| May 29, 2008 |
Vol 15, Issue
24 | |
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FAHSA
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| Welcome to
this week's edition of the FAHSA Link.
June 1 Marks Beginning of
2008 Hurricane Season - Even before the official
kickoff of the 2008 hurricane season, Tropical Storm Alma, the
first named storm of the 2008 season, has formed in the
eastern Pacific, along the South America
coast.
According to officials from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), projected
climate conditions point to a near normal or above normal
hurricane season in the Atlantic basin this year. A
normal season points towards 11 named storms, including six to
nine hurricanes of which two to five could be major.
Even though the last two hurricane seasons
have been a welcomed reprieve, now is the time to get serious
and be prepared. Next week, FAHSA will be hosting
Disaster Preparedness Training and Discussions during each of
the four Regional Meetings (see below for time and
locations). The meetings will feature Emergency
Management experts and field representatives including an
interactive roundtable discussion with fellow colleagues and
your local disaster officials. If you have not yet
registered to attend one of the meetings, there is still
time. Please register Online by
clicking on the calendar page of the FAHSA Web
site.
Please be sure to pick up your CD
copy of FAHSA's new 2008 Emergency
Planning and Resource Manual while you are at the regional
meetings next week, or download a copy now from the FAHSA Web
site. | |
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FAHSA's Regional Meeting
Locations |
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The meetings have been
scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the following
locations:
June
3 SE
Florida Region -- Jacob Bldg. at Douglas
Gardens, Pembroke Pines
June
4 SW
Florida Region -- Sunnyside Village,
Sarasota
June
5
Central Florida Region -- The Mayflower Retirement Community,
Winter Park
June
6
North Florida -- Copeland Center, Advent Christian Village,
Dowling Park |
| CCRC /
Retirement Community News |
Executive Order 13224 Remains in Effect for
CCRCs -- A continuing care member recently asked
about Executive Order 13224, an anti-terrorism document issued
a few years ago by former State Chief Executive Officer Tom
Gallagher. The order, which is still in effect, applies to all
insurance products including continuing care contracts.
Insurers must sign a sworn statement indicating that they have
implemented appropriate procedures to detect and prevent
transactions prohibited by the Executive Order, including
doing business with any terrorist or terrorist support
organizations. According to the Office of Insurance
Regulation, the only place to check for persons or
organizations that are on a terrorist list is to view the
329-page Specialty
Designated Nationals (SDN) List from the Department of
Treasury's Web site and the most recent updated
information. Please contact Mary Ellen Early by email at
meearly@earthlink.net if you know of any other resource.
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| District and Membership News |
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ACTS Makes the News, AGAIN -- ACTS
Retirement-Life Communities is well-known for its creative
approach to elder care. The latest project was described in
the May 2008 issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News.
ACTS is preparing to launch a multisensory stimulation program
that will reduce wandering, agitation and medication use. The
program, which is modeled after a Dutch creation for
developmentally disabled children, exposes individuals to a
"Snoezelen" room filled with objects, sounds and smells that
stimulate all five senses. The room can be used at any hour of
the day, depending on the needs of individual clients or
residents. ACTS hopes to have the program running in each of
its 18 communities in the near future.
FAHSA Award Nominations Deadline
Extended -- It is time once more to acknowledge
that special individual, organization or entity that has made
an "Outstanding" contribution to the field of
housing/retirement communities/or health care for
seniors. The nomination brochure and forms have been
mailed to FAHSA members, however, the brochure and nomination
form are now online for your review. Go to
www.fahsa.org, click on Calendar of Events, then click on the
links below:
http://www.fahsa.org/Resources/2008AwardsProgram.pdf
http://www.fahsa.org/Resources/2008AwardsProgramNominationForm.pdf
If you have any questions contact the FAHSA
Office at (850) 671-3700, or if you wish to submit a letter of
nomination, please send it to chart@fahsa.org or via FAX to
(850) 671-3790. |
| Education News |
Education Scholarships Available from the Scott
Boord Career Development Scholarship -- The Scott
Boord Career Development Scholarship enables FAHSA members to
send eligible staff to FAHSA or AAHSA educational conventions,
workshops and seminars. The maximum amount of funding
available per applicant is $500.00. The funds can be used to
cover registration fees, travel, or other conference-related
expenses. The selected recipients receive credit on the
FAHSA registration or reimbursement of expenses by submitting
an expense form with the attached receipts. The
scholarship is funded by the Silent Auction held each year in
conjunction with FAHSA's Annual Convention and Exposition and
FAHSA's Annual Housing & Service Coordinator Workshops.
For more information, or to apply for a
scholarship, please click
here.
Register Now for FAHSA's Upcoming Webinar
-- "New Changes in the Eligibility Requirements
for Long-Term Care Programs as a Result of Modifications in
Law from Deficit Reduction Act." During this two hour
webinar, Ron Hardcastle and several representatives from the
Department of Children and Families, will share valuable
information and focus on how these major new changes will
affect you.
After the presentation,
participants will be able to:
- Explain the new rules for the treatment of annuities,
including a requirement that the state be named as the
remainder beneficiary.
- Discuss changes in Continuing Care Retirement
Communities (CCRCs) to require residents to spend down their
declared resources before applying for medical assistance.
- Identify new rules which an individual's CCRC entrance
fee is considered an available resource.
- Understand the so-called "income-first" rule.
- Identify long-term care partnership programs to any
state.
- Understand authority for states to include home and
community-based services as an optional Medicaid benefit.
(Previously, states had to obtain a waiver to provide such
services.)
- Incorporate provisions in the original budget bill
passed by the Senate closing certain asset transfer
"loopholes," among them:
- Understand changes to "assets" definition and what
can be done with those assets.
- Figure out how states will be barred from "rounding
down" fractional periods of ineligibility when determining
ineligibility periods resulting from asset transfers.
- And much more.
Upcoming Educational Events:
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June 10, 2008 - Webinar - Changes in
Eligibility Requirements for LTC Programs
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July 27, 2008 - FAHSA's 5th Annual Strategic
Visioning Workshop, Boca Raton Resort & Club
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July 27, 2008 - FAHSA's Preceptor Training
Program, Boca Raton Resort & Club
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July 28-31, 2008 - FAHSA's 45th Annual
Convention and Exposition, Boca Raton Resort &
Club |
|
General News |
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Florida Hurricane Preparedness Week
May 25-31 - Now is the time to purchase supplies and
prepare your home and communities for the 2008 hurricane
season. For a list of supplies and more information about
participating retailers, please click on the Hurricane
Flyer, or visit the Florida Disaster
Web site. To help you prepare for the upcoming
season, the National Hurricane Center has created a Hurricane
Preparedness Web site that provides useful information
about all types of hurricane hazards.
AHCA Opens 2008 ESS State Hurricane
Exercise until June 4 -- The Agency for Health Care
Administration (AHCA) has opened a test event in the Emergency Status
System (ESS) as part of the Agency's hurricane readiness
activities. The 2008 State Hurricane Exercise event is
currently open to allow facility staff access to additional
fields in ESS for entry of specific facility contact
information and functional status. This exercise will
allow you to access ESS and become familiar with the features
and information collected in ESS during a nonemergency event.
Please access ESS at this
time to:
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Check your facility information in ESS to
assure accuracy of contact names, telephone numbers and
e-mail addresses.
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Enter power/utility information - including
all generator details.
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Enter census and bed availability
information.
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Enter resident specific special needs
information.
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Enter emergency information if your facility
is affected by the outages.
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Become familiar with the features of ESS and
access the online Help Manual
If you have questions regarding the use of ESS
or your user account, please contact the following:
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Long Term Care Unit (850) 488-5861
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Assisted Living Unit (850) 487-2515
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Home Care Unit (850) 414-6010
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After hours, or during an emergency, please
contact the AHCA licensure unit emergency assistance at the
State Emergency Operation Center at (850) 410-1822 (EOC
phone number is only functional when designated by EOC
activation).
Lost Treasure Could Be
Yours - The State of Florida is holding more
than $1.7 billion in unclaimed property. Visit the Florida Treasure
Hunt Web site to find out if the state is holding lost
assets for you or someone you know. Start your web
search now or contact 888-258-2253 to begin your search by
phone.
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| Home
and Community-Based Services News |
CMS Extends Timeline for Publication of the Final
Rule for the Hospice Conditions of Participation -
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is
extending the timeline for publication of the final Medicare
and Medicaid Programs; Hospice Conditions of Participation
Extension of Timeline for Publication until May 27, 2009, due
to the complexity of the rule and the volume and scope of
comments received. The comments that were received
inquired about extremely complex and detailed policy and legal
issues, which require extensive consultation, review, and
analysis. The final rule is extremely comprehensive
because it updates and revises policies, some of which were
originally established in 1983, regarding patient assessment,
patient care planning and delivery, quality assessment and
performance improvement, drug and biological management,
inpatient care facilities, and the role of hospice care in
long-term care facilities. Therefore, the incorporation of
these updates requires extensive time, outreach, and
collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services
to ensure that the final rule's provisions are consistent with
current best practices in the provision of hospice
services. Click HERE to read
the final
rule. |
| Housing
News |
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Good
News - Senator Nelson to Sign On as S. 2736
Co-Sponsor - Today, we received word from Senator
Nelson's office that he has agreed to become a cosponsor of S.
2736. In addition, his staff recommended adding the
special Section 202 language to another bill that is now
moving through Senate committees, which is related
to FHA mortgages.
For the past several
weeks, Janegale Boyd, FAHSA's President/CEO, has had the
opportunity to speak with Senator Nelson directly about this
issue and we applaud her efforts and hard work. Larry
Minnix, AAHSA's President, commented, "This is great for
Florida - and the nation for the needs of seniors and their
housing options."
FHFC to Hold
Retreat -- On June 12, 2008, the Florida Housing
Finance Corporation's Board of Directors will hold a daylong
retreat in Ft. Lauderdale to discuss Florida Housing's
priorities and consider current and emerging strategic
affordable housing issues facing the state. As the Board
prepares for this meeting, the members would appreciate
hearing from affordable housing stakeholders throughout the
state. What are the critical affordable housing issues facing
Florida today and in the coming years? What should Florida
Housing do to address these issues? What key shifts in
thinking should Florida Housing be considering, if any?
To submit written comments, read what others have
submitted and find out more about the retreat, go to the FHFC Web
site, and click on the Board Retreat HOT
TOPIC. |
| Nursing
Home News |
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Transition in Progress -- The Florida
Medicaid Program recently sent a letter to enrolled Medicaid
providers regarding fiscal agent change (from ACS to EDS). In
the letter, it states that beginning July 1 a number of
improvements including a public Web Portal will be
established. Providers may use the secure Web Portal's
self-service tools to manage their account, receive
alerts and notices from within their Portal mailbox, update
demographic information, exchange data files, request
eligibility verification, and process claims, prior
authorizations, and referrals. Read more about this and the
issues listed below in the latest Nursing Home Alert, NH
08-17.
Other Nursing Home Issues:
- House Measure Would Outlaw Nursing Home Arbitration
Clauses
- New FCN Report on Nursing Home Vacancies and Job Growth
- NPI is Here to Stay
- Renewal for Nursing Home Administrators - Reminder
- Renewal for Registered Nurses - Reminder
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| Preferred Business Associates
News |
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 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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