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January 7, 2021

CMS Releases Updated Survey Memo for SNF

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued an update to memo QSO-20-31-ALL, a memo directed to state survey agencies related to survey activity. CMS also announced changes to Focused Infection Control Survey frequency and practice.
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Assembly Republicans Pass COVID-19 Legislation; Senate Rejects Plan

Late Monday, January 5, Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos introduced Assembly Bill 1, COVID-19 legislation with several provisions related to long-term care, further detailed below. The future of the bill is bleak, as Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) today announced the Senate will not take up this version, and Governor Tony Evers has expressed serious reservations about the omnibus bill, indicating he would veto the bill in its entirety.
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2021 AHCA NCAL National Quality Award Deadline Next Month

2021 Bronze, Silver and Gold Quality Award applicants are encouraged to access free resources to help with a smooth writing and submission process. The Criteria Series are videos that applicants can access for free that cover application categories and technical writing for each award level.
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AHCA/NCAL Launches Vaccination Campaign

​AHCA/NCAL launched a new #GetVaccinated campaign​ to encourage long term care staff and residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine​​. A communications toolkit with various materials ​have been created for providers and state affiliates to help communicate about the importance of vaccination as well as highlight progress.
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Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program for COVID-19 Vaccination: Resources and FAQs

The Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care (LTC) Program will facilitate safe vaccination of this critical patient population, while reducing the burden on LTC facilities (LTCF) and health departments. The program provides end-to-end management of the COVID-19 vaccination process, including cold chain management, on-site vaccinations, and fulfillment of reporting requirements at no cost to facilities. LTCF staff who have not received COVID-19 vaccine can also be vaccinated as part of the program.
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CMS Publishes Revised COVID-19 Focused Infection Control Survey Tool for Acute and Continuing Care

Effective December 30, 2020, CMS issued CMS Memo QSO-21-08 NLTC revising the COVID-19 Focused Infection Control (FIC) Survey Tool for Acute and Continuing Care. CMS revised the non-long term care (NLTC) FIC survey tool to reflect COVID-19 guidance updates, provide clarifications to existing information, and update the appropriate CMS regulatory tag considerations if a citation is warranted. The FIC survey tool was also aligned with recent updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) related to screening and triage of those entering healthcare facilities.
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CMS Adds Six New COVID-19 ICD-10 Codes Effective January 1, 2021

​​In an off-cycle update to the 2021 ICD-10-CM Coding Guidelines posted in December in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) implemented six new diagnosis codes into the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM), effective January 1, 2021.   
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Preceptorship Program Available through Herzing University!

WHCA/WiCAL, in collaboration with the Herzing University Practical Nursing Program, is working to help our members find creative solutions to the workforce crisis. The program would like to offer our members the opportunity to participate in a preceptorship program with their nursing students.
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BCD: Surveillance for New Genetic Variants of SARS-CoV-2: Information for Clinicians

In mid-December, 2020, a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was recognized to be spreading rapidly in London and southeast England. This strain of the virus is notable for having an unusually large number of genetic mutations, including a mutation in the receptor binding domain of the spike protein (N501Y), which is hypothesized to be associated with increased transmissibility. The new strain has been alternatively referred to as “variant of concern (VOC) 202012/01” or “B.1.1.7.”
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Starts in 2 Weeks! Sign Up for the Standards of Care Webinar Series Today

WHCA/WiCAL is excited to partner with Proactive Medical Review to present the Standards of Care: Driving LTC Clinical Quality webinar series. This 12-month webinar series focuses on nursing facility systems of care and managing common conditions treated in the LTC setting. Each session addresses standards of care, staff training/competency focus areas, critical nursing assessment/documentation principles, care planning guidance, recommended QA activities, and practical daily operations guidance with extensive use of case examples.
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