Friday Review—7/2/21

Good afternoon and Happy Friday!  This marks two weeks in a row this has been written under damp gray skies, but not to worry, a holiday weekend is ahead!

Thank you!—I have to start this week’s edition with many thank-yous.  RIHCA’s golf tournament this past Monday was a huge success, despite the oppressive heat and humidity.  Thank you to all the golfers who came out and sweat their way through 18 holes.  Thank you to our sponsors who made the day possible: Harmony Healthcare International, Green Tree Healthcare Management, Navigator GPO, East Side Clinical Laboratory, Boston’s Best Coffee, David Willis, PDI Health/Marcie Maffeo, Concord Home Health, ServPro of Providence, Lument, Barton Gilman, Visiting Nurse Home and Hospice, Triad, SDX Dysphagia Experts, Heritage Hills Nursing Centre, Geriatric Medical, Creative Juice Concentrates RI, Government Strategies, and O2 Safe Solutions.

And of course, a big thank you to Katie Norman and the Golf Committee (Leon Samuelian, Angela Nigrelli, Katrina Woodward, Cheryl Picard, John Stefanik, Marcie Maffeo, Joanne Leonard, Lindsey Bouchard, Tara Kuthan, Al Peterson and Jack Avery) whose hard work leading up to and on the day of the event ensured that all ran smoothly. 
Planning is already underway for next year.  Stay tuned!

RIDOH Reminder—I sent a lengthy email out earlier this week, but here is a reminder of what RIDOH is telling us they are seeing on recent surveys.  The main problems include: medication storage, medication error rates, not completing SNF beneficiary forms and not sending notices of transfer to the Alliance.  Life safety is seeing citations primarily dealing with generator batteries. RIDOH is also finding cases of weight loss and wounds that are not receiving proper interventions.  Just some things to keep in mind, especially if you are in your survey window.

AHCA assessment—Again, earlier this week I sent an email to administrators about the 2021 AHCA bed assessment.  Attached is a letter from Mark Parkinson about the need for this, along with a summary of the public relations and lobbying campaign to date.  Just a reminder, these bed assessment payments are tax deductible.

OSHA reminder--The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) to address exposure to COVID-19 to workers in health care settings. These standards apply to skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, and Intermediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally Disabled (ID/DD).  

Employers must comply with most of these standards by July 6, 2021.  There are exceptions to the sections on physical barriers, ventilation, and training, which must be complied with by July 21, 2022.  Below is more information from AHCA.

AHCA's 6-25-21 Memo

Survey on CNA training—Please don’t forget to fill out the very brief (4 question) survey on CNA training in RI.  This was sent out earlier this week.  Thank you to those who have replied.  If this is still on your “to-do” list, you can find the link here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HMQSLYX 

Push for single rooms—There is a growing demand for single occupancy rooms in nursing homes.  However, government funding agencies also need to step up.  https://skillednursingnews.com/2021/06/government-needs-to-back-shift-to-private-rooms-in-nursing-homes/?euid=a3545010f7&utm_source=snn-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fd29b0ab54

Fewer referrals—Hospitals are not referring as many post-acute care patients to nursing homes as they did over the last four years.  https://skillednursingnews.com/2021/06/skilled-nursing-referrals-drop-while-other-post-acute-settings-rise/?euid=a3545010f7&utm_source=snn-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fd29b0ab54

Need for long-term care—At least 25% of Americans aged 65 will have a “severe need” for long-term care services in their lifetime.  https://www.mcknights.com/news/clinical-news/one-quarter-of-americans-will-experience-severe-need-for-long-term-care-services-report/

Shaky future—A new survey released by AHCA/NCAL this week shows only about a quarter of the homes responding are confident of survival. https://skillednursingnews.com/2021/06/pandemic-expenses-could-drive-some-snf-operators-out-of-the-market/?euid=a3545010f7&utm_source=snn-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=106db73273 

More CMPs—Nursing homes are seeing more civil monetary penalties, but the fines are not as large as in the past.  https://skillednursingnews.com/2021/07/snfs-seeing-more-fines-from-cms-but-penalties-are-less-costly/?euid=a3545010f7&utm_source=snn-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=86288adaea 

Office closed—Just a reminder, the RIHCA office will be closed on Monday July 5th in observance of Independence Day. 

Well, the weather forecast isn’t the best, but we may still be able to salvage part of the weekend.  Happy 4th of July!  Hope you have some fun celebrations planned.

And coming up tomorrow is my favorite Facebook meme of all time.  It is a drawing of Thomas Jefferson with a quote from July 3, 1776.  “Oh, crap. That’s due tomorrow??!!”

Have a great weekend!