Member Resources

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

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

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

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.

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 NURSING HOME INDUSTRY says inadequate state funding caused 20 facilities to close last year and is putting another 39 at risk of going out of business this year. Tara Gregorio, the president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, and Naomi Prendergast, president and CEO of D’Youville Life and Wellness Community in Lowell, sounded the alarm on the Codcast, saying rates provided by MassHealth are way too low because they are based on cost benchmarks from 2007. There are

On February 20, 2019, The Department of Public Health Complaint Unit presented a webinar for Mass Senior Care members on “Best Practices when Reporting through the Health Care Facility Reporting System”. This webinar provided guidance to member facilities on information that should be included on an initial and follow up incident report submitted through the HCFRS. You can find a copy of the slides here and to access the recording, please click here.

Please make your voice heard by joining Mass Senior Care and thousands of other residents, their family members and staff by answering the call to care by visiting www.MACallToCare.org and sending your legislators an email asking them to support quality resident care and staff by closing the Medicaid funding gap.

Mass Senior Care has issued a statement and anticipate that family members and staff may have questions related to the news report. Please find our statement and talking points which may be helpful in assisting you in these discussions.

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 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

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 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

Take Action and Call Governor Baker at 617-804-5028 Today!

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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 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

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

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

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 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

The Intent to Apply (ITA) for the 2019 AHCA/NCAL National Quality Awardapplication cycle is closing soon! The deadline to submit an ITA is November 8, 2018 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. AHCA/NCAL encourages you to submit an ITA through the Quality Award Portal here before the deadline. More information about the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program, the benefits of submitting an ITA and key dates are listed below and available at ahcancal.org/qualityaward. If you have any questions, please feel free

Mass Senior Care Association members can register for a new education program designed to help skilled nursing facilities succeed under the new CMS value based purchasing payment program (SNF VBP) that took effect Monday, October 1, 2018. The course ( Understanding SNF VBP in Detail) contains six modules that provide an in-depth description of each feature of the SNF VBP program along with helpful tools, documents, and primary source references to the program. This new training program is intended for

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

Mass Senior Care Association was saddened to learn of the recent death of Gerald “Jerry” Schuster, 89, founder of Continental Wingate Co. Inc, the holding company for Wingate Healthcare. In 1965, Mr. Schuster founded the holding company specializing in financial services, real estate development, property management, and healthcare. Under the leadership and direction of his son, Scott, Wingate Healthcare has developed into a regional provider of skilled nursing and supportive care to seniors in residential settings in Massachusetts and New

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 Monday, November 5, 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 their October 19th

Mass Senior Care offered testimony on the Department of Public Health’s proposed amendments to Determination of Need (DoN) regulations: · Grandfathering of Unimplemented DoNs – in 2017 the Department indicated in a memorandum to the Public Health Council that the new DoN regulations would have no impact on previously issued DoNs. We believe that it is critical to have this grandfather protection be codified in the regulation. · Community-Based Health Initiative (CHI) – We continue to urge the Department to

With the November 6th election only a few weeks away, please join me in urging members of the long term care community to support a NO vote on Question 1 to reject mandatory nurse-staffing ratios and a YES vote on Question 3 to preserve the current non-discrimination law for transgender people. VOTE NO ON QUESTION 1 Question 1 would impose rigid government-mandated nurse staffing ratios at every hospital in Massachusetts. Mass Senior Care is extremely concerned that Question 1 will