Next week is National Nurses week. It is a time to celebrate the dedication, caring and overall contributions of those who choose nursing as their profession.
The Home Care Alliance would like to share your nursing human interest stories next week across our various social media platforms, whether it’s a shout out to a team or a staff member.
Email Megan Fournier at mfournier@thinkhomecare.org to tell us why you love home care & hospice nurses – OR – share our post below and comment why!
Join us for our first annual Quality & Compliance Conference being held on Thursday, March 29th in Worcester, MA. This conference has been created due to the overwhelming new regulations that agencies need to understand to remain compliant.
After surveying members, HCA determined some of the most important topics that will be discussed during this full day conference.
Members are able to register for the LOW price of $50/person.
5 Nursing CEUs will be awarded!
The agenda is as follows:
There is something for everyone at the 2018 New England Home Care & Hospice Conference and Trade Show. See below just some of the topics that may be suited for you!
Clinical Directors
Quality
Private Duty
CEO
We have carved out an entire CEO track for you to enhance your skills and knowledge as well as engage with panelists, and peers.
Therapy
Human Resources
Finance
Hospice & Palliative Care
There are even more break-out sessions to learn from and 5 keynotes not even mentioned! Be sure to take a look at the full brochure to learn about ALL sessions being offered at this years conference!
Go to http://www.NEHCC.com for more information and to register today!
HCA prides itself in providing the most current, important, and in demand educational topics for our members. To do this, we sometimes partner with sister state associations who are willing to offer their programs at member rates. Below you will find some upcoming webinars that are being made available to all HCA of MA members!
Operational Lessons Learned from a Disaster Plan That Didn’t Work
March 7: 1:00-2:30PM
This case study will help your agency better prepare for the unthinkable. Hear the experience of an agency that worked with local and regional groups to develop a comprehensive disaster plan only to discover IT DIDN’T WORK!! Emergency preparedness will be a top priority in upcoming surveys. Failure to comply can result in serious financial penalties, or even loss of your agency’s license. Take the steps necessary to create a plan that works.
The Aide’s Role in Confidentiality and HIPAA
March 8: 3:00-4:00PM
This workshop will focus on assisting your In-Home Aides in understanding HIPAA and confidentiality guidelines. This workshop will offer practical tips to ensure that the para-professional adheres to the required privacy standards. Also included: the impact of social media such as Facebook, My Space, YouTube and cell phones, text messages, etc.
Re-Imagining the Plan of Care: A Pyramid Model
March 22: 1:00-2:30PM
There are many ways to build a plan of care – but how do you know that the one you are using is effective, comprehensive and will support strong clinical care in the home?
The “Pyramid of Care” uses the comprehensive OASIS assessment you already have as the foundation. Explore the process of identifying critical areas that become the goals of the plan of care, and transform these into skilled interventions. This process will be easy for your clinicians to grasp and implement, will enable them to clearly support skill in each visit, and achieve measurable improvement in the outcome goals attached to each plan.
Understand PT & OT Functional Tests: Selecting & Interpreting the Best Assessment Tools
April 5: 1:00-2:30PM
There are so many assessment tool options available to home care, but so little time to research them all! Home care physical therapist and educator Ernest Roy has taken the deep dive to provide webinar participants with an evidenced-based review of tests suitable for field use by Physical and Occupational Therapists. Roy will focus on data norms for specific populations, as well as highlight minimal clinically important differences as well as specificity and sensitivity. Utilize the data you collect from intake to discharge, and improve your functional testing efficacy.
The Aide’s Role in Assisting a Patient with Chronic Pain
April 12: 3:00-4:00PM
Our world is aging. The elder population may falsely believe that because they are aging that pain is a normal part of living and is therefore not reported or managed. Since the majority of our patients seen in the home are elderly, this webinar will provide an overview of symptoms the aide may observe and the aide’s role in providing care to those patients experiencing pain.
Fro
m the pre-conference programs, to national keynote speakers and the largest trade show in the region, there is just so much to take in at the 8th annual New England Home Care & Hospice Conference and Trade Show. Be part of the action, or take the scenic route to networking, learning and relaxing. There truly is something for everyone. Join us!
See our detailed brochure and register today. Keep up with all the conference news by subscribing to our blog, following us on Facebook or on Twitter.
Why Participate? An investment in staff education is an investment in quality customer service for all types of agencies. For home health and hospice agencies, these hour-long webinars can be used to help meet the 12 hours per year educational requirements under the Medicare Conditions of Participation. For all providers, an educational investment in your staff pays off in quality care!
July 13, 2017
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Falls Prevention Risks
Speaker: Cheryle Atwater, PT
Description: Statistics show that 30% of those greater than 65 years old fall each year; and, one- half (50%) of those will suffer multiple falls. Emergent care due to injuries secondary to falls is one of the most frequently occurring adverse events reported for our home health population. This session will explore the risk factors contributing to falls and methods for identifying and addressing these factors by in home aides, in collaboration with other members of the interdisciplinary team.
August 10, 2017
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Cultural Diversity
Speaker: Kathie Smith, RN
Description: The United States has long been seen as a “melting pot” of people from many countries and cultures; this diversity will continue to increase. Misunderstandings caused by lack of cultural sensitivity and skills can lead to poor interaction with patients and their families. This webinar will cover basic principles of cultural diversity understanding in patient care.
September 14, 2017
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Quality Improvement Activities
Speaker: Heather Jones, MPH, CHES, COS-C
Description: What is QAPI? This session will describe the requirement for home health and hospice agencies to conduct Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) activities including a family satisfaction survey. How your agency performs on these measures is available to the public. In-home aides will learn how they play a role in supporting QAPI.
October 12, 2017
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Maintaining Professional Boundaries
Speaker: Cindy Morgan, RN, MSN, CHC, CHPN
Description: During this presentation the participant will discover: the meaning of professional boundaries, and the importance of maintaining professional boundaries. We will identify some red flags or indicators that give warning to boundary issues and strategies to prevent boundary issues.
November 9, 2017
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Communication & Conflict Resolution in the Workplace
Speaker: Kathie Smith, RN
Description: Basic principles of communication include verbal and non-verbal communication. We are communicating, even when we are not using words, with our body language. This webinar will cover communication skills and ways to communicate to help with conflict resolution such as effective listening; self-management; self-awareness and how emotions affect communication.
December 14, 2017
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Understanding Depression
Speaker: Cindy Morgan, RN, MSN, CHC, CHPN
Description: The CDC estimates that one in ten adults in the United States reports depression. About 25 million Americans will have an episode of major depression this year alone but only half of them receive treatment. Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and represents a public health challenge. This disease may be experienced by people of any age group, any nationality or any socioeconomic level. Many times depression is not detected and therefore goes unmanaged. This presentation will focus on the manifestations of depression that patients may exhibit and the aide’s role in caring for the depressed patient.
January 11, 2018
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Recognizing & Reporting Patient Abuse
Speaker: Kathie Smith, RN
Description: According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, every year an estimated 5 million older Americans are victims of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation. And that’s only part of the picture. Experts believe that for every case of elder abuse or neglect reported as many as 23 cases go unreported. According to the National Children’s Alliance, in 2015, an estimated 1,670 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States. This webinar will provide information on recognizing signs of patient abuse and neglect both for adults and children and the importance of reporting appropriately.
February 8, 2018
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Dealing with Combative Dementia Patients
Speakers: John Conrad and Libby Hart, RN
Description: Our aides often notice that some elderly patients demonstrate behaviors that include paranoia, delusions, hallucinations and/or aggression. Each patient with aggressive behavior brings a unique challenge as caregivers attempt to assist with ADL/IADL care in the home. This presentation is intended for aides and caregivers to minimize the risk of injury when providing care for patients with dementia who demonstrate some form of combative behaviors. We will provide education and instructions regarding positions and techniques to avoid physical confrontations with those patients who have the tendency to hit, push, kick, spit or grab those providing care. We will address some of the causes of these combative behaviors and provide valuable tips and techniques to ameliorate each occurrence.
March 8, 2018
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Confidentiality and HIPAA
Speaker: Michelle White, MSN, RN
Description: This workshop will focus on assisting your In-Home Aides in understanding HIPAA and confidentiality guidelines. This workshop will offer practical tips to ensure that the para-professional adheres to the required privacy standards. Also included: the impact of social media such as Facebook, My Space, YouTube and cell phones, text messages, etc.
April 12, 2018
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Assisting a Patient with Chronic Pain
Speaker: Cindy Morgan, RN, MSN, CHC, CHPN
Description: Our world is aging. The elder population may falsely believe that because they are aging that pain is a normal part of living and is therefore not reported or managed. Since the majority of our patients seen in the home are elderly, this webinar will provide an overview of symptoms the aide may observe and the aide’s role in providing care to those patients experiencing pain.
May 10, 2018
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Infection Control in Home Care & Hospice
Speaker: Michelle White, MSN, RN
Description: This workshop will focus on understanding the basic principles of infection prevention and control. This workshop will also focus on Blood Borne Pathogens and the principles surrounding transmission and methods in which the aide can protect themselves and the patient.
June 14, 2018
TOPIC: The Aide’s Role in Enhancing the Patient’s Experience with the Home Care Bill of Rights
Speaker: Sherry Thomas, BSN, MPH
Description: The Patient Bill of Rights (BOR) sets forth requirements that ensure that patients and families are engaged in their home care and have good outcomes and experiences from their services. This webinar will review key BOR areas common to all home care settings that if not met by agency staff most often lead to disgruntled patients, complaints and a surveyor at your agency’s door.
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The Alliance’s annual celebration of innovation and excellence will return to the Granite Links Golf Club in Quincy on June 20, 2017. As always, invitations to attend will be sent to a broad health care audience.
Together, we can celebrate our people and our pioneers and recognize what our awardees and member agencies: make life better for our thousands of patients and their families. In celebrating individual achievement, we shine a light on our collective accomplishments.
Email/Fax/Mail: Fill out our hard-copy nomination form and submit to:
Tim Burgers
75 Kneeland St., Ste. 709
Boston, MA 02111
Fx: (617) 426-05109
tburgers@thinkhomecare.org
Nominations may be made by Alliance agencies, their patients, or their partner organizations and are due by April 14, 2017.
Final selections will be made by the Alliance’s Membership & Awards Ceremony Committee. Each winner will be invited to attend the ceremony as guest of the Alliance, along with the person who nominated him/her, as well as three additional guests.
Please join us in this opportunity to celebrate and honor our industry innovators and our “STARs.”
The 2017 Aide and Clinician of the Year will be honored on the covers of our 2018 directories.
The Innovations Awards recognize programs, products, or operational changes that enhance patient, client, or community, well-being; drive efficiency in operations or the health care system’; enhance staff productivity or satisfaction.
The Star Awards celebrate the exceptional accomplishments of the everyday heroes in our midst who make incredible differences in the lives of their patients/clients and their families. Though there are too few opportunities to recognize all who deserve one, a STAR award brings well-deserved recognition for both the agency and the individual.
NEHCC SPEAKER PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS NOW DUE BY DECEMBER 31st!
With the holidays around us
, the NEHCC committee wanted to provide the gift of a deadline extension! To date there have been many qualified and appealing submissions but it is no longer too late to submit your own presentation!
The NEHHC welcomes Speaker Presentation applications from a diverse audience of home health and healthcare experts.
The New England Home Care & Hospice Conference and Trade Show is designed for senior and mid-level administrative and clinical staff. The conference features multiple keynote sessions, workshops, and intensive programs. Topics are designed to meet the needs of all agencies, including Medicare-certified, private duty, and hospices. The New England Home Care & Hospice Conference and Trade Show is the region’s premier event for home care and hospice agencies. It’s hosted by the six New England state home care Associations, which collectively represent nearly 400 organizations. This coming year, the conference returns to the Radisson Hotel Manchester May 16 – 18, 2017.
Go to www.NEHCC.com for more information about the conference!
The Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts has partnered with the Corridor Group to provide an exciting new membership benefit. Corridor Campus eLearning is an online program that provides orientation and ongoing education for all levels of staff, allowing you to streamline training across your organization while providing Continuing Education Credits. Topics of the 150+ courses offered include ICD-10, Sexual Harassment, Alzheimer’s, HIPAA, Infection Control, and much more!
Home Care Alliance member agencies receive a discounted rate on Corridor Campus, paying the lowest per user fee they offer. Along with this great offer, our members will also have the opportunity to receive a 15% discount on any other Corridor products they purchase.
After the partnership was announce this summer, the Home Care Alliance held an informative webinar that introduced the software and did a brief demo. All information about this partnership including the recording of the webinar is available at www.thinkhomecare.org/Corridor. Take a look at this great opportunity to save your agency money while receiving great education for your staff!
If you have any questions about this partnership you can contact Megan Fournier at mfournier@thinkhomecare.org
As you probably know, the Home Care Alliance of MA is constantly adding new programs in our calendar, especially with all that is changes in our industry. Please see below some new (and old) programs that we have to offer over the next few weeks:
Thursday, November 17th: “Coping with Chaos: Compliance Climate 2016”
Home Health and Hospice agencies must continue to navigate a chaotic environment with no end in sight. Get clarity on what the government enforcement agencies and contractors are focusing on in 2016-2017. Learn how to formalize processes and systems to capture key payment and clinical documentation concerns to avoid overpayment requirements and disclosures, including use of PEPPER data. Understand how to approach communications and requests from the MACs, ZPICS, the OIG and the DOJ. Finally, take control of your agency’s health and survival by committing to a sound ethics and compliance program framework and evolving ethics and compliance activities.
*NEW*Tuesday, November 29th: “Medicare B Home Nurse Practitioner Program”
Certain outpatient therapy and other Medicare services may be furnished by a home health agency (HHA) to individuals who are not homebound or otherwise are not receiving services under a home health plan of care (POC) using Medicare Part B billing. As of January 1, 2016, Medicare expanded this list to include advance care planning as a billable service provided by either a physician or a nurse practitioners. Hear how one agency has developed and successfully used Part B Billing to expand the scope of their community services.
*NEW*Wednesday, November 30th,, and Wednesday, December 7th: “Riding the Wave: OASIS C-2 Changes”
Oasis-C-2 is just over a month away; are your clinicians aware of all the changes? Come join the HCA for training on the structure and content changes in the OASIS-C2 data set that are effective January 1, 2017. These new items can impact your quality scores and re-imbursement; so be sure your clinicians are familiar with the changes.
*Western MA date and location TBD*
*DATE CHANGE*Monday, December 5th: “The Gold Standard: Understanding the Background and Importance of Compression for Wound Care Patients”
Compression plays a vital role in both wound healing and reduction of wound recurrence. Participants will increase their understanding of lower extremity ulcer presentation, compression types, options, dosage and how each can ultimately impact success and outcomes. In the home health arena, it is vital to clearly understand current options available to maximize clinical effectiveness and cost-efficiency.
Tuesday, December 6th: “Financial Management Conference” *NOTE AGENDA ADDITION: Medicare PPS Changes for 2017*
Agency CFOs and CEOs will be well served by joining HCA on December 6 in Norwood for the Annual Financial Managers Conference. This year’s event features a stellar line-up of expert panels including speakers on Value-Based Purchasing, Revenue Cycle Management, Bundled Payments, and HIPAA/ Cyber Security
Thursday, December 8th: “The Aide’s Role in Understanding Mental Health Disorders”
This presentation will explore some mental health disorders that may create challenges for the Nurse Aide in the home setting. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness approximately 43.8 million adults or 1 in 5 adults in the U.S experiences mental illness annually. Chances are that some of the patients we care for in the home may be experiencing some sort of mental illness. Learn strategies that can help you when caring for these patients.
*NEW*Tuesday, December 13th: “A Team Approach to Medication Management”
It takes the entire home health team working together to ad- dress this vital aspect of health care to make a difference and improve the quality of care for those we serve every day. This 90-minute webinar is devoted to promoting a Team Approach to Medication Management in home health.
To learn more about any of our programs go to our calendar: http://www.thinkhomecare.org/events
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