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January 29, 2010 |
Vol 17, Issue 8 |
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Welcome to this week's edition of the FAHSA Link.
Sign up now for FAHSA/UF Leadership Academy Class #2
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This week, the first class for the FAHSA/University
of Florida (UF) Leadership Academy concluded with a
1-1/2 day session in Orlando. The twenty students
presented projects that they implemented using the
resources and skills developed as a result of their
participation in the academy.
The investment that the member communities made in
sending these inspiring leaders and managers to the
leadership academy is already paying off. Some of
the students have developed projects that have
resulted in cost savings, not to mention better
leadership skills that can lead to a more efficient
and effective work environments.
Without exception, the students raved about the
leadership academy. They said they gained insight
about their own personalities and management styles.
The skills they developed will help them with team
building, decision making, and conflict management
as evidenced by the successful projects they
described during their presentations. One of the
students, Jerome Bivens, said, "I can not say enough
about the benefit of this program. From the initial
two day training sessions to the full course, it has
been a true pleasure to be part of the program. It
has helped me with day to day management as well as
challenged me to develop a program, in which case it
was a Dining Services employee safety program that
has resulted in 0 employee injuries for the last
three months, going on four in the department. I
have to thank James Emerson, Michael Shaw, Roger
Stevens, and everyone else who decided to allow me
to take part in the course as it has truly made me a
better leader and manager."
In
developing the course, FAHSA/UF tried to keep the
costs and time away from the office to a minimum.
The program begins with two days of onsite lectures
by a UF professor with expertise in business and
leadership development. One hotel night is needed
for this session. Students then participate in three
months of on line curriculum which is applicable to
all processions in all FAHSA member type
organizations. This can be done on the student's
own time and weekends and requires computer and
internet access. The program then ends with a 1-1/2
day program session as described earlier in the
article and one more hotel night. FAHSA/UF has
retained the quality without prohibitive expense.
Please consider registering your staff - RNs, LPNs,
DONs, ADONs, human resource personnel, accounting
managers, front-line managers, supervisors,
assistant managers, dietary managers, maintenance,
housekeeping, activities, service coordinators, just
to name a few, through this program. To register,
click
here. |
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Erwin Bodo Testifies Before the Senate Health and Human
Services Appropriations Committee -
On
January 21, Dr. Erwin Bodo, FAHSA's Chief Operating
Officer, testified before the Senate Health and Human
Services Appropriations Committee. He provided
lawmakers with statistical information that demonstrates
that nursing home budget cuts will erode the quality of
care. Approximately 64% of all nursing home costs are
wage related, and 44% are for direct care associated
with mandatory staffing requirements. He demonstrated
that most of the growth in nursing home costs since 2002
is related to staffing mandates and that nursing home
services now represents a smaller portion of the
Medicaid budget than it did ten years ago.
Dr. Bodo offered a list of suggestions for further
slowing growth in Medicaid expenditures for nursing
homes including: extending the current moratorium on
nursing home beds, revising the certificate of need
Medicaid condition policy, increasing diversion and
assisted living waiver slots, long-term care diversion
priority to assisted living facility residents who have
exhausted their savings, incentives for nursing homes to
use automated medication dispensing machines, and
inclusion of nursing homes in Florida's efforts to
develop a health information system. A copy of Dr.
Bodo's PowerPoint presentation is posted on the FAHSA
Web site.
Click here.
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ALF News |
DOEA Holds Rule Workshop
- On January 7, the Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA)
held a rule hearing on proposed changes to Chapter
58A -- Assisted Living Facilities. On behalf of the
Florida Association of Homes and Services for the
Aging (FAHSA), Carol Berkowitz, Esq., Senior
Director of Regulations and Compliance provided
numerous recommendations to the proposed rule (see
attached
rule and
letter). We expect to meet on another rule
hearing before promulgating the rule. If you have
any comments, please email Carol at:
cberkowitz@fahsa.org.
FAHSA ALF Alert Page |
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Education News
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Two FAHSA
Regional Meetings Rescheduled - The
regional meetings previously
scheduled for January 14-15
have been
rescheduled
for February 9-10, 2010.
Please plan to attend the meetings,
featuring presentations from Robyn Stone,
Ph.D., CEO, Institute for the Future of
Aging Services (IFAS), board members from
the Florida Center for Nursing, and
representatives from the regional Workforce
offices.
February 9, 2010
- Advent Christian Village, Dowling Park
February 10, 2010
- Waterman Village, Mt. Dora
Upcoming Educational Events:
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February 4, 2010 --
MDS 3.0 Webinar
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February 9 & 10, 2010 - FAHSA's Regional
Meetings
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January 28 & 29, 2010 -1st Class
Final Leadership Academy, Orlando
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February 16, 2010 - Detecting Abuse and the
Hotline Free Conference Call
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February 25, 2010 - CNA Train the Trainer,
Orlando
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March 16, 2010 - Medicaid Integrity and RAC
Webinar
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March 23 & 24, 2010 - Legislative Workshop,
Tallahassee
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March 25 & 26, 2010 - Leadership Academy,
Tallahassee
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March 30, 2010 -
RUGS4 Webinar
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Home
and Community-Based News |
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Home Health Agency Rule Workshop Held --
On January 14, the
Agency for Health
Care Administration (AHCA) held a
rule workshop on draft revisions to the home health
agency rule. Many of the proposed changes are intended
to either conform definitions and other language in
59A-8 to what is in state law or to clarify existing
language. But a few of the proposed changes appeared to
be substantive.
Click here to go to the Home
and Community-Based Alert for January 28 to read more.
Home Health PC Pricer Updated -- The CY 2009 Home
Health PPS (HH PPS) PC Pricer has been updated with the
January 2010 provider specific data. This PC Pricer is
on the web page,
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PCPricer/05_HH.asp
under the Downloads section. If you use the HH PPS PC
Pricer, please go to the page above and download the
latest version of the PC Pricer with the latest provider
data.
Bill Filed to Amend Home Health
Agency Law
- HB 739 by Rep. Juan Zapata (R- Miami) was filed for
the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). It
revises the standards for a licensed home health agency
to include federal certification standards for nursing
supervision of nursing home aides and certified nursing
assistants. It also includes a patient Bill of Rights.
Based on a preliminary review, the FAHSA public policy
staff sent comments to the agency. Click
here to go to the Home and Community-Based Alert for
January 28 to read FAHSA's comments.
Amedisys and Humana Sign Home Health Agreement -
Amedisys Inc., a home health nursing company, has signed
a national agreement with Humana Inc. to provide home
health services to Humana's Medicare Advantage members,
effective January 1st, the companies announced last
week. This arrangement could make it more difficult for
non-profit home health agencies to be financially
viable. |
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Housing News |
HUD Explains OCAF Rate
- Yesterday, FAHSA spoke with HUD representatives,
Colin Cushman, Division Director, Julie Nguyen and
Yvone Pho, Analysts concerning Florida's 2010 OCAF
rate of 1.8%. Click on the Housing Alert, H 09-02
for more information.
Housing Public Policy Meeting Held
- On Tuesday, FAHSA held a housing public policy
meeting in Boca Raton. The committee suggested
FAHSA schedule regular member conference calls to
discuss issues, ask questions, and to network with
one another. The committee suggested that FAHSA set
up the conference calls every other month and
limit discussion to four or five hot topics. If you
have a hot topic that you would like to discuss,
send me an email,
gmatillo@fahsa.org and we will add it to the
list.
The first call has been scheduled for
Wednesday, February
17 at 10:00 a.m. FAHSA will email an agenda
and call-in instructions closer to the date of the
call. In the meantime, please send your suggestions
for topics. Read this entire article and other news
in this week's Housing Alert, H 09-02.
Other Housing News:
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Upcoming HUD Webcast
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EIV Information Available
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Tampa HUD Office Publishes Newsletter
FAHSA Housing Alert Page |
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Legislative News |
Legislative Leaders Promise Unemployment
Tax Relief - Gov. Charlie Crist, House
Speaker Larry Cretul, and Senate President Jeff
Atwater, announced last week that one of the
priorities for the 2010 legislative session is
to lower the unemployment tax increases that
took effect in January. The minimum tax rate
went from $8.40 to more than $100 for each
employee. In a statement release to the press,
Governor Crist said "Even though the bills
(payment of quarterly fee) are due in April, we
are prepared now to delay this increase in order
to ensure that our Florida businesses and
employees get relief at a time they need it
most. I call on the Legislature to act quickly
on this issue for the people of Florida."
The increase was approved by lawmakers in 2009
because the trust fund used to pay unemployment
compensation benefits was almost depleted.
Associated Industries of Florida (AIF), of which
FAHSA is a member, and other business groups are
calling for quick relief.
House Hires Consultant to Study Managed
Care - Last week, House Speaker Larry
Cretul signed a $105,000 contract with Pacific
Health Policy Group to analyze Florida's
Medicaid managed care program. A report of the
consultant's findings is due to the House by
February 5.
Pacific Health Policy Group has ties to managed
care initiatives in Arizona, a state with a
mandatory managed care program that includes
long-term care.
WellCare Health Plans, a large HMO, is as one of
the group's clients.
Drama Continues Over House Budget
Process - Last week, we reported that
the House Democratic leader sent a letter to
Speaker Larry Cretul (Republican-Ocala)
describing a request to have House members
submit a list of budget priorities to leadership
as "fundamentally flawed." Democrats asked that
budget and finance and tax committees meet
jointly to evaluate the budget along with
potential revenue sources rather than asking
lawmakers to list their priorities now. Soon
after the letter was sent, Rep. David Rivera,
R-Miami (budget chairman in the House),
responded with his own letter to Democrats,
which said that Democrats are engaged in an
"abdication of responsibility" and unwilling to
lead the state back to "economic recovery."
Source: Lobbytools Daily Wrap-Up, January 21,
2010
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Nursing Home News |
Law Allows for
Reduction in Certificate of Need Medicaid
Conditions - A few years ago, the FAHSA
Public Policy staff pursued a change in law
(408.04 F.S. (1)(d)) that allows nursing homes
to reduce their certificate of need conditions
for Medicaid by 15% every two years in areas
where the Long-Term Care Diversion Waiver
Program is operating. In order to do so, the
nursing home must notify in writing the Agency
for Health Care Administration, 2727 Mahan
Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32308.
Click here
to view theLong-Term Care Community Diversion
Pilot Project report. Please see page 6 of this
report to determine if a Diversion Waiver
Program is operating in your county:
Some of you have told us
that it is difficult to meet your certificate of
need conditions of participation because of
current demographics. If the legislature moves
to a Medicaid managed care capitated model for
long-term care, it may become increasingly more
important to reduce your Medicaid obligations.
The fine for non-compliance is $ 1,000 for every
day that you do not meet the Medicaid percentage
that is tied to your certificate of need.
Other Nursing Home
News
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Medicaid Coverage of
Eyeglasses Reduced Effective January 1
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Meridia (sibutramine
hydrochloride): Follow-Up to an Early
Communication about an Ongoing Safety Review
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Nipro GlucoPro Insulin
Syringes: Recall
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Preferred Business Associates News |
Congress Extends COBRA Premium Subsidy to February
28 -- On
December 19, 2009, lawmakers extended the 65 percent
COBRA reimbursement coverage initially created by
the 2009 stimulus act. Participants in
employer-sponsored health plans who are
involuntarily terminated can now receive the subsidy
through the first two months of 2010. The previous
cutoff date was December 31, 2009. The law also
increases the subsidy period from nine months to 15
months. These extensions were part of the Department
of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 (DDAA).
"The DDAA simply modifies the periods of coverage.
It does not change the mechanics for obtaining the
COBRA premium subsidy," says Cindy Scheid, a tax
principal with LarsonAllen. "Employers will need to
review their recent terminations and comply with new
notification requirements by February 17, 2010."
Read the full Web
story to learn about:
Background on the COBRA changes
New and retroactive eligibility requirements
Notification requirements
Payroll reporting provisions
How we can help
 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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Career Center |
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Welcome to the Florida Association of Homes
and Services for the Aging Career Center!
Your destination for exciting Aging Services job
opportunities and the best resource for qualified
candidates in the Florida Aging Services Industry.
Searching for a job in Aging Services?
Looking to fill a position? This job board is custom
tailored for the Aging Services industry, which
means we attract the most qualified professionals in
Florida.
Create an Employer Account,
search resumes and post your Aging Services job now!
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Copyright 2010 -- Publication of the Florida
Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
(FAHSA).
- FAHSA Chair: Terri Cunliffe
- FAHSA President/CEO: Janegale Boyd
- Managing Editor: Gail Matillo, MPA, COS
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. © 2010 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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