| February 14, 2008 |
Vol 15, Issue
10 | |
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FAHSA
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| Welcome to
this week's edition of the FAHSA Link.
Member's Make a
Difference On Sales Tax Issue -- On Tuesday, February
12, 2008, 36 residents from Fleet Landing, Vicar's Landing,
and Westminster Oaks attended an important meeting of the
Finance and Tax Committee of the Taxation and Budget Reform
Commission (TBRC) in Tallahassee. The residents were
accompanied by FAHSA members Ray Johnson, Josh Ashby, Roger
Stevens and Don Wilson. One of the residents, Ms. Rubie
Butterworth (also a FLiCRA member) testified about the
probable adverse affect of proposed CP0002 to repeal all but a
few sales tax exemptions and exclusions concerning residents
of continuing care retirement communities. Janegale Boyd,
FAHSA's President/CEO, also testified on behalf of the total
FAHSA membership. Prior to the meeting, Peter Dys (Shell
Point) and Janegale Boyd had a lengthy telephone conversation
with Commissioner Ken Wilkinson and Commissioner Barney
Barnett about the same proposal. Brain Robare (The Estates at
Carpenters) and Janegale Boyd had separate conversations last
week with Commissioner Patricia Leveque.
In addition, many
FAHSA members faxed letters and petitions from residents to
TBRC members urging them to oppose the proposal and instead
support a careful review of each exclusion and exception by
the Legislature or an independent body before assuming it
should be repealed. Some members received personal E-mail
responses from Commission members.
Action on CP0002
was postponed after an economist predicted that the measure
could cost the state $2 billion in lost productivity and
52,000 jobs a year. "The impact on competitiveness needs to be
considered," said economist Tony Villamil. "Alabama,
Mississippi, Virginia, California, would all love to take jobs
away from us if we make it harder to create businesses."
Villamil's report contradicted another study by Orlando
economist Hank Fishkind who predicted a large economic boost.
Commissioner John McKay, the sponsor of CP 0002, strongly
questioned the analysis and asked for the vote to be delayed
until he could bring in other economists to defend the
proposal, which he believes will stimulate the economy by
cutting $8 billion in property taxes.
FAHSA Innovation
Exchange Corner Feature:
Live! At Dowling Park Artist Series -- This
month, we are showcasing "Live! At Dowling Park Artist
Series." What
started out as an Arts in Health Care program at Advent
Christian Village in rural Dowling Park has now expanded into
an artist series for the entire community. The 2007-08
calendar includes 10 events ranging from An American Carnival,
Caribbean Sound Steel
Pan & World Music Ensemble to Legends and Tales of Florida &
Appalachia, The
Storytelling Sims. To read more about this
exciting program please visit FAHSA
Innovation Exchange online.
Give an idea! Take
an idea! FAHSA's Innovation Exchange Program provides members
with an opportunity to share creative ideas or practices with
each other. Through the LINK, we are hoping to
encourage more members to use the Innovation Exchange Web
site, an important but little known resource.
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District and Membership
News |
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First Annual Benched Dog Show -- The first Annual Benched Dog Show was
held in the Samson Nursing Center at Menorah Manor in St.
Petersburg, FL, and judging by the expressions on the
residents' faces, it was a giant success. Seven
breeds were represented in the show and each dog was paraded
around the ring for all the residents to see. There were
three judges and the "Best in Show" was not an easy decision
for them...they chose the Australian Shepherd. A
full page featuring the Dog Show was in the Sunday, January
27, 2008 edition of The
St. Petersburg Times. The feature was titled, "No Ifs,
ands or Mutts."
Pauline Teckler, President of the Resident Council
in the Samson Nursing Center at Menorah Manor, snuggles with
one of the show dogs.
The "Best of Show" dog is paraded
around the ring by its owner for all the
residents to see.
Shell Point Village
Makes National News - Presidential
candidate Rudy Guiliani stopped by Shell Point on his campaign
trail through Florida, one of the most influential states in
the election.
More than 1,100 people, including Shell Point
residents, members of the surrounding community, local and
national media and esteemed dignitaries filled the Church
auditorium to hear what former New York Mayor Giuliani had to
say.
Senator John
McCain also called about a campaign stop at Shell Point, but
scheduling conflicts prevented it from happening. Shell Point
opens its doors to all candidates, regardless of party
affiliation, and regularly hosts candidate forums and events
as a public service.
Celebrating
Excellence - Brookdale
Senior Living (BSL) has created "The ARC of Quality", a
program designed to establish and demonstrate the highest
standards of quality care. The purpose of the
program is to reward BSL communities who learn, improve
themselves, and help create and broaden quality-oriented
culture. FAHSA
congratulates the Glenview at Pelican Bay and Plaza West, for
meeting the necessary components to receive the Brookdale
Cornerstones of Quality Award in 2007.
Upcoming
Membership Events:
- February
27-
Southwest Florida Regional Meeting (Districts 9, 10, 11 and
12)
11:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., Shell Point Retirement
Community, Ft. Myers
- February
28-
Central Florida
Regional Meeting (Districts 4, 5, 6, and 13)
11:00 a.m.
to 3:15 p.m., Village on the Green, 500 Village Place,
Longwood
- February
29-
North Florida
Regional Meeting (Districts 1, 2, 3, and 14)
11:00 a.m.
to 3:15 p.m., River Garden Hebrew Home for the Aged,
Jacksonville
- March
4-Southeast
Florida
Regional Meeting (Districts 7 & 8)
11:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., John
Knox Village of Florida, Pompano Beach
FAHSA Calendar of
Events |
| Education News |
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Upcoming
Educational Events:
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February
25, 2008 - NEW DATE -- Webinar - Use
Current Marketing Challenges as an Opportunity to Rethink
and Retool your Product and Rejuvenate your Marketing
Staff
at 2:00 p.m. EST. A panel of marketing
experts from Life Care Services; Love and Company and
Retirement Dynamics will provide you and your staff with
ideas that you can use to revitalize your marketing efforts
and improve your occupancy rates.
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March
18 -
Webinar - Paper Claim Training for Florida Medicaid LTC
Billing on UB04
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April
14 -- FAHSA
Board of Trustees Meeting, Wingate Inn,
Tallahassee
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April
15-16
-- FAHSA Legislative Workshop, Leon County Civic Center,
Tallahassee
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May
19, 2008 -
Webinar - Submitting Medicaid Claims through EDS's new Web
Portal
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July
27, 2008 -
FAHSA's 5th Annual Strategic Visioning Workshop,
Boca Raton Resort
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July
28-31, 2008 -
FAHSA's 45th Annual Convention and Exposition,
Boca Raton Resort
FAHSA Calendar of
Events |
| General
News |
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Benson Replaces
Agwunobi at AHCA - This week,
Governor Charlie Crist appointed Holly Benson to serve as the
new Secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration.
Ms. Benson replaces Dr. Andrew Agwunobi who is stepping down
to pursue an opportunity in the private sector and focus on
his family. She
most recently served as the Secretary of the Department of
Business and Professional Regulation. Previously, Benson
served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives
from 2000 to 2006.
As a legislator, she chaired the Health and Families
Council beginning in 2004. Prior to joining the Crist team,
she was a municipal bond attorney.
Benson will have
to make an immediate decision on how aggressively Florida
should continue to move Medicaid reform through a privatized
managed care model. Benson was one of the architects of
Medicaid reform and a proponent of Florida Senior Care when
she served in the Legislature. Agwunobi recently said his
agency wouldn't push forward this year to expand the program
beyond the geographic areas designated in the pilot projects
until problems identified in recent studies were resolved.
Benson was quoted in a news article this week as saying, "One
of the things we talked about ... was our need to make sure
that we had data to support the efficacy of Medicaid reform
and to show that we were really serving the patients of
Florida better. In talking with Secretary Agwunobi and his
leadership team, I don't know that we have all the data we
need to make sure that it is ready for statewide expansion."
Major IRS
Reporting Changes Adopted for Nonprofit
Organizations -- The IRS
recently released the first major overhaul of its
not-for-profit reporting rules in almost 30 years. It is a big deal.
Don't assume that it will be business as usual. You should
familiarize yourself with the changes immediately, so you have
time to develop or modify your reporting systems to comply
with the new rules. If certain parts of the form are not
properly completed, it could trigger an audit. AAHSA's
comments to the IRS and the final version of the new Form 990
are located on the AAHSA Web site - click
on Advocacy, Policy and Government, and then click Legal.
Stetson University
College of Law Hosts Elder Law Pro Bono
Seminar - Students from
Stetson University College of Law have teamed up to present an
Elder Law Pro Bono Seminar on February 23, 2008, at the
Pasadena Community Church, 227 70th Street South, St.
Petersburg, Florida.
Residents are urged to attend to receive a free Living
Will and Designation of Health Care Surrogate. If you would like to
host a meeting at your community or for more information,
contact Casey Stoutamire (former FAHSA employee) at cstoutam@law.stetson.edu.
New Passport Card
Available -- American
citizens now have the option to obtain a new passport card as
an alternative to the traditional passport book. The passport card will
facilitate entry and expedite document processing at U.S. land
and sea ports-of-entry when arriving from Canada, Mexico, the
Caribbean and Bermuda. The card may not be used to travel by
air. It will otherwise carry the rights and privileges of the
U.S. passport book and will be adjudicated to the exact same
standards. Applications for the new passport card are now
being accepted. The U.S. State Department expects cards to be
available and mailed in spring of this year. For further
information, please visit the U.S. Department of State's
Web site.
IRS to Send
Stimulus Payments Automatically Starting in May; Eligible
Taxpayers Must File a 2007 Tax Return to Receive
Rebate -- The Internal
Revenue Service advised taxpayers that in most cases they will
not have to do anything extra to receive the economic stimulus
payments beginning in May. The IRS will use information on the
2007 tax return filed by the taxpayer to determine eligibility
and calculate the amount of the stimulus payments.
The IRS will begin
sending taxpayers their payments in early May after the
current tax season concludes. Payments to more than 130
million taxpayers will continue over several weeks during the
spring and summer. A payment schedule for taxpayers will be
announced in the near future.
In most cases, the
payment will equal the amount of tax liability on the tax
return, with a maximum amount of $600 for individuals ($1,200
for taxpayers who file a joint return).
The law also
allows for payments for select taxpayers who have no tax
liability, such as low-income workers or those who receive
Social Security benefits or veterans' disability compensation,
pension or survivors' benefits received from the Department of
Veterans Affairs in 2007. These taxpayers will be eligible to
receive a payment of $300 ($600 on a joint return) if they had
at least $3,000 of qualifying income.
The IRS will mail
two informational notices to taxpayers advising them of the
stimulus payments. However, taxpayers should be alert for tax
rebate scams such as telephone calls or E-mails claiming to be
from the IRS and asking for sensitive financial information.
The IRS will not call or E-mail taxpayers about these payments
nor will it ask for financial information. Scam E-mails and
information about scam calls should be forwarded to phishing@irs.gov.
FAHSA General Membership
Alert Page
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| Housing
News |
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Subsidy Finally
Arrives - According to
Steven Martin, HUD's Director of Housing Assistance and
Contract Administration Oversight, Florida should begin
receiving unpaid vouchers and pending renewals by the end of
February. His
short report is listed below, but click on the Housing Alert
page to read the longer version
·
PRACS -- Allotment
just received. Fund Assignment will go out next week. Goal is
to fund all unpaid vouchers & pending renewals by end of
Feb.
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Rent Supplement --
Funding for about 30 old vouchers sent to accounting.
Payment likely starting late next week-will monitor.
Pre-2006 vouchers still a problem.
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RAP -- Next in
line to resolve now that Rent Sup has been sent to
accounting. Need to move funding through system before
payments can flow.
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Section 8 --
Funding for Feb. & March expirations being committed this
weekend. Funding for outstanding unpaid voucherswill be
processed next. Goal is resolve all by end of Feb., then in
March, and then fund for the balance of FY 2008 needs through
at least September.
Other Housing
Alert Issues:
- Latest Update on
HUD Funding
- Grants
Available
- Service
Coordinator Funds Also Delayed, Use Alternate Funding in the
Interim
- EIV systems
status
- Question of the
Week
FAHSA Housing Alert
Page
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| Nursing
Home News |
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AHCA Requests
Medicaid Provider Input on Customer Service - The Agency for
Health Care Administration (AHCA) has created a satisfaction
survey to improve their level of customer service for Medicaid
providers. Read
how to take the survey in the latest Nursing Home Alert, NH
08-06.
Other Nursing Home
Alert Issues:
·
CMS S & C
Letter on Use of Interpretive Guidance by
Surveyors
·
MedWatch Alerts
and Warnings
·
CMS Skilled
Nursing Facility Long-Term Care Open Door Forum Scheduled
for February 27
FAHSA Nursing Home
Alert Page
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| Sponsor |
Senior
Crimestoppers - Positive and proactive approach
to protection in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and
independent living communities. For more information contact
Tom Fehrmann at (800) 529-9096 or by e-mail at tom.fehrmann@shcpfoundation.org. |
| Preferred Business Associates
News |
Diversity
in the Workplace -- Workplace diversity refers to the
variety of differences between people in an organization. That
sounds simple, but diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic
group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure,
organizational function, education, background and
more.
Diversity not only
involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive
others. Those perceptions affect their interactions. For a
wide assortment of employees to function effectively as an
organization, human resource professionals need to deal
effectively with issues such as communication, adaptability
and change. Diversity will increase significantly in the
coming years. Successful organizations recognize the need for
immediate action and are ready and willing to spend resources
on managing diversity in the workplace now. Click here to read the rest of the
article.
Brought to you by
the insurance, risk management and health care specialists at
Hunt Insurance Group, LLC/Hilb Rogal & Hobbs.
 FAHSA's
Preferred Business Associates Program (PBAs) -- A
list of PBAs can be found by on the FAHSA Web site www.fahsa.org and
selecting Preferred Business Associates from the left side
menu bar or clicking on the FAHSA Preferred Business
Associates Page hyperlink. FAHSA members can also use the
on-line directory to search for PBAs by specialty.
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| Job-Mart |
| FAHSA is pleased to provide an opportunity for
you to advertise your "position wanted" or "position
available" through the FAHSA Link newsletter and on our
Web Page.
FAHSA members may use the Job Mart services at no charge. A
nominal fee of $25 will be charged to nonmembers.
Your Job Mart advertisement will be displayed on our Web
site for approximately three months. The FAHSA Link is
published weekly and distributed to our membership which is
comprised of nursing homes, CCRCs, HUD housing, assisted
living facilities, independent living facilities and
companies/firms.
To reserve advertisement space in our Job Mart program,
please complete the application and fax it
to FAHSA at (850) 671-3790 or E-mail Erin Steele at esteele@fahsa.org
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Copyright 2008 -- Publication of the
Florida Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
(FAHSA).
- FAHSA Chair: Alma Ballard
- FAHSA President/CEO: Janegale Boyd
- Managing Editor: Gail Matillo
Copyright
Information: Copies of the articles and other information in
this publication may be noncommercially reproduced for the
purpose of educational or scientific advancement. Otherwise,
no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in
any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including
photocopying, microfilm and recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without the written permission
of the editor.
Correspondence: Should be addressed to:
Editor, 1812 Riggins Road, Tallahassee, FL 32308. For
telephone inquiries, call (850) 671-3700. Or E-mail FAHSA at
info@fahsa.org. © 2008 FAHSA. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this
correspondence is not intended as a substitute for legal
advice. Please discuss any information gathered from this or
any other FAHSA publications with your legal counsel in the
context of your particular situation before implementing any
new policies or procedures.
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