September 2, 2010
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Vol 17, Issue 37
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Welcome to this week's
edition of the FAHSA Link!
FAHSA Office Will
Close for Holiday --
The FAHSA
Office will be closed on Monday, September 6,
2010 in observance of Labor Day. The FAHSA
staff wishes you, your family and staff a fun
and memorable Labor Day weekend. If you need to
reach a staff member, please call the following
cell phone numbers:
- Janegale Boyd, (850) 294-3412
- Mary Ellen Early, (850) 294-3406
- Carol Berkowitz, (850) 294-3391
- Gail Matillo, (850) 294-3415.
The AAHSA Name
Change is Official - LeadingAge --
In mid-August,
the members of the American Association of Homes
and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) voted to
change their name to LeadingAge, a bold and
ambitious move that will "reinforce the kind of
leadership and innovation that our members have
been involved in for a long time," said CEO
Larry Minnix. Research and input on the new name
has been in process for the past 18 months, with
the AAHSA Board of Directors approving the
change before it was voted on by the
membership. With the new name comes a new
mission statement, "Expanding the world of
possibilities for aging."
Click here to watch several YouTube videos
about the new name, and while you're at the
website, enjoy approximately 85 other videos
written and produced by the AAHSA staff.
Supreme Court Strikes Amendments 3, 7, 9 from
November Ballot --
This week, the
Florida Supreme Court upheld lower-court
decisions to strike proposed constitutional
amendments 3, 7, and 9 from the November
ballot. All three proposed amendments were the
result of referendums passed by the Florida
Legislature rather than citizen initiatives.
Amendment 3
dealt with tax breaks to first-time homebuyers
and non-homestead property owners. Amendment 7
contained criteria for drawing state and
congressional geographic district lines. And,
Amendment 9, known as the "Health Care Freedom"
amendment would have prohibited health care
mandates similar to those passed by Congress
related to the purchase of health insurance.
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ALF NEWS |
Celebrate -- September 12-18 is National
Assisted Living Week --
Please send
your news articles and photos of your
celebrations to gmatillo@fahsa.org to be
published in an upcoming issue of the FAHSA Link
newsletter.
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CCRC and Retirement Community News
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Should CCRCs Rise to a Greater Calling?
-- David Piner, chair of the North Carolina
Association of NonProfit Homes for the Aging and
President/CEO of Arbor Acres Retirement Community,
ponders this question in the Wisdom column of the
most recent AAHSA's FutureAge magazine. He explores
the opportunities CCRCs have to expand their work
beyond their walls and their obligation to bring
quality care and services to the greater community.
The article is available by
clicking here. I
encourage each of you to read it and share with your
staff and board members.
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Education News
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Do You Have
Questions about AED's? -- Join us on
September 14, at 2:00 p.m, as we present a
webinar on the new laws related to
Defibrillators. Presenters, Brian Bursa,
Partner, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP;
Kirsten Ullman, Managing Partner & Founder,
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP; Andrew
McCumber, Partner, McCumber, Daniels, Buntz,
Hartig, & Puig, P.A. Susan Bugg, Risk Manager,
Ponde de Leon LTC RRG, Inc., and Dwain
Chamberlain, Vice President of Underwriting,
Ponce de Leon LTC RRG, Inc., will provide the
latest information and answer your questions
regarding legal and liability issues related to
installing and operating defibrillators in your
community.
Register today!
Register Now for FAHSA's 27th Annual Affordable
Housing Conference --
Register Now for FAHSA's 27th Annual
Affordable Housing Conference. Many sessions
and group activities are being planned. We look
forward to seeing you at the Hyatt Regency in
downtown Jacksonville on Monday, September 20
through Wednesday, September 22. Make your
hotel reservations now by calling the Hyatt at
(904) 588-1234. Ask for the special discounted
rate for FAHSA.
Renew Your
License through CE Broker -- If you are
renewing your nursing home administrator's
license through CE Broker, please call the FAHSA
office to receive the special code for a $10.00
discount.
Join Us
for Upcoming Training Opportunities
- September 20-22,
2010 - FAHSA's Affordable Housing Conference,
Hyatt Regency, downtown Jacksonville
- November 9, 2010
-- FAHSA's Maintenance and Environmental
Services Workshop, (more information to come),
Orlando
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General News |
Money Follows the Person Demonstration Grant
-- On
Wednesday, Mary Ellen Early, Sr. VP of
Public Policy and Gail Matillo, Director of
Housing and Education met with
representatives from the Agency for Health
Care Administration (AHCA) to discuss the
Money Follows the Person Demonstration Grant
(MFP). The grant is designed to help states
move Medicaid-enrolled individuals that are
eligible for home and community-based
services under a waiver from nursing homes
back to the community. AHCA has been
transitioning residents from nursing homes
for approximately two years.
The MFP
grant stipulates that to be eligible, a
person must reside in an inpatient facility
for a period of not less than 90 consecutive
days without being admitted solely for
short-term rehabilitative services. AHCA
plans to use the additional FMAP to fund the
Adult and Disabled Waiver, Nursing Home
Diversion Waiver, Assisted Living Waiver,
and the Brain and Spinal Cord Waiver. The
grant application is due in January, 2011.
Hurricane
Earl Headed for NC Coast and Massachusetts
-- Hurricane Earl continues to inch closer
to the U.S. coast and is expected to pass
near the North Carolina outer banks tonight
and very near southeastern New England,
including part of Massachusetts on Friday
evening. Two other named tropical storms
nearing hurricane strength, Fiona and
Gaston, are churning in the Atlantic with
more tropical waves behind them. Now is a
good time to remind residents to prepare
their supplies for hurricane season. A
complete list of supplies along with other
information can be found in
FAHSA's Emergency Planning and Resource
Manual 2010.
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HCBS News
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States Have until Sept. 24 to Apply for Additional
Medicaid Funds --
Governors must apply for their share of the $16.1
billion in added Medicaid money under the
Education-Medicaid aid funding measure by Sept. 24.
Higher levels of Medicaid funding were first made
available in the 2009 economic stimulus law and were
set to expire Dec. 31. The new state-aid package
extends added funding through June 30, 2011,
although at lower levels than in the original
stimulus package.
Home Health Agencies
Providing Durable Medical Equipment in Competitive
Bidding Areas --The Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) has released an article to
alert Home Health Agencies (HHA) that edits will be
in place, effective for services on or after Jan. 1,
2011, to prevent HHAs from billing competitively bid
Durable Medical Equipment (DME) items in competitive
bidding areas and consequently, preventing the
inappropriate payment of competitively bid DME items
to HHAs.
Celebrate National
Adult Day Services Week -- National Adult Day
Services Week has been scheduled for September
19-25. Designating this week will help to raise
awareness about adult day programs that assist older
individuals and people with disabilities to remain
in their own homes. Use this opportunity to plan
special activities. Invite your local, state and
national representatives to your center or sponsor a
candidate's forum for the upcoming elections.
Please send your photos and articles to gmatillo@fahsa.org
for publication in an upcoming issue of the FAHSA
Link newsletter.
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Housing & Service Coordinator News
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Affordable Housing Conference Scheduled --
Make plans to attend
FAHSA's 27th
Annual Affordable Housing Conference on Monday,
September 20 through Wednesday, September 22.
Register today by clicking on the register now
website link below:
REGISTER NOW
DCA Begins Work
on 5-Year Consolidated Plan -- This week,
Gail Matillo, Director of Housing & Education,
participated with representatives from state
agencies and other non-profit organizations on a
six-month project to develop the Department of
Community Affairs new five- year consolidated
plan. The United States Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) requires that states
receiving certain federal funds prepare a
consolidated plan pursuant to 24 Congressional
Federal Record 91 that will provide the
framework for a planning process to identify
housing, homeless, community and economic
development needs and resources for meeting
those needs. The plan process provides an
opportunity for citizens, nonprofit
organizations or other interested parties to
help define priorities for addressing local
community (as well as statewide) needs and to
tailor a strategic plan for meeting identified
needs.
Other Housing News:
-
Choice Neighborhood Webcast Archived
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Florida Receives HUD Disaster Grant
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HOPE VI, Choice Neighborhoods Initiative
Funds Available
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HUD Releases NSP Recapture/Reallocation
Notice
- New Reports Available on Housing,
Community Development and Intergovernmental
Programs
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Legislative News
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Estimating
Conferences Project More Money for the 2011
Legislature - Next Year's Budget Shortfall May Be
Less Than Previously Estimated -- A new
Florida TaxWatch report released last week is the
third in a series of Budget Watches examining the
results of this summer's meetings of the state's
Consensus Estimating Conference and their impact on
the state budget picture. This Budget Watch
examines the newest estimates concerning a number of
revenue sources in detail and analyzes what the
estimates mean for next year's budget.
Overall, after an unprecedented decrease in annual
General Revenue collections for three straight
years, it appears Florida has resumed the normal
trend of annually increasing collections. FY
2009/10 collections grew 2.4% and growth of 6.7% and
7.4% is expected in this fiscal year (FY 2010/11)
and next (FY 2011/12). It now appears legislators
will have $3 billion more general revenue available
to them next session then they spent this year.
There are also growing needs, including an expected
$2 billion Medicaid shortfall, but the results of
this summer's Estimating Conference certainly point
to a smaller shortfall than previously thought.
Click here to read the full analysis of the new
revenue estimates and their affect on next year's
budget
Information About
the Elder Justice Act on AAHSA Website -- A
couple of FAHSA members have asked for additional
information on the federal Elder Justice Act which
passed as part of the national health care reform
law. The purpose of this legislation is to improve
responses to criminal acts against the elderly
related to abuse and exploitation both within and
outside of long-term care facilities. The law
requires employees of nursing homes to report
incidents of abuse resulting in serious bodily harm
to law enforcement within two hours. It also
contains specific staff training requirements on
dementia. Fines for noncompliance are steep. If you
are interested in learning more about this law,
please go to the AAHSA website and click on the
Health Care Reform Hub to listen to a brief
presentation by Marcia Greenfield, a member of
AAHSA's public policy team.
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Nursing Home News |
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Recent Verdict
Opens Door to Tort Reform in CA --
A recent verdict by a California jury awarded
$671 million in damages (plus undetermined
punitive damages) in a class action suit
alleging that 22 nursing facilities operated by
Skilled Healthcare Group (traded on the NY stock
exchange) had not maintained the required 3.2
nursing hours per patient/day at the
communities.
The complaint
stipulates that no one was harmed or received
bad care, but that they could have. The award
was based on $500 per patient/day for the period
the facilities were understaffed, the maximum
allowed.
Other Nursing Home News:
- GAO Inquiry Underway on Vets in NHs
- CMS Video on Interviewing Vulnerable Elders
Available
- Free Resource Available on Controlled
Substance Prescribing in LTC
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Preferred Business Associates News |
 FAHSA's
Preferred Business Associates Program (PBAs)--
A list of PBAs can be found by on the
FAHSA website 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.
FAHSA Preferred
Business Associates Page
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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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