Member Resources

“My strong drive of perseverance and success gave me the courage and strength to work hard to achieve my goal of becoming a nurse.” Ever since she was a young girl growing up in Uganda, Aisha knew she wanted to be a nurse. In secondary school, she began working as a caregiver in peoples’ homes during school holidays, a part-time job that enabled her to raise money to help cover her school expenses. After years of hard work, her lucky

The Brown University Center for Long-Term Care Quality & Innovation Center (Q&I Center), created by AHCA, needs to identify nursing centers that have installed (or are planning to install) a specific kind of LED light. Over the past few years, LED lighting technology has rapidly evolved. New tunable LED lights can be pre-programmed to change in color temperature and intensity over the course of the day and night, similar to the natural cycle of day and night light. Some preliminary

An audio recording and transcript are available for the July 25 call on the Revised Interpretive Guidance for Nursing Homes and New Survey Process, effective November 28, 2017. Learn about the major components of Phase 2 implementation, changes to the survey process, and training resources available to the public.

On August 15 th, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule to cancel the Episode Payment Models and the Cardiac Rehabilitation incentive payment model, which were scheduled to begin on January 1, 2018. Additionally, this proposed rule would reduce the number of mandatory geographic areas participating in the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s (Innovation Center) Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model from 67 to 34. In addition, CMS proposes to allow CJR participants

The New England QIN-QIO's Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative (NHQCC) is pleased to offer a one day in-person educational event, " Assessing and Managing Pain Seminar" with Carol P. Curtiss, MSN, RN-BC, a Clinical Nurse Specialist Consultant and national expert speaker on pain management. This event is scheduled for Tuesday, September 26, 2017 from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm at the Mass Senior Care office. To register, please click here. Space is limited.

On July 31, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule [CMS-1679-F] outlining fiscal year (FY) 2018 Medicare payment rates and quality programs for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). In that rule, CMS finalized some key components of the SNF Value Based Purchasing (VBP) program, which impacts reimbursements starting next year. The SNF VBP Program has adopted scoring and operational policies for its first year (FY 2019) and has specified measures and program features as required

On Thursday, September 28th, the Mass Senior Care Foundation will honor its long time President, Marva Serotkin. The event will be held at Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley from 6-9 pm and we invite all members to join us as we honor Marva and raise funds for our flagship scholarship program. During her 10 years as President of the Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation and her previous tenure as Chair of the Mass Senior Care Association, Marva has championed the annual

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 July 2017. This new file( https://oig.hhs.gov/exclusions/exclusions_list.asp) is meant to replace the updated 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 on the OIG’s

The Boston Home recently celebrated a groundbreaking for their Harmon Apartments project, which will create 36 units of accessible mixed-income housing with supportive services designed to promote independence for adults with progressive neurological diseases. Marva Serotkin, President of Mass Senior Care Foundation and President & CEO of The Boston Home was joined by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry, State Rep. Dan Cullinane, developers and members of the disability community for this exciting milestone.

On July 28, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Survey & Certification Memorandum 17-38 Fire and Smoke Door Annual Testing Requirements in Health Care Occupancies. This memorandum clarifies conflicting information released earlier this year. CMS has provided the following clarifications to the Life Safety Code® requirements for fire and smoke door assembly inspections: Fire door assemblies should be tested in accordance with the 2010 edition of NFPA 80 (the original email, dated 8/2/2017, mistakenly referenced NFPA

“One of my favorite parts of working as a nurse is the constant learning process, and seeing the smiles on patients’ faces and knowing that I am making a positive difference in their lives.” Following in her aunt’s footsteps, Holli Doherty had always dreamed of becoming a nurse. While she deferred pursuing this goal until her children were older, she eventually became an LPN and later obtained her RN degree to further her nursing education and career. Holli is the

The Medicare Learning Network (MLN) will host a call on Thursday, September 7, 2017 from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm regarding a new Facility Assessment Tool to help identify and develop the specific assessment of your facility. Also, find out about frequently asked questions related to revision of the State Operations Manual Appendix PP for Phase 2 of the Reform of Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities final rule. A question and answer session follows the presentation. Register for Medicare Learning

At the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs hearing on July 31 st, Mass Senior Care provided oral testimony in support of H.2079 An Act Relative to Promoting Innovation in Elder Care Services filed by Representative Ron Mariano (D-Quincy). The legislation would establish a zero-interest loan trust fund administered by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. The funds would allow for innovative solutions to the care and housing needs of our growing elder population. Skilled nursing facilities could access

On Thursday, September 28th, the Mass Senior Care Foundation will honor its long time President, Marva Serotkin. The event will be held at Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley from 6-9 pm and we invite all members to join us as we honor Marva and raise funds for our flagship scholarship program. During her 10 years as President of the Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation and her previous tenure as Chair of the Mass Senior Care Association, Marva has championed the annual

Beginning August 1, 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new electronic portal, the Injury Tracking Application (ITA), will be accessible for employers to file web-based reports of workplace injuries or illnesses. OSHA’s secure website offers several different options for how employers submit the data electronically. Under OSHA’s electronic record keeping rule, covered companies with at least 250 employees must submit information electronically from: •OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) •OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related

On July 28, 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Division of Epidemiology and Immunization issued an Advisory to Long Term Care Facilities (LTCF) noting that the Division has received a number of recent reports of outbreaks of scabies occurring in LTCFs. The Advisory notes that Department staff is available to work with LTCFs on infection control procedures, including treatment recommendation, environmental sanitation in response to single cases of scabies as well as outbreaks 24/7 by calling (617) 983-6800. While

On July 31, 2017, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (“Mass Tech Collaborative”), on behalf of Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI), issued a Request for Information for Sharing of Advanced Care Planning (ACP) Documents to solicit responses from interested parties in the field of capturing and sharing advanced care planning documents electronically. MeHI is working in collaboration with other stakeholders, including the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs and the Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care (the Coalition), to examine architectures and technologies

On July 27, 2017, Governor Baker signed into law new protections for pregnant workers that would ban discrimination in the workplace and require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to workers before and after pregnancy. The law will take effect on April 1, 2018. The law, An Act Establishing the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, makes it unlawful for an employer to refuse to employ or discharge from employment, an individual due to pregnancy or a condition related to said pregnancy

Governor Charlie Baker on August 1 st signed into law legislation that would establish a $200 million, temporary two-year employer health contribution program in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2018, along with a reduction in a planned unemployment insurance rate hike. The legislature earlier had rejected the Governor's request to include in his re-filed legislation a series of Medicaid health reforms designed to manage the MassHealth program to make it sustainable over the long term, believing that the proposed reforms would

On Wednesday afternoon the Senate again rejected, on a vote of 45-55, a proposal to repeal significant portions of the Affordable Care Act without a replacement. Seven Republican Senators bucked their leadership and voted with all of the Senate Democrats in rejecting an amendment that would have repealed most of the heath care law with a two-year delay to develop a replacement plan. Similar legislation passed both chambers on reconciliation instructions in 2015, but was vetoed by then-President Obama. It

On July 21, 2017, UMass, the agent EOHHS has contracted with to manage the SFY 2017 Direct Care Add On web-based application and the website URL for Compliance Form, issued an e-mail notification to nursing homes providing guidance in regard to the Final Compliance filing schedule. Please note that the memo indicates that the filing deadline is September 30 th. UMass notes that it expects the final form will be very similar to the Interim Form and that it will

The Legislature yesterday returned to Governor Charlie Baker separate legislation that would establish a $200 million, temporary two-year employer health contribution program in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2018, along with a reduction in a planned unemployment insurance rate hike. The legislature rejected the Governor’s request to include in its re-filed legislation a series of Medicaid health reforms designed to manage the MassHealth program to make it sustainable over the long term, believing that the proposed reforms would have had a

Thank you for the tremendous support in Mass Senior Care’s recent Legislative Action Alert urging lawmakers to override Governor Charlie Baker’s veto of $7.5 million in Medicaid funding for nursing home care. Mass Senior Care has been in contact with legislative leaders, and has learned the veto override vote on our item will likely be on the docket for September. In order to override the Governor’s veto, both members of the Senate and the House of Representatives will need to

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on a nationwide quality improvement initiative aimed at assessing and strengthening current infection control capacity and competency in Massachusetts health care facilities. DPH is currently seeking LTCFs to participate in the non-regulatory assessment of their infection prevention program and practices. Participation in this quality improvement initiative is voluntary and this initiative is not part of DPH’s health care facility licensure regulations. A

CareOne at Brookline welcomed local officials, staff, residents, families, and community members to a community barbecue at St. Mark's Park on July 13 th. Nearly 300 guests celebrated the summer weather with food, refreshments and raffle prizes. Pictured below is Chad Waterman, Administrator at CareOne Brookline and Breanna Wu, Volunteer.

MassHealth electronically collects nursing facility census data information quarterly and is currently collecting census form filings for July 1, 2017. If your facility has not yet filed the July 1, 2017 census form with MassHealth, we urge you to complete the census form and file electronically. Please note that the census survey provides important information on utilization trends, which we share with members in aggregate form. The MassHealth census form should be filed electronically with Matthew Martin of MassHealth at

On Tuesday, July 25, 2017 from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm, CMS experts will discuss the revised Interpretive Guidance for Nursing Homes and the new Survey Process effective November 28, 2017. Learn about the major components of Phase 2 implementation, changes to the survey process, and training resources available to the public. A question and answer session follows the presentation. You may email questions in advance of the call to NHSurveyDevelopment@cms.hhs.gov. Questions received in advance of the call may be

Building on its 32 year legacy of assisting long term care staff in furthering their education, the Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation is proud to announce its 2017 Foundation Scholars (click here to see a list of scholarship recipients by last name). This year’s class of 35 exceptional awardees include Certified Nursing Assistants, nurses, human resource, dietary and other facility staff who will use their scholarships to further their professional development and leadership in the long term care profession. The 2017

Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell postponed indefinitely bringing to the Senate Floor the Senate’s version of the Affordable Care Act ‘Repeal and Replace’ Bill – The Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). Majority Leader McConnell had planned to bring the bill up for a vote but the combination of Senator John McCain’s medical absence and the announcement that Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) would not support the bill forced McConnell to pull the BCRA

We are pleased to report that as a result of tremendous member outreach and advocacy the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and the Department of Public Health have notified Mass Senior Care that the Department will be re-proposing the long term care licensure regulations later this summer. On July 19, 2017, EOHHS Secretary Marylou Sudders indicated in a letter to Mass Senior Care President Tara Gregorio the revised regulations will r etain both the current construction grandfather

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 June 2017. This new file is meant to replace the updated 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 on the OIG’s website

On Tuesday, July 25, 2017 from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm, CMS experts will discuss the revised Interpretive Guidance for Nursing Homes and the new Survey Process effective November 28, 2017. Learn about the major components of Phase 2 implementation, changes to the survey process, and training resources available to the public. A question and answer session follows the presentation. You may email questions in advance of the call to NHSurveyDevelopment@cms.hhs.gov. Questions received in advance of the call may be

The following Mass Senior Care membership committee meetings will be held next week on July 19, 2017. Clinical Quality Committee Wednesday, July 19, 2017 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mass Senior Care office, Waltham Regulatory and Survey Committee Wednesday, July 19, 2017 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Mass Senior Care office, Waltham If you have any questions or are interested in attending, please contact Jennifer Chen, Director of Membership. Please click here for directions to the Mass Senior Care office.

Mass Senior Care is pleased to welcome our new Associate Members. 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. Favorite Healthcare Staffing of Worcester, MA, a Joint Commission certified healthcare staffing company. Contact: Joanne Hebenstreit, Area Director

Massachusetts Senior Care Association’s 2017 Nursing Facility Employment Survey has been mailed out to Nursing Facility Administrators. The deadline to return the survey has been extended to tomorrow, Friday, July 14, 2017. Mass Senior Care member providers have traditionally used the results of this survey to help them assess their wage and benefit packages. The aggregate survey data also enable us to document the costs associated with staff recruitment and retention, health insurance coverage and other factors as we continue

Nine Mass Senior Care members receive AHCA/NCAL's 2017 National Silver – Achievement in Quality Award.

It has come to Mass Senior Care's attention that MassHealth providers using Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 11 browser to upload claims for Medicaid payment are receiving a "File Name is invalid" error message. The MMIS file upload issue appears to occur when the MMIS web site is part of the IE "Trusted sites" and the Trusted sites zone has the "Include local directory path when uploading files to a server" setting set to "Enabled". MassHealth has indicated "if it is

On July 7 th, the Legislature approved its state fiscal year 2018 budget recommendation and sent it to Governor Charlie Baker for his action. The $40.2 billion budget mostly level funds state agency budgets due to the challenging state revenue picture. The final budget also imposed $400 million in reductions from the original House and Senate recommendations. Notwithstanding the deteriorating revenue outlook, we are grateful to Legislative leaders and the Conference Committee members for including $7.5 million in additional funding

The Board of Registration in Nursing (Board) will no longer issue license renewal reminders or paper licenses beginning with the 2018 renewal period. The Board will use email to communicate renewal reminders and important changes in statute, regulations and policies related to nursing. Please note that requiring a hard copy of a license is not a state or federal law. As stated in the BORN memo, “Licensure status can be verified by accessing the Board of Registration in Nursing (Board)

Due to the upcoming holiday weekend, this year's AHCA Silver Award notification date will be moved from Friday, June 30 to Thursday, July 6. Please mark your calendars with this change. The new date will ensure that AHCA has the resources to provide exceptional service and be responsive should members need assistance when they receive the notification. Source: AHCA

Mass Senior Care Association has partnered with our national association, American Health Care Association (AHCA) to help you meet the new Infection Preventionist specialized training requirement finalized by CMS in the Reform of Requirements of Participation for Long Term Care Facilities. This Infection Preventionist Specialized Training (IPCO) course provides education for healthcare professionals who seek to serve as Infection Preventionists. Individuals who complete the course will be trained to effectively implement and manage an Infection Prevention and Control Program at

Massachusetts Senior Care Association’s 2017 Nursing Facility Employment Survey has been mailed out to Nursing Facility Administrators. The deadline to return the survey has been extended to Friday, July 14, 2017. Mass Senior Care member providers have traditionally used the results of this survey to help them assess their wage and benefit packages. The aggregate survey data also enable us to document the costs associated with staff recruitment and retention, health insurance coverage and other factors as we continue to

On June 28, 2017 the Determination of Need Office issued notification that it has promulgated two new Guidelines and issued a clarification of the MCE Guideline, all three of which should be available on the DoN Website shortly. Specifically: J une 29, 2017 Update to Annual Adjustments to Determination of Need (DoN) Expenditure Minimums – updates Maximum Capital Thresholds effective October 1, 2016; Disaggregation – The purpose of this memorandum is to inform interested parties of the time period Applicants

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) earlier this week issued a Notice of Proposed Agency Action that would continue the current Medicaid user fee rate of payment to facilities at $17.59 per day on July 1, 2017, instead of temporarily reducing it to $15.47 per day pending enactment of the SFY 2018 budget.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) has issued Administrative Bulletin 17-11/Nursing Facility User Fee Update, which amends the Per Diem User Fee, effective July 1, 2017. Effective July 1, 2017 dates of service, the user fees have been reduced to the following: Facility Group Per Diem User Fee Effective July 1, 2017 Group 1 $20.40 Group 2 $2.04 Group 3 $2.04 Group 4 $0.00 The new user fee reflects EOHHS’ projection to generate $240 million for the

On July 26 th, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that Senate Republicans will delay a vote on the Senate’s Affordable Care Act replacement bill until after the July 4 th Congressional recess due to opposition from enough Republican Senators to block the bill from moving forward. The Senate’s bill, entitled the “Better Care Reconciliation Act”, was released last week. The Senate bill would have a devastating negative impact on the nursing facility provider community as the Medicaid funding

Mass Senior Care Association has partnered with our national association, American Health Care Association (AHCA) to help you meet the new Infection Preventionist specialized training requirement finalized by CMS in the Reform of Requirements of Participation for Long Term Care Facilities. This Infection Preventionist Specialized Training (IPCO) course provides education for healthcare professionals who seek to serve as Infection Preventionists. Individuals who complete the course will be trained to effectively implement and manage an Infection Prevention and Control Program at

Beginning the morning of June 30 th, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs will centralize the Elder Protective Services abuse report intake system (elder abuse hotline) to a single phone number, connecting the caller to a call center with specially trained intake workers here in Massachusetts. The 24/7 single phone number will simplify the process for elder abuse reporting. All calls made to 1-800-922-2275 (day or night, 7 days a week) will go directly to the Massachusetts-based call center, regardless

The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Review and Correct reports are available on demand in the CMS Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reporting (CASPER) application. Log into the CMS Network using your CMSNet user ID and password to access the “Welcome to the CMS QIES Systems for Providers” webpage, then select the CASPER Reporting link to locate your reports. These reports: Contain quality measure information at the facility level Allow providers to obtain aggregate performance for the

Massachusetts Senior Care Association’s 2017 Nursing Facility Employment Survey has been mailed out to Nursing Facility Administrators. Please complete the survey and return it to Mass Senior Care by Friday, June 30, 2017. Mass Senior Care member providers have traditionally used the results of this survey to help them assess their wage and benefit packages. The aggregate survey data also enable us to document the costs associated with staff recruitment and retention, health insurance coverage and other factors as we