. As part of the CMPRP, CMS will develop a variety of work products for nursing home professionals, such as staff competency assessment tools, instructional guides, training webinars and technical

Mass Senior Care Association has partnered with the American Health Care Association (AHCA) to offer PDPM Academy, a 10-month training effort offering both in-person training and continuing updates and support.

The SPOT Initiative launched in 2016 as a collaborative effort to support nursing home teams to develop effective quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI) programs. Effective QAPI programs can prevent adverse events, promote safety and quality, and reduce risks to residents and caregivers. With funding from Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) Funds, the SPOT team engaged 60 nursing homes in quality improvement work over the course of the program. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is hosting two town hall presentations

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched its Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) education website. The website includes a variety of educational and training resources to assist with PDPM implementation: FAQs; Fact sheets; PDPM Training Presentation; and Implementation tools (including PDPM GROUPER logic in SAS). CMS will also host a Medicare Learning Network Provider SNF PPS Provider call on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at 1:30 ET on the new PDPM. A question and answer session follows the presentation

On November 19th, Mass Senior Care, MA DPH and the Office of the State LTC Ombudsman hosted a webinar to discuss the federal and state regulations related to a resident’s right to smoke in long-term care facilities.

Following election night with the Democrats regaining control of the US House of Representatives just two days prior to Mass Senior Care’s 2018 Annual Meeting & Trade Show, Congressman Richard Neal delivered a powerful message to more than 700 attendees.

DPH’s Division of Sexual and Domestic Violence Prevention and Services has developed a training that meets the requirements for licensure. This e-Learning tool can be accessed from DPH’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Integration Initiatives web page. ( https://www.mass.gov/service-details/domestic-and-sexual-violence-integ…). The Board will not hold a nurse responsible for the required training until it is available. Nurses who renew after October 30, 2018 will have an additional six months from the date of license renewal to complete the training. Nurses who have

Mass Senior Care Association recently added new program offerings, including an ICD 10 coding seminar in December and a repeat of the popular Geri-Care Behavioral Safety for Caregivers program in early January. Please click on the links below to register or download a registration form. 12/11 Morning Session ICD-10: Strategies for Coding Accuracy for Skilled Nursing Facilities, 9:00 am - 12 noon , Mass Senior Care office, Waltham. Please note: This is not a certification class, it is a coding

On November 5 th, EOHHS jointly issued (1) the first of 3 lump sum payments and (2) an Advisory Bulletin 18-24 specifying the compliance criteria and reporting requirements for the 2019 Nursing Facility Direct Care Staff Payment Program. The SFY 2019 budget act authorizes the Direct Care Staff Payment at $38.5 million, a $2.8 million increase from the prior fiscal year. Facilities must prioritize spending of any direct care staff payment revenue received in SFY 2019 that exceeds the total

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its updated list which reflects all OIG exclusions and reinstatement actions up to, and including, those taken in October 2018. This new file is meant to replace the updated List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE) database file available for download last month. Individuals and entities that have been reinstated to the federal health care programs are not included in this file. The updated files are posted

On October 1, 2019, the new Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) will be replacing Resource Utilization Group, Version IV (RUG-IV) for the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS). To assist provider members in understanding and implementing this massive system change, Mass Senior Care Association has partnered with the American Health Care Association (AHCA) to offer PDPM Academy, a 10-month training effort offering both in-person training and continuing updates and support. Mass Senior Care’s PDPM Academy will kick off

CMS last week launched an effort to improve patient safety and quality of nursing home care under the Civil Money Penalty Reinvestment Program (CMPRP). This three-year initiative aims to improve residents’ quality of life by equipping nursing home staff, administrators and stakeholders with technical tools and assistance to enhance resident care. As part of the CMPRP, CMS will develop a variety of work products for nursing home professionals, such as staff competency assessment tools, instructional guides, training webinars and technical

MassHealth has issued a Nursing Facility Provider Bulletin 141 (November 2018) outlining the updated Preadmission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) process and new PASRR Level I Form. MassHealth has also provided a "Notification of Referral" template that referring entities can use to inform members who screened positive for ID/DD or SMI that they have been referred to DMH and/or DDS. The updated PASRR process and use of new Level 1 Form are effective November 13th. Over the last year, Mass

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched its Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) education website. The website includes a variety of educational and training resources to assist with PDPM implementation: FAQs; Fact sheets; PDPM Training Presentation; and Implementation tools (including PDPM GROUPER logic in SAS). CMS will also host a Medicare Learning Network Provider SNF PPS Provider call on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at 1:30 ET on the new PDPM. A question and answer session follows the presentation

In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 110 of the Acts of 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DoR) has issued a new Health Insurance Reporting Disclosure (HIRD) form that is due by November 30, 2018. The HIRD annual reporting requirement is administered by MassHealth and DoR through the employer’s DoR’s MassTaxConnect (MTC) account. Employers may complete the HIRD form by logging into their MTC Withholding Tax account and selecting the “File health insurance responsibility disclosure” hyperlink under the account

Over the last year, Mass Senior Care members have actively participated in on-going discussions with MassHealth regarding the new PASRR 1 form, which will go into effect on November 13, 2018. While many of Mass Senior Care's recommendations were included in the revised form, we continue to work with MassHealth and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation and that, importantly, facilities have adequate information from acute care hospitals to properly complete PASRR 1 Form. In its October 19th webinar

Annual flu vaccination is the most important measure we can take to prevent seasonal influenza infection. In an effort to increase the overall flu vaccination rate of employees in nursing homes, currently at 78%, Mass Senior Care is hosting a flu clinic at its Annual Meeting & Trade Show next Thursday, November 8 th. The clinic will be open from 7:30 am – 11:30 am in Meeting Room XX on the 3 rd floor of the DCU Center. All attendees

The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) has scheduled a public hearing on the EMAC Supplement Hardship Waiver, for November 19 th at 10 am at the Charles F. Hurley Building, 19 Staniford Street in Boston. The hearing will provide an opportunity for interested parties to present comments on the DUA Hardship Waiver regulation. As you know, the SFY 2019 budget act required DUA to develop a hardship waiver process for an employer experiencing a financial hardship due to its

MassHealth has developed a checklist as a helpful tool for applicants, and individuals who are assisting applicants, to correctly and successfully complete a MassHealth Long-Term-Care Application. Please clickhere to access the checklist.

Mass Senior Care Association recently added new program offerings, including an ICD 10 coding seminar in December and a repeat of the popular Geri-Care Behavioral Safety for Caregivers program in early January. Please click on the links below to register or download a registration form. 11/8 MASS SENIOR CARE ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING & TRADE SHOW, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm - DCU Center, Worcester, MA. Facility Members please click here to download a registration form. EXHIBIT BOOTHS ARE SOLD OUT

CMS has provided updated rankings for all SNFs included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 program year. A list of each SNF’s incentive payment multiplier and updated ranking can be found on the SNF VBP website. The incentive payment multiplier applicable to each SNF is unchanged from the multiplier that CMS previously included in the SNF’s FY 2019 Annual Performance Score Report. That multiplier will be used to adjust the Federal per diem rate otherwise applicable to the SNF for

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology ( APIC) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announce the availability of free, downloadable Quick Observation Tools (QUOTs) for infection control. These tools are designed to help healthcare facilities quickly identify infection prevention deficiencies and take corrective action in real time to protect patients from healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). QUOTs are a set of ready-to-use, quick assessment forms or “cards” that enable frontline healthcare personnel to do infection prevention checks

On Wednesday, October 24, 2018, CMS released new data on the quality of care delivered in skilled nursing facilities by adding the following five SNF QRP measures to Nursing Home Compare: Assessment-based measures: Percent of SNF residents that develop new or worsened pressure ulcers Percentage of SNF residents whose functional abilities were assessed and functional goals were included in their treatment plan Percentage of SNF patients who experience one or more falls with major injury during their SNF stay Claims-based

The Hand in Hand: A Training Series for Nursing Homes was previously developed as an instructor-led training conducted by nursing home staff for nurse aides. The Hand in Hand training is now available as a self-paced, online training and available to download for use as an instructor-led course. The updated Hand in Hand: A Training Series for Nursing Homes is available on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’s) Integrated Surveyor Training Website (ISTW). For help with registration and