AHCA Investigators Will Observe ALL Residents During Inspections and Surveys - Responding to a recent benign neglect of medical conditions case in a Florida assisted living facility (ALF); the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has announced that its staff will be observing ALL residents in an ALF during inspections and surveys. This is a departure from former procedure, which required investigators and surveyors to observe only a sample of residents. ALFs should be prepared for this new procedural change to take effect immediately. FAHSA is preparing to monitor and respond to proposed legislation in response to the recent ALF case, which received major news coverage in the Tampa area, during the 2008 legislative session.

CARF-CCAC Consumer Guide Available Online - The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities / Continuing Care Accreditation Commission has announced that the Consumer Guide to Understanding Financial Performance and Reporting in Continuing Care Retirement Communities is now available. The guide can be downloaded for free in PDF format from CARF's Web site at http://www.carf.o rg/pdf/ccrc.pdf. Individuals may also order a free printed booklet by sending their mailing address to as@carf.org. Bulk quantities can be purchased at $50.00 USD per 25 copies from http://bookstore.carf.org by clicking on the Continuing Care Retirement Communities product category.

QIS Training Workshop Scheduled in Jacksonville and Bradenton - It's not too late to register by fax or by registering at the door for the next QIS training program scheduled Friday, October 5, at Fleet Landing in Atlantic Beach. Cynthia Pearse, LCSW, NHA, LHRM, Accredited QIS Trainer; Carmen Shell, RN, Accredited QIS Trainer; Josh Ashby, NHA, Fleet Landing and FAHSA's District 3 Chair; and Pat Freeman, NHA, Administrator, Palatka Health Care, will be the featured instructors for this important workshop. FAHSA would like to thank the following FAHSA members for their presentations during the West Palm Beach training this week: Victoria Wiley, Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged; Morris Funk, Joseph L. Morse Geriatric Center; and Laura Franco, Life Care Services, Inc.

A third QIS training has been scheduled for Wednesday, November 7 at Westminster Bradenton Shores in Bradenton. Watch your E-mail for a registration form and we look forward to seeing you there.

Upcoming Workshops:

• October 5 -- QIS Training, Fleet Landing, Jacksonville, FL
• October 9 & 10 -- Board of Trustees Meeting, Orlando, FL
• November 7 -- QIS Training, Westminster Bradenton Shores, Bradenton, FL
• November 14 & 15 - FAHSA's Maintenance Workshop, Holiday Inn, Orlando, FL
• November 27 -- MDS Coding and Care Planning Webinar
• January 15 & 16, 2008 -- FAHSA's Dynamic Directions Advanced Nurse Leadership Workshop, Safety Harbor, FL

Census Bureau Finds More Seniors Seek Noninstitutional Care - According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of U.S. seniors living in nursing homes dropped nearly 10% in just six years. About 7.4% of Americans 75 or older resided in a skilled nursing facility last year, down from 8.1% in 2000 and 10.2% in 1990. Whites, who have been less inclined to keep elderly family members in their families' own households, were nearly 84% of the nursing home population, compared with just 75.5% of the overall population. More than 69% nursing home residents were women, and almost three- quarters were 75 years or older, according to the Census Bureau. The bureau's release of data was the first deep scrutiny it had performed on the nursing home population since the 1980 census.

Final 2008 Fair Market Rents Published - This week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published HUD's Final fiscal year 2008 Fair Market Rents (FMR) for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program and the moderate rehabilitation single room occupancy program. These market rents are the first drawn from the full implementation of the new American Community Survey published by the U.S. Census. In addition, a documentation system is available on the same Web site to review data and computations used to develop the final FMRs for each of the 2,400 areas surveyed.

Proper MDS Coding for Cognitive Skills Especially Important for QIS - In case you missed reading the excellent article by Hope Caldwell on MDS coding of cognitive skills and physical restraints that appeared in the Sept. 14 FMQA e-newsletter, we are repeating it in the current Nursing Home Alert, NH 07- 27. Proper coding of cognitive skills is especially important as the state transitions to the Quality Indicator Survey (QIS). Read the details in the Alert, and make plans to attend FAHSA's MDS Coding and Care Planning Webinar on November 27. Please mark your calendars now!!

Other Nursing Homes News:

• Resident Choice is the Name of the Game
• Verify that LPN Supervisors Have Taken State Approved Course
• CMS Announces Plans to Fully Implement NPI
• Use NPI to Submit Small Claims
• Board of Nursing Proposes New Fees and Documentation for CNA Certification Renewals
• FDA Issues Public Health Advisory for Fentora
• Private Investor Ownership of Nursing Homes Linked to Low Staffing, Poor Care
• FAHSA Member Responds to Negative Press Coverage about Investor-Owned Nursing Homes

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. FAHSA members can also use the on- line directory to search for PBAs by specialty.

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