E-News Update Articles

Announcement that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be amending the reporting timeline for the Provider Relief Fund Program (PRF) due to the recent passage of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma has announced that the agency has withdrawn the proposed Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule (MFAR) which would have had a devastating budgetary impact on states, including Massachusetts.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering two on-demand web-based training courses for Post-Acute Care Providers (Home Health Agencies (HHAs), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs), Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs), and Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs).

As a way of thanking nursing home workers for their extraordinary efforts during the pandemic, the Masconomet Red Cross Club raised $350 from students and parents to buy PPE for distribution to nursing facilities. The student club, based at Masconomet High School in Boxford, recently delivered masks, gloves, face shields and hand sanitizer to Mass Senior Care which will send it to facilities in need. We are very grateful for the efforts of the Masconomet Red Cross Club and appreciate their thoughtful gesture.

Mass Senior Care has developed A Guidebook: Building a CNA Talent Pipeline to support the efforts of nursing facility members to build CNA talent pipelines through developing facility-based training programs that use asynchronous instruction platforms and/or partnering with local CNA training providers. These pipeline strategies will enable facilities to expand career opportunities through training Resident Care Assistants (RCAs), Hospitality Aides or other entry-level staff to become CNAs.

Mass Senior Care Association’s weekly E-News Update and member communications are a benefit of your membership. To access Members Only content on www.maseniorcare.org, please log-in using your e-mail address and password. To reset your password, please click here. You will receive an email with instructions to reset your password. If you need help with accessing your member profile, please contact Loan Nguyen at info@maseniorcare.org or call the MSCA office at 617-558-0202.

The deadline to submit an AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award application is quickly approaching! All applications and payments must be received by 8 pm Eastern on January 28, 2021.

On January 1, 2021, employees in Massachusetts may begin to apply for and receive paid leave under the state's new Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) law. Employers are likely to have new responsibilities under the PFML law. Visit the Department of Family and Medical Leave website to learn more about employers’ responsibility.

The DPH County Positivity Rate Weekly Report released on January 13, 2021 has identified Bristol, Essex, Hampden and Plymouth counties with a >10% positivity rate.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar has extended the public health emergency (PHE) due to COVID-19 effective January 21. The PHE is issued in 90-day increments and is slated to expire in April 2021.

Information is provided to members on therapeutic guidance for long-term care facilities and CVS consent forms in multiple languages.

Updates provided on Mass Senior Care's A Guidebook: Building a CNA Talent Pipeline, EOHHS discharge resources and guidelines for hospitals and the DPH weekly call.

This memorandum shares information on the SBA Payroll Protection Program, invites members to join CMS and CDC for a fireside chat on vaccine safety on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 4:00 pm ET and also discusses MassHealth updates to LTC eligibility application form (SACA-2).

Discussion on AG Healey advisory on stimulus payment, important change to NHSN point-of-care test reporting requirement, OSHA required 2020 injury and illness data due March 2, and HHS extention of public health emergency.

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.

Now that we are nearing the end of the second week of the federal vaccination clinic rollout, nearly 320 facilities have successfully completed their first clinics and are reporting that these highly anticipated events are running smoothly. CVS and Walgreens have been conducting the clinics for both residents and staff and anticipate having all clinics completed by January 25, 2021.

A reminder to members that CHIA data submissions are due tomorrow and an announcement about a new round of PPP funding.

Recent updates regarding COVID-19 include: COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs, State’s COVID-19 Staffing Portal 3.0, COVID-19 Vaccination Criteria, CMS Updated Guidance on Focused Infection Control Surveys, and Update to Comprehensive PPE Guidance

Members are invited to join today’s COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Session with CMS and CDC, provided information on CMS revised criteria for conducting focused infection control surveys and survey FAQs, update to comprehensive PPE guidance, and clarification on reporting of BinaxNOW POC test results.

Information provided on the MassHealth Nursing Facility Bulletin 159 which updates the conditions for participating in the new targeted Isolation Space program, COVID-19 Long-Term Care Staffing Portal 3.0, COVID-19 Vaccination Criteria, and DPH Weekly Call new participant code.

Members are reminded the DPH Skilled Nursing Facilities Monoclonal Antibody Therapy Survey is due tomorrow, and updated on MassHealth Nursing Facility Bulletin 158: Updated COVID-19 Ongoing Surveillance Testing Requirements for Nursing Facilities which supersedes MassHealth Nursing Facility Bulletin 152.

The National Health Care Safety Network (NHSN) has reported that there is an error occurring with data upload to the NHSN Long Term Care Facility modules. This has to do with an incorrect auto-populated date error. The ​CDC is urgently working to correct the NHSN application error that is impacting reporting COVID-19 data since December 26, 2020. When entering weekly COVID-19 data for the week of December 21-27, the pre-populated date for the week indicates that the week ends on December 27, 2021, instead of December 27, 2020. When trying to save data, the system generates an error message and will not allow facilities to save their data. A solution will be deployed in the NHSN application later this week, but until then a work-around can be used to continue reporting COVID-19 vaccination data.

Amidst celebratory backdrops, on December 28th more than 30 nursing facilities in Massachusetts began vaccinating residents and staff with the COVID-19 vaccine, offering a sign of hope to facilities that have courageously battled this insidious virus over the past 10 months. “Today marks a critical and hopeful milestone in our fight against Covid-19 with the first wave of vaccines being distributed in nursing facilities across the Commonwealth,” said Tara M. Gregorio, Mass Senior Care Association President.

Happy New Year Best Wishes for a Happy Healthy 2021! From Mass Senior Care

The Massachusetts Congressional Delegation this week sent a letter, led by Congresswoman Lori Trahan, to the Director of the CDC requesting that the CDC approve the Commonwealth’s request to offer four vaccination clinics at long-term care facilities in Massachusetts through the Long-Term Care Pharmacy Partnership Program.

Mass Senior Care is making resources available in its COVID-19 Vaccination Toolkit accessible to staff by providing materials in four different languages, including Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Haitian Creole and Traditional Chinese. All of the resources, including posters, a template letter to staff and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be accessed and downloaded from our COVID-19 Vaccination webpage, https://www.maseniorcare.org/covid-vaccine.

Members are asked to respond to MSCA vaccination clinic outreach, reminded about the definition of staff for vaccination, given information on BinaxNOW Rapid Point of Care COVID-19 Testing for ALR, and invited to register for today’s COVID-19 vaccine safety chat with AHCA, CMC and the CDC.

Memo shares information on a provider experience with COVID-19 vaccination clinic, BinaxNOW guidance for LTC facilities, EOHHS final October 2020 Medicaid Rate regulation with modifications, HHS update of the Provider Relief Fund FAQ, and provides a reminder about the DPH weekly call.

Member COVID-19 updates on MassHealth 2nd Room Density Report due 12/31/2020; MassHealth increasing supplemental payment for the new targeted Isolation Space Program; new DPH webpage for COVID-19 guidance for LTC facilities; healthcare license renewals extended; additional CDC resources on COVID-19 vaccination, and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheet.

DPH released updated Guidance Regarding Seasonal Influenza Vaccination of Healthcare Personnel at Massachusetts Nursing Homes and Rest Homes for the 2020-2021 Season and MassHealth has issued Eligibility Operations Memo (EOM) 20-21 Level-of-Care Screening Process.

This memo shares information on COVID-19 vaccination materials available in four languages, reminds members to update November Surveillance testing payments with CHIA, and provides a corrected link for assisted living CLIA waivers.

Member updates on Congress passing a $900 billion stimulus package, new rate for staff surveillance testing, CDC releases additional guidance on COVID-19 vaccination in long-term care facilities, OSHA releases resource for understanding compliance with OSHA’s Respiratory Protection standard, county positivity rates >10% in Bristol & Nantucket counties, MassHealth issues bulletin on Coverage and Payment for COVID-19 Vaccine Administration, Testing, and Monoclonal Antibody Product Infusion, and DPH weekly call reminder.

A memo reminding members about the Town Hall Meeting tonight with EOHHS Secretary Marylou Sudders, the CMS-CDC Nursing Home Stakeholder Call scheduled for tomorrow and to order BinaxNow test kits from DPH.

Another reminder to members regarding the Town Hall Meeting at 8 pm Tonight with EOHHS Secretary Marylou Sudders.

This memorandum shares information on the confirmation of verbal consent from Walgreens and CVS, a COVID-19 Town Hall Meeting for Nursing Home Workers, Emergency Use Authorization Fact Sheet for COVID-19 in multiple languages, BinaxNow Test Kits and a COVID-19 vaccine presentation.

To assist members with talking to long term care staff, residents, and family members about the importance of getting a COVID-19 vaccine, Mass Senior Care has created a new campaign “Arming Ourselves Against COVID-19”. The campaign’s dedicated webpage at www.maseniorcare.org/covid-vaccine has resources related to the COVID-19 vaccine including links to information about vaccine allocation, safety and efficacy, as well as tools to prepare your vaccination clinics.

It is hard to imagine long term care staff having the time or energy to do much of anything beyond their workday after dealing with the extraordinary demands of caring for residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. But more than 75 individuals submitted applications for the 2021 Mass Senior Care Foundation Scholarship program, a testament to the commitment and dedication of our caregiving staff.

Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season from all of us here at Massachusetts Senior Care Association.

Memorandum To: Mass Senior Care Members From: Tara M. Gregorio, President Re: COVID-19 Updates: DPH Releases Guidance on Considerations for HCP After COVID-19 Vaccination; Mass Senior Care Shares COVID-19 Vaccine Resources, and CHIA Reporting Extensions During the Holiday Season Date: December 17, 2020 DPH Releases Guidance on Considerations for Health Care Personnel After COVID-19 Vaccination The DPH has released guidance on Considerations for Health Care Personnel After COVID-19 Vaccination. Health care personnel may experience side effects following COVID-19 vaccination. Providers

Information is provided on consents required by CVS and Walgreens for the COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC recommendations on post-vaccine considerations for residents, additional tools and resources offered by DPH and Provider Relief Fund FAQs for vaccine distribution.

Members are given updates on Pfizer EUA COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheet, obtaining CLIA waivers for ALRs, AHCA vaccination office hours and reminded about the weekly DPH call.

Shares Vaccine Clinic Deployment materials developed by the American Health Care Association (AHCA).

A notice to members that EOHHS Secretary Marylou Sudders will be hosting a MassHealth stakeholder call on Monday, December 14th from 2:30pm – 3:30 pm to give a high-level overview of the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan.

On Tuesday, December 15 at 3:00pm Eastern, Vince Crisler, Founder and CEO of cybersecurity company Dark Cubed, will lead a one-hour presentation titled Cybersecurity Essentials for Long Term Care. From his time at the Pentagon, to CISO at the White House, and his years managing massive cyber and critical infrastructures at the Department of Homeland Security, Vince commands a deep understanding of the myriad challenges that organizations face given the ever expanding and evolving cyber threat landscape.

In a recent website posting, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highlighted two successful infection prevention success stories from Massachusetts. As the CDC noted, “Many long-term care facilities across the country are taking actions to implement CDC guidance and keep residents and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. These stories highlight a small selection of the ongoing work of those facilities.”

The AHCA/NCAL Infection Control Certificate Program is designed for skilled nursing and assisted living staff and features two main areas.

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.

As we complete Week 4 of the 16-week Project ECHO sessions, the focus of this week’s curriculum pivoted to address participants concerns and questions about the deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Commonwealth’s nursing facilities. During the sessions, nursing facility participants, geriatricians, and long term care clinicians reviewed the latest news regarding the vaccine and discussed how to safely and effectively implement it in nursing facilities. Since the vaccine is on a fast track for distribution and nursing facilities in Massachusetts are prioritized in Phase 1, next week’s Project ECHO session will continue the discussion on vaccine management with a substantial amount of time being devoted to Q&A.