The Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Division of Quality Assurance held its quarterly meeting with representatives of the state's skilled nursing provider associations this week.
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The Bureau of Assisted Living (BAL) held an in-person Assisted Living forum Tuesday, July 12th at Madison College. WiCAL Executive Director Brian Purtell provides a review of the forum.
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The Wisconsin Long Term Care Advisory Council will have an expanded focus, a Wisconsin Department of Health Services official announced at its meeting earlier this week. In the past, the WLTCAC has been strictly limited in mission to avoid addressing key issues including the Family Care redesign.
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The Wisconsin Long-Term Care Workforce Alliance - of which WHCA/WiCAL is a member - has begun a campaign to send postcards to state legislators to raise awareness about Wisconsin's ongoing long-term care workforce crisis.
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In 2014, CMS issued its proposed emergency preparedness rule, which will establish national emergency preparedness requirements for Medicare- and Medicaid-participating providers and suppliers. WHCA/WiCAL is offering a program that will provide participants with a significant leg-up on meeting the expected requirements of the soon-to-be-final rule. Participation in this program will allow facilities to thoughtfully and proactively take steps now toward the pending heightened expectations in the area of emergency preparedness.
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Three managed care organizations in western Wisconsin are merging. The three MCOs to merge are Community Care Connections of Wisconsin, ContinuUs, and Western Wisconsin Cares.
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Since the CDC's recent recommendation against the use of the nasal spray flu vaccine, DHS has announced that there will be enough of the injectable version of the vaccine for Wisconsin residents during the 2016-17 flu season.
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A team of nationally recognized long-term care researchers from Case Western Reserve University and Brown University, Stefan Gravenstein, MD, MPH, CMD, and Vincent Mor, PhD, are recruiting for a national quality improvement study.
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has released an interim final rule announcing that it will increase the minimum per-claim penalty under the False Claims Act (FCA) from $5,500 to $10,781, and the maximum per-claim penalty from $11,000 to $21,563.
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a MLN Matters article intended for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) submitting claims to Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries paid under the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS).
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is collaborating with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), multiple state and local health departments, and numerous healthcare facilities to investigate a multi-state outbreak of Burkholderia cepacia infections. These infections have occurred primarily in ventilated patients without cystic fibrosis and who are being treated in intensive care units.
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WHCA/WiCAL’s contract lobbying firm Hubbard Wilson and Zelenkova produced this Capitol news roundup available to partners and clients.
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In 2014, the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program implemented a recertification policy that impacts ALL current and previous recipients. Under this policy, Bronze and Silver Quality Award recipients have three years to apply for the next award level (Silver or Gold) before being designated as a “past recipient” of the award. As a past recipient, an organization must reapply at the Bronze level if they decide to participate in the program again.
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Advertising space for WHCA/WiCAL's Fall issue of Continuum is now available! Continuum contains legislative updates and information pertaining to the top products and service suppliers serving Wisconsin providers. As such, Continuum is read by all of the leaders in Wisconsin’s skilled nursing and therapy center provider community, most assisted living providers, hospital discharge planners, as well as state and federal legislators, regulators and policymakers.
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The Wisconsin Health Care Association and the Wisconsin Center for Assisted Living are pleased to invite you to sign up for the WHCA/WiCAL Gold Business Partner Package. By joining this exclusive group, you reach the most influential decision makers in Wisconsin's long-term care provider community. You will be visibly exposed to managers and department heads responsible for specifying, recommending, and approving purchases on behalf of their facilities.
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Members are encouraged to nominate worthy applicants for the WHCA/WiCAL Shining Star Awards, which will be presented during the 65th Annual Fall Convention, October 19-21, 2016. The no-exceptions deadline for nominations is September 9, 2016.
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The National Assisted Living Week (NALW) Planning Guide and Product Catalog is now available to download at www.NALW.org. This year’s Planning Guide and Product catalog contains innovative activity ideas and exciting products to highlight this year’s theme, “Keep Connected” recognizing the increasing opportunity technology can offer to enhance the care and overall experience in assisted living communities.
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WHCA/WiCAL is pleased to announce an Infection Control Summit, to be held August 17, 2016 in Wausau. The summit includes presentations from industry experts, including Dr. Abimbola Ogundimu, a Certified Infection Preventionist with the CDC.
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Don’t miss out on the upcoming PEAL (Performance Excellence in Assisted Living) webinar! Next week Thursday, July 14th from 1-2 p.m., the WiCAL PEAL program...
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