October 30, 2017 Edition of the Situation Report

HCA DATA

CoP GUIDELINES

PAC REGULATIONS

LTC WORKFORCE ORGs

HCA’s members-only data page now includes new MMCOR spreadsheets.

CMS has posted the Interpretive Guidelines for the home health Conditions of Participation, which are effective in January.

HCA makes recommendations to group examining post-acute care (PAC) regulations, including program flexibility available under HCA-developed collaboration law.

DOH has announced the designees to serve as regional LTC workforce improvement organizations under $245M program.

PAGE 6

PAGE 7

PAGE 13

PAGE 15

Your Source for HOME CARE News, Policy and Advocacy

COMING UP Quality & Technology Symposium Nov. 16 & 17 Suffern The Second Annual Women in Health Care Leadership Summit Dec. 7 & 8 Saratoga Springs Northeast Home Health Leadership Summit Jan. 16-18, 2018 Boston Registration for all HCA programs is online at http:// hca-nys.org/ events-education/ upcoming-events.

Vol. 2, Issue 39 | October 30, 2017

Final 2018 HHPPS Rule Expected This Week Status of HHGM Proposal Highly Anticipated The final 2018 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HHPPS) rule is expected to be posted this week, following a review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The final HHPPS is due November 2, in just three days, with an effective date of January 1, 2018.

OMB is not permitted to reveal information on the HHPPS package, including whether the document contains the major Home Health Groupings Model (HHGM) rate changes.

See HHGM p. 4

DOL Posts Long-Awaited Statement on 24-Hour/Live-In Regulation Retroactivity issue indirectly addressed, as discussed during member call last week As reported in a member alert, the state Department of Labor (DOL) last week posted a long-awaited notice of emergency adoption for its October 6 emergency regulation regarding 24-hour/’live-in’ cases.

See DOL p. 2

INSIDE Final 2018 HHPPS Rule Expected This Week.......................................................1 DOL Posts Long-Awaited Statement on 24-Hour/’Live-In’ Regulation.................1 Hotel Deadline for Quality & Tech Symposium Extended to Nov. 3........................1 NY House Members Well-Represented on HHGM Letter.....................................5 HCA Data Webpage Now Includes Q4 2016 PACE & MLTC MMCOR Data...............6 CMS Issues Draft CoP Interpretive Guidelines...................................................7 DOH to Activate 2016 CHHA, LTHHCP & Hospice Statistical Report.......................8 Governor Signs HCA’s Priority Essential Personnel Bill, Sepsis Initiative.............8 HCA Conference Presents Three Women ‘Start-Up’ Leaders..............................9 State and National Experts, HCA, Launch Sepsis Steering Committee...............10 Important Upcoming Deadlines.....................................................................12

Hotel Deadline for Quality & Technology Symposium Extended to Friday, Nov. 3 HCA has extended the deadline to secure a room at the HCA discount rate for our fastapproaching Quality & Technology Symposium, one of HCA’s final signature conferences of 2017 (to be held on November 16-17). The new hotel deadline is this coming Friday, November 3.

See SYMPOSIUM p. 6

Member Hiring Announcement.........................................................................12 HCA Provides Recommendations on Post-Acute, Telehealth Regs......................13 HCA Participates in LTC Need Methodologies, Models Workgroup.......................14 DOH Announces LTC Workforce Investment Organization Approvals...................15 Home Health Compare Data Refreshed............................................................15 UAS-NY to be Upgraded on Nov. 7........................................................................16 Additional Paid Family Leave Forms Posted.......................................................16 Long Island Bootcamp Open for Registration......................................................17 CMS Seeks Hospices to Pilot Test Draft HEART Assessment Instrument................18 Fall eMedNY Training Schedule Announced........................................................18 Resources.....................................................................................................................19

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State DOL from p. 1 A link to the relevant pages of the State Register is posted to HCA’s website at https://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/NYSRegister102517emergencyreg.pdf.

“This emergency regulation is needed to preserve the status quo, prevent the collapse of the home care industry, and avoid institutionalizing patients who could be cared for at home, in the face of recent decisions by the State Appellate Divisions that treat meal periods and sleep time by home care aides who work shifts of 24 hours or more as hours worked for purposes of state (but not federal) minimum wage,” says the statement, posted on October 25.

“This emergency adoption amends the relevant regulations to codify the Commissioner’s longstanding and consistent interpretations that such meal periods and sleep times do not constitute hours worked for purposes of minimum wage and overtime requirements.”

While the regulation does not expressly provide for a retroactive effective date, the provisions of the regulatory intent present a clear desire for maintaining the status quo and codifying the DOL Commissioner’s guidance.

The October 6 emergency regulation followed recent Appellate Division rulings that have declined to enforce DOL’s so-called “13hour rule” guidance for 24-hour/’live-in’ cases. The Appellate rulings have determined that, based on the regulation language itself, non-residential aides should be paid the minimum wage for all 24 hours of their shifts, regardless of whether they were afforded 8 hours for sleep (including 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep time) and three hours for meals (aka, the “13-hour rule”).

While the October 6 emergency regulation applies the 13-hour standard to 24-hour/’live-in’ cases going forward, it is not clear if the courts would also apply this standard retroactively and thus offer retroactive protection to home care agencies. HCA advocated for, and DOL included, language in the notice of emergency adoption that could serve as a basis for courts to apply the emergency regulation on a retroactive basis.

Over the past several months, HCA sought an emergency regulatory change that would align the regulations and DOL’s longstanding 13hour standard, which was separately established in a 2010 DOL opinion letter. This advocacy prompted DOL’s October 6 emergency

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

The Situation Report is a weekly publication of the Home Care Association of New York State (HCA). Unless otherwise noted, all articles appearing in The Situation Report are the property of the Home Care Association of New York State. Reuse of any content within this newsletter requires permission from HCA. Joanne Cunningham HCA President jcunningham@hcanys.org Roger L. Noyes Director of Communications, Editor of The Situation Report rnoyes@hcanys.org Al Cardillo Executive Vice President acardillo@hcanys.org Patrick Conole Vice President, Finance & Management pconole@hcanys.org Andrew Koski Vice President, Program, Policy & Services akoski@hcanys.org Laura Constable Senior Director, Membership & Operations lconstable@hcanys.org Celisia Street Director of Education cstreet@hcanys.org Mercedes Teague Finance Manager mteague@hcanys.org Jenny Kerbein Director of Governance & Graphic Design jkerbein@hcanys.org Billi Wilson Manager, Meetings & Events bwilson@hcanys.org Teresa Brown Administrative Assistant tbrown@hcanys.org

Home Care Association of New York State (HCA) 388 Broadway, 4th Floor, Albany, NY 12207 Tele: 518-426-8764; Fax: 518-426-8788; Website www.hcanys.org

2

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

regulation and last week’s notice of regulatory adoption which, altogether, appear to provide this urgently needed alignment.

Anticipating the regulatory statement’s release, HCA on Thursday held a members-only conference call to discuss the document. Key takeaways from this call are as follows: 

The regulatory impact statement makes it abundantly clear in multiple places the codification of existing regulations and that the intent of those regulations, pertaining to the 13-hour standard, is not something new.



The operative phrase “status quo,” in addition to other language in our reading of the impact statement, suggests DOL’s intent for the emergency regulation to be applicable both retrospectively and prospectively.



As an emergency regulation, it goes into effect immediately for a period of 90-days, at which point it could be promulgated again on an emergency basis; or the Department could work to promulgate a final version of the regulation. Typically, a department of jurisdiction will post a proposed final regulation at some point during the cycle of an emergency regulation.

The emergency rule and accompanying impact statement could be a new factor in the ongoing court cases related to this issue, should the litigants decide to file a motion or enter the emergency rule/ impact statement into the record during appeals.

During HCA’s call last week, a number of questions were raised about the impact statement’s reference to “home care aides” and whether this terminology applied to all aide-level categories (i.e., home health aides, personal care aides, home-attendant aides, etc.). This terminology question is addressed in a follow-up memorandum from our legislative-affair representatives at Hinman Straub. The memo (available at https:// hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2017-10-27HinmanMemoNYSDOLEmergencyReg24-HourLive-in.pdf) indicates that “home care aide” is not defined in the minimum wage regulation or under the Labor Law. However, the Public Health Law “does define ‘home care aide’ to include the following: ‘home health aide, personal care aide, home attendant, personal assistant performing consumer directed personal assistance services pursuant to section three hundred sixty-five-f of the social services law, or other licensed or unlicensed person whose primary responsibility includes the provision of in-home assistance with activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living or health-related tasks.’”

HCA members are urged to discuss this regulatory impact statement with your legal counsel, especially in the event that you provide 24-hour/‘live-in’ services.

Additional advocacy As communicated to members in recent editions of our newsletter, HCA has also filed an amicus brief, in conjunction with the New York State Association of Health Care Providers and the Home Care Association of America, to support the appeal effort in the Tokhtaman v. Human Care, LLC case (one of three cases involving 24-hour/’live-in’ services). The brief calls on the Court of Appeals to “grant leave to appeal and review” the Appellate Division, First Department’s decision in the Tokhtaman case.

3

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

HHGM p. 1 The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that HHGM would reduce payments to home care by $950 million nationally. However, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) estimates a 15 percent average reduction for home health agencies under HHGM, or nearly $3 billion nationally in 2019. HCA estimates the New York impact could be approximately $150 million annually.

HHGM has remained a top target of advocacy by HCA and federal partners, including our collective work to secure U.S. Senate and House support on bipartisan letters to the CMS urging it to reject the HHGM proposal in the final rule. Through the intense advocacy of HCA, our members, and the work of our federal legislative affairs representative (Brett Heimov of Envision Strategy), 20 out of the 27 House members in the New York Delegation have signed onto the letter. (See related article on next page.)

Also, as reported to the membership on October 6, the House Ways and Means committee has separately introduced legislation that would codify the HHGM (including the change from a 60-day to a 30-day reimbursement increment) legislatively, along with some other provisions. HCA posted a campaign on our Legislative Action Center for providers to write their Congressional Representative opposing the House Ways and Means approach.

In a new development, NAHC last week pitched a counterproposal to the House Ways and Means Committee in an effort to mitigate the proposed HHGM cuts. The proposal is one of the various moving pieces in negotiations that hinge on the outcome of the final HHPPS expected later this week.

As reported to members, the original House Ways and Means proposal not only seeks to codify HHGM, but it also attempts to mollify opposition from the industry with a provision to extend the home health rural add-on; yet, as we’ve argued, this rural add-on provision only provides token support for rural health care in the form of a payment that was already being developed separately on a bipartisan basis.

According to Inside Health Policy, a legislative discussion draft circulated by the Senate Finance Committee includes an extension of the Home Health Rural Add-on, among other program extenders. In 2018 and 2019, the add-on would increase from 3 percent to 4 percent for counties with a population density of six or fewer people per square mile. The add-on would go back down to 3 percent in 2020, 2 percent in 2021 and 1 percent in 2022 for those counties. “The summary also notes that congressional Medicare advisors have said many rural counties have above average home health use and few barriers to accessing care, and in those counties, the home health add-on would be less – 1.5 percent in 2018 and 0.5 percent in 2019,” reports Inside Health Policy. “For other rural counties, the home health add-on would be extended in 2018 at current rates, and then reduced to 2 percent in 2019 and 1 percent in 2020.”

As providers may have read in HCA’s biweekly news clips, the HHGM proposal has been the subject of several trade publication news reports, op-eds and letters to the editor as associations and individual providers push the public-relations front to gain steam against the change. Among these is an op-ed by Dr. Steven Landers, President and CEO of VNA Health Group, in The Hill, an influential news publication among Capitol insiders. You can read the article at http://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/356945untested-proposals-will-cut-medicare-and-hurt-seniors.

HCA will continue discussing the HHGM impact with Members of the Congressional Delegation and will immediately inform the membership as soon as the final 2018 HHPPS rule is posted, including our analysis

4

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

of its critical elements for providers, and any corresponding grassroots advocacy related to the rule and companion legislative initiatives.

NY House Members Well-Represented on HHGM Letter HCA thanks Delegation for bipartisan stance on HHGM With support from HCA members and our legislative-affairs firm, Envision Strategy, New York’s Congressional Delegation was incredibly responsive in signing onto a letter raising concerns about the Home Health Groupings Model (HHGM) proposed by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). (See related p. 1 story.) The letter specifically calls on CMS to exclude the HHGM from its final 2018 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HHPPS) rule, expected to be posted later this week.

The letter, dated October 25, is linked to HCA’s website at https://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2017/10/Abraham-Sewell-HHGM-Letter.pdf. It is signed by 20 of the 27 members representing New York in Congress. The letter includes 174 Members of Congress nationally.

“We have heard from a number of stakeholders who are concerned that the proposed rule lacks key methodology and data points,” the bipartisan letter states. “While we support efforts to increase efficiencies in Medicare, we believe this must be done in a prudent manner that does not compromise access to care.”

HCA specifically thanks and recognizes the following Members of Congress for lending their voice to the Congressional letter on behalf of the New York home care provider and beneficiary community: Yvette Clarke (D-9) Chris Collins (R-27) Joseph Crowley (D-14) Eliot Engel (D-16) Adriano Espaillat (D-13) John Faso (R-19) Brian Higgins (D-26) John Katko (R-24) Peter King (R-2) Gregory Meeks (D-5) Jerrold Nadler (D-10) Sean Maloney (D-18) Carolyn Maloney (D-12) Kathleen Rice (D-4) Louise Slaughter (D-25) Elise Stefanik (R-21) Tom Suozzi (D-3) Paul Tonko (D-20) Nydia Velázquez (D-7) Lee Zeldin (R-1)

5

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

SYMPOSIUM from p. 1 Be sure to make your reservations as soon as possible by contacting the Crowne Plaza Hotel (in Suffern) directly at 1-800-227-6963. Ask for the group code HCA to reserve your overnight accommodations.

HCA’s Quality & Technology Symposium is designed for home care clinical managers, Directors of Patient Services, quality improvement officers, and other strategic planners (including the leadership executives at your agency) who need to know the latest trends, policy developments, quality program requirements, and technological opportunity areas to fulfill your mission in the home care, managed care and hospice arenas.

In recent communications, we’ve highlighted for you several sessions at the conference, including: a preview of clinical considerations for the upcoming Advanced Home Health Aide (AHHA) law; a leading LHCSA’s use of disease-management platforms to reduce hospital lengths of stay; and an interactive workshop for implementing your agency’s soon-to-be-required QAPI program under the new home health Conditions of Participation (CoPs).

These are just a few of the ten focus topics to support your agency’s clinical outcomes, compliance with quality requirements, and efficient management of clinical resources. Register and make your overnight accommodations today. A brochure is at the back of this week’s newsletter. Online registration is at http:// tinyurl.com/ybkwdhtl.

HCA Data Webpage Now Includes Fourth Quarter 2016 PACE & MLTC MMCOR Data This week, HCA staff posted to our HCA Data website an HCA-developed spreadsheet of the fourth quarter 2016 Medicaid Managed Care Operating Reports (MMCORs) from each MLTC and Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) plan in the state.

Important: HCA Data is a members-only page that provides data reports to assist home care and hospice providers and managed care plans in their benchmarking efforts, understanding of system-wide trends, and access to reimbursement and premium rates. The page is not visible on our site unless you are logged in with an HCA member website account.

Our log-in page is here: http://hca-nys.org/login. Upon login, the HCA Data link will appear in the site menu at the top right. You can also enter your e-mail address to obtain your password. Or, simply e-mail HCA’s Communications Director Roger Noyes at rnoyes@hcanys.org if you do not yet have an HCA website account.

HCA’s spreadsheets of the fourth quarter 2016 PACE and MLTC MMCOR include multiple sheets summarizing key MMCOR data, including such items as: plan enrollments; per-member-per-month premium revenue and premium income; unit costs; utilization data; balance sheet data and other information.

Earlier this year, HCA posted a spreadsheet with data from the 2015 Medicaid Cost Reports for all non-hospital based CHHAs and LTHHCPs in the state.

For further information, contact Patrick Conole at (518) 810-0661 or pconole@hcanys.org.

6

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

CMS Issues Draft CoP Interpretive Guidelines The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has prepared a draft set of interpretive guidelines for its changes to the Medicare Home Health Conditions of Participation (CoPs), which are set to go into effect in January.

HCA is reviewing the draft and working with association partners on our ongoing analysis. You can read the draft at https://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/3819-F-HomeHealthAgency-CoPs_IGs.pdf.

As extensively reported to members, the CoPs contain the most sweeping regulatory changes to home care since 1989. HCA was the first association to call upon CMS to delay the CoP effective date, leveraging support from Congress to achieve a six-month delay – from July 13, 2017 to January 13, 2018. (Please note that the emergency preparedness regulations still go into effect on November 16, 2017; and Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement/QAPI project requirements are effective on July 13, 2018).

Our calls for the CoP delay reflected, in part, the fact that CMS had yet to issue interpretive guidelines, which provide critical clarifications on the substance of the sweeping CoP changes, as well as directions to statelevel surveyors on enforcement actions. HCA will notify the membership on all relevant updates from our review of the guidelines and related developments with the CoPs. QAPI Component a Highlight of November 16-17 Quality Conference One component of the CoPs is a requirement that senior leaders develop, implement and lead a robust and effective organization-wide Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement (QAPI) Program.

HCA’s upcoming Quality and Technology Symposium, on November 16 and 17, includes a focus session on this CoP component, which requires agencies to monitor and address the full scope of agency services, clinical outcomes and patient service gaps.

During this practical and interactive program, senior leaders will learn how to structure an effective QAPI program, create a quality indicator monitoring system, identify high-impact performance gaps, and launch and guide process improvement teams that can meet the CoP requirements for Performance Improvement Projects (PIPs). Participants will leave with a specific and detailed action plan for implementing QAPI requirements in their own organizations.

This session is being led by Barbara Katz, RN, MSN, of BK Health Care Consulting, who was a popular presenter at one of HCA’s programs on value-based payments. Register for the Symposium today at the links below: Read the brochure: https://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2017-Quality-and-TechnologySymposium-Brochure.pdf Register online: https://www.eventville.com/Catalog/EventRegistration1.asp?EventId=1012269

7

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

DOH to Activate 2016 CHHA, LTHHCP & Hospice Statistical Report The state Department of Health (DOH) Division of Home and Community Based Services will activate the 2016 annual statistical report for Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs) and Long Term Home Health Care Programs (LTHHCPs) as well as the 2016 Cost and Utilization Report for Hospices on November 1, 2017.

The announcement came via a DOH Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) which also includes instructions for completing and submitting the reports. The DAL can be downloaded at: https://hca-nys.org/wp-content/ uploads/2017/10/DAL_CHHALTHHCP-2016-Statistical-Report-Hospice-Report_102517.pdf.

The report will be activated and available for completion from November 1 through December 29, 2017.

After December 29, 2017, these reports will be de-activated from the Health Commerce System (HCS).

DOH uses these reports to collect qualitative and quantitative information for policy decisions regarding the home care industry. DOH stresses the importance of complete and accurate data, given “the rapid changes occurring in the health care delivery system and the increased emphasis and reliance on the availability of home and community based services.”

All CHHAs, LTHHCPs, and Hospices are required to complete and submit the 2016 reports. Failure to submit all required information in the appropriate format may subject the agency to an enforcement action under Section 12 of the Public Health Law resulting in the agency being liable for civil penalties in violation of Article 36 (for CHHAs and LTHHCPs) or Article 40 (for Hospices) of the Public Health Law and New York State Medical Facilities Code.

Administrators should be aware that DOH’s ability to make an affirmative statement to the agency’s character and competence will be negatively impacted if an enforcement action for failure to submit is pursued. Furthermore, any pending certificate of need (CON) applications will not be processed for agencies determined to be delinquent.

Provider agencies are strongly encouraged to enter and submit data as early as possible. Agencies that wait until the last week to enter data may encounter extended system delays and wait times for support due to limited system and personnel resources.

Providers that have questions about completing or submitting the reports can send them to DOH at: HCStatRpts@health.state.ny.us.

Governor Signs HCA’s Priority Essential Personnel Bill, Sepsis Initiative into Law Governor Cuomo last week signed HCA’s priority “Essential Personnel” bill into law (Chapter 385). He also signed into law a sepsis education bill supported by HCA and congruent with our efforts to raise awareness about the risks of sepsis in community-based settings (Chapter 347).

The Governor’s long-awaited support of our “essential personnel” bill (S.5016-A/A.6549-A) establishes a vital statutory basis to assure home care and hospice provider input into local emergency planning,

8

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

including “essential-personnel” access for home care and hospice staff to reach vulnerable patients when disasters strike.

HCA worked closely and arduously with the bill’s legislative sponsors, Assemblyman Michael Cusick and Senator Andrew Lanza (both of Staten Island), to overcome the Governor’s vetoes of past legislative versions which, like S.5016-A/A.6549-A, were unanimously approved by the Legislature. We thank the Governor, Assemblyman Cusick and Senator Lanza for seeing this bill through to fruition. Both legislators described the importance of the measure in a press release jointly issued by their offices. (An HCA version of the press release is at: https://hca-nys.org/press-releases/gov-cuomo-signs-lanza-cusick-bill-supporting-home-carehospice-role-in-reaching-vulnerable-patients-during-emergencies.)

Please be on the look-out for more information, guidance, resources and recommendations on ways that providers can utilize this new statutory authority to interface with local emergency management officials on behalf of patients in the emergency planning process.

Sepsis bill The Governor has also signed legislation (S.4971-A/A.6053-A) establishing a sepsis awareness, prevention and education program within the Department of Education to educate students, parents and school personnel about sepsis. This initiative dovetails with HCA’s own work in raising awareness about the risk, incidence and need for sepsis screening in non-hospital settings.

As reported to the membership, HCA was recently awarded a prestigious New York State Health Foundation grant for statewide training and implementation of HCA’s first-in-the-nation sepsis-intervention protocols in home care provider settings. (See our press release at https://hca-nys.org/press-releases/hca-awarded-nyshealth-grant-forsepsis-screening-in-community-settings.) The Steering Committee for this initiative, which we are calling “Stop Sepsis at Home NY,” met on Wednesday to discuss next steps. (See related p. story.)

Among these steps, HCA is developing a website and program/training schedule for this important initiative with further information coming to the membership soon.

As NPR Reveals Biases for Women Entrepreneurs, HCA Conference Presents Three Women ‘Start-Up’ Leaders Offering Insights for Success Register today for HCA’s Women in Healthcare Leadership Summit to gain insights on the entrepreneurial spirit NPR’s Marketplace Morning Report last week featured a troubling, yet instructive, report on “Why female entrepreneurs get less funding than men” (see https://www.marketplace.org/2017/10/25/business/whyfemale-entrepreneurs-get-less-money-men).

The report references a study published by the Harvard Business Review about the different questions that male versus female entrepreneurs get when they pitch ideas to potential investors, and why entrepreneurs need to be aware of these prevalent biases.

An entrepreneurial spirit is vital to your success as a leader in health care, whether you are pitching a start-up or delivering a value proposition for contracting with health care partners. It’s especially important for women

9

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

leaders to understand the unique challenges facing entrepreneurs, as well as the strategies for overcoming them.

HCA’s Women in Healthcare Leadership Summit on December 7-8 will include a fascinating and insightful panel session with three women leaders who have emerged as a driving force in the advocacy for and development of the cannabis industry.

These entrepreneurs (Kristin L. Jordan of Cannabis Practice Group, Tanya Osborne of Women Grow, and Hillary Peckham of Etain, LLC) will offer lessons learned from their experiences. Such lessons are transferable to your own work in developing tools and strategies for entrepreneurial success in home care and across all enterprises. The session will be moderated by Dr. Bernie Lee of HCA member MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care, who was an extremely popular presenter at HCA’s Annual Conference earlier this year.

HCA’s second annual Women in Healthcare Leadership Summit, on December 7 and 8, is our final signature event for 2017, and a perfect capstone for professional development leading into 2018. We offer this unique program to reach, inspire and provide tools for women leaders in healthcare, a field where women are highly represented but nevertheless need dedicated leadership training to meet their full potential.

Please join us or encourage a colleague to do so. Please also consider joining the summit with a colleague by taking advantage of our discount mentor/mentee rate.

Details are in the brochure at https://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2017-Quality-and-TechnologySymposium-Brochure.pdf.

Register online at https://www.eventville.com/Catalog/EventRegistration1.asp?EventId=1012269.

State and National Experts, HCA, Launch Sepsis Steering Committee State and national sepsis leaders and prestigious stakeholders joined with HCA last week to launch HCA’s sepsis steering committee as part of our New York State Health Foundation grant.

This exceptional committee is convened by HCA to help guide and advise our grant components and rollout.

The overall purpose of the Foundation grant is to lend key support for statewide implementation of HCA’s Home Care Sepsis Screening and Intervention Tool through training sessions, tools and other elements.

The committee lent their expertise and input on the following elements: 

Promote and support statewide adoption and use of this screening and intervention initiative within the home care sector and by other applicable providers.



Conduct training on the tool, and broadly in sepsis education.



Provide technical support for providers and practitioners.

Continued on next page

10

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

Continued from previous page 

Coordinate with cross-sector clinical partners (e.g., hospitals, physicians, EMS, health plans).



Conduct community/public outreach.



Create and maintain a dedicated “Stop Sepsis At Home” website with all training and support details, as well as resources and links to our partners.



Collect and analyze data for provider support, feedback, improvement, research, evaluation and policy.

For this component, HCA member IPRO has established a HIPAA-compliant data portal that will allow providers to transmit data derived from the HCA sepsis tool/agency EHR.

In addition to HCA and the HCA Board chair, the Committee members include leadership from national Sepsis Alliance, the Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention, IPRO, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hospitals and home health agency clinicians, the state medical society, state and regional hospital associations, Conference of Blue Cross-Blue Shield Plans, NY Health Plan Association, New York Statewide Senior Action Council, State EMS associations, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, the Visiting Nurse Association of America, and others.

Notably, on October 23, the Governor signed a comprehensive new state law for sepsis education in schools.

(See related p. 8 story.) It incorporates sepsis as part of the professional infection control training required for clinical licensure of RNs, physicians, and other health clinicians.

HCA-NYS Foundation Grant Stakeholder Launch Sessions To learn more and prepared for our Stop Sepsis at Home initiative, please be sure to attend one of two upcoming launch sessions: 

Via Webinar: November 9, 11 a.m. to noon, hosted by HCA member IPRO. (Registration information coming soon.)



In-person: November 16 as part of HCA’s Quality and Technology Symposium. Register for the Symposium at https://www.eventville.com/Catalog/EventRegistration1.asp?EventId=1012269.

Details on Regional Training, Cross-Sector Sessions and Data Sharing HCA will be sending a detailed alert for the membership on upcoming regional sessions, and the HCA-IPRO data sharing component. These will take place on the following months and regions:    

December – Western and Central New York January – The broader Capital District and Hudson Valley February – New York City (2 borough sites) March – Long Island (one in Nassau and one in Suffolk)

For further information, please contact Al Cardillo at acardillo@hcanys.org, Celisia Street at cstreet@hcanys.org, or Billi Wilson at bwilson@hcanys.org.

11

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

Important Upcoming Deadlines Requirement/Change

Effective/ Due Date

More Information

2016 LHCSA Statistical Report

Nov. 3, 2017

https://commerce.health.state.ny.us/public/hcs_login.html (HERDS application)

Emergency Response Drill

Nov. 6Ͳ8, 2017

https://commerce.health.state.ny.us/public/hcs_login.html (HERDS application)

UASͲNY Updated

Nov. 7, 2017

uasny@health.ny.gov or 518Ͳ408Ͳ1021

MLTC Cost Report and Supplemental Minimum Wage Reconciliation Cost Report

Nov.15, 2017

mltcrsmw@health.ny.gov

Federal Emergency Preparedness Rule in Effect

Nov. 16, 2017

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FRͲ2016Ͳ09Ͳ16/pdf/2016Ͳ21404.pdf

2016 & 2017 CHHA Special Needs Semi Annual Reports

Nov. 17, 2017

https://commerce.health.state.ny.us/public/hcs_login.html (HERDS application)

2016 CHHA/LTHHCP Statistical Report (opens November 1)

Dec. 29, 2017

https://commerce.health.state.ny.us/public/hcs_login.html (HERDS application)

2016 Hospice Cost and Utilization Report (opens November 1)

Dec. 29, 2017

https://commerce.health.state.ny.us/public/hcs_login.html (HERDS application)

Implementation of Universal Billing Codes for Home and CommunityͲBased Long Term Care Services under Managed Care

Jan. 1, 2018

https://www.health.ny.gov/facilities/long_term_care/reimbursement/letters/dal_2017Ͳ09Ͳ 22_billing_codes.htm

Revised Medicare Home Health Conditions of Participation in Effect

Jan. 13, 2018

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FRͲ2017Ͳ01Ͳ13/pdf/2017Ͳ00283.pdf

Start of Transition Period for Using Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) or Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI)

April 1, 2018

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/NewͲMedicareͲCard/index.html

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER The Chief Financial Officer assists the Chief Executive Officer in the administration of all financial aspects of the Visiting Nurse Service & Hospice of Suffolk, Inc. The Chief Finance Officer provides overall direction and supervision of all finance and related budgetary functions, and participates in agency strategic planning.

Qualifications: x Graduation from an accredited college with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance. x Master’s in business administration preferred. x CPA desirable. x Five years progressive financial responsibility. x Two years experience in health care finance preferred. x Demonstrated ability to utilize data processing systems. x Demonstrated ability to communicate.

A complete job description may be viewed at https://secure3.entertimeonline.com/ta/6140706.jobs?ShowJob=151203473&prevScreenX=0&prevScreenY=0 To apply for this position, please email your résumé to jobs@vnshs.org Visiting Nurse Service and Hospice of Suffolk offers a rich benefits package and a competitive salary commensurate with credentials and experience. EOE

12

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

HCA Provides Comprehensive Recommendations on Post-Acute and Telehealth Regulatory Modernization HCA has provided the state Department of Health (DOH) with comprehensive recommendations on postacute and telehealth care for the Department’s regulatory modernization team initiative.

DOH established regulatory workgroups on these and other health programs several months ago. HCA has provided active input throughout this process, seeking important new opportunities for regulatory flexibility, infrastructure support, as well as functionality and innovation for home care in partnership with other sectors.

However, these discussions have also introduced areas of major concern, as various hospital representatives seek their own direct path to in-home care outside of federal and state home care laws, rather than through collaborative models.

HCA’s recommendations address all the above areas, such as: 

Adjusting reimbursement to secure critical home care infrastructure needs (workforce and operations) and targeting state budget capital funding to the support of home care health information technology, exchange and interoperability.



Improving and streamlining hospital-homecare-physician care transition and management processes through clear and expanded guidance on permissible flexibility, innovation and roles, as well as removing barriers. This would also include leveraging the HCA-coauthored “Hospital-HomecarePhysician Collaboration Law” (public health law 2805-x) to support innovation and new partnership roles for home care in primary care, public health, medical management, pre-acute, and post-acute transition and care.



Supporting the cross-training, credentialing and integrated use of health personnel across settings.



Eliminating barriers to billing.



Educating hospitals, physicians and other system partners on home care and its capabilities under flexible laws and regulations.



Providing flexibility for home telehealth, as well as clear and adequate capability for telehealth coverage by managed care plans and managed long term care plans, and ensuring plans are properly funded to cover this service with home care (a long overdue policy update).



Bringing home care into the mainstream of health coverage.

These and other HCA proposals would greatly help realign the policy and program environment for home care and partners in the changing system. DOH will be looking to select proposals for the coming legislative and budget sessions, or otherwise pursue administrative approaches, where possible.

Continued on next page

13

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

Continued from previous page Draft DAL circulated for comment Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) has just circulated a draft Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) seeking HCA’s comment on guidance to providers for leveraging the Hospital-Homecare-Physician Collaboration Law. DOH’s document is based on a draft that HCA submitted to the Department several months ago.

HCA is currently analyzing the draft, which contains some departures from HCA’s original submission but is largely consistent with HCA’s intent and purpose. We will keep the membership apprised of the developments on these and other Departmental directions as the process moves forward.

For additional information, please contact Al Cardillo at acardillo@hcanys.org.

HCA Participates in ‘LTC Need Methodologies and Innovative Models’ Workgroup This past week, HCA participated in a conference call to discuss the goals for the state Department of Health (DOH) Long Term Care Need Methodologies and Innovative Models Workgroup, of which HCA is a member.

The purpose of the Workgroup is to provide feedback to DOH on “regulatory reforms to facilitate provision of innovative models of care to meet the needs of communities, including rural communities.”

In addition, the goal is to explore the possibility of new need methodologies and licensing policies while incorporating the Olmstead plan principles on the nursing home bed need regulations.

The first meeting of the Long Term Care Need Methodologies and Innovative Models Workgroup will take place on November 7th in Meeting Room 6, on the main level of the Empire State Plaza in Albany from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The Workgroup is being asked to address a series of questions related to need methodology, quality, technology and other issues for Certified Home Health Agencies, Licensed Home Care Services Agencies, Hospices, Nursing Homes and other Home and Community-Based Services.

Lora LeFebvre, past SUNY Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, will be leading the discussion along with Mark Kissinger, Special Assistant to the Commissioner at the state Department of Health.

HCA also participates in other DOH Regulatory Modernization Initiatives, including workgroups on: PostAcute Care Management Models and Telehealth. (See related p. 13 story.)

Information on these and other workgroups is at https://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/ regulatory_modernization_initiative/.

14

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

DOH Announces LTC Workforce Investment Organization Approvals The state Department of Health (DOH) has issued the list of approved Long Term Care Workforce Investment Organizations (LTC-WIOs). See the list at https://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LTCWIO-Designation-Announcement.pdf. The designees are broken into the current MLTC regions: New York City; Long Island; Hudson Valley; Northeast; Central; and Western New York.

Under this program, DOH will make available up to $245 million (during 2018-2020) for “initiatives to retrain, recruit and retain healthcare workers in the long term care (LTC) sector.” DOH intends to issue further guidance on the structure of this initiative in the coming weeks.

According to previous presentations on this initiative, DOH will require MLTC plans to contract with the DOH-designated LTC-WIOs to: invest in initiatives to attract, recruit and retain LTC workers; develop plans for reducing health disparities through placement of LTC workers in high-need areas; analyze the training needs of each region the center serves; and support the expansion of home care and respite care, enabling those in need of LTC to remain at home and reduce Medicaid’s costs associated with LTC. MLTC plans will receive Workforce Development Program funds which will be used to contract with LTCWIOs for the provision of workforce development initiatives to the health care providers that participate with the plans. Plans and LTC-WIOs will also be required to collaborate on strategic planning to recruit and train new LTC workers.

Funds will be allocated to plans based on the percentage of each plan’s enrollment relative to all plan enrollment, and distributed via increases to their capitated rates. Plans will need to notify their participating providers that they can send workers to LTC-WIOs to participate without charge. Plans will distribute funds to the LTC-WIOs with which they contract to reimburse them for providing workforce development initiatives.

HCA has requested a high-level meeting with DOH to discuss the details of its program to ensure administrative simplicity and avoidance of new burdens on plans, as well as funding flexibility to ensure targeting of support to areas and disciplines in greatest need and/or shortage crisis. HCA will follow-up with the members on further developments from discussions about the structure and roll-out of this new initiative.

HCA had provided extensive input to DOH as this program was constructed over the past year and a half.

We had sought a streamlined and direct approach to determining, assessing and paying for the training, and suggested training topics that would help workers and agencies as the system evolves.

Home Health Compare Data Refreshed Home Health Care Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS) survey results are now reported on the Home Health Compare website based on responses from patients who received Medicare-certified home health services from April 2016 through March 2017. (See the link at http:// www.Medicare.gov/.)

HHCAHPS survey results are updated each calendar year quarter.

Continued on next page

15

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

Continued from previous page These data for home health agencies (HHAs) are also available on the HHCAHPS website through the “Archived Publicly Reported Data” link under the “General Information” tab. On this webpage, agencies can access:    

HHA-level data State and national averages Star ratings cut points Patient mix adjustment coefficients for the linearized data used to construct the Star Ratings

As a reminder, information on how the Star Ratings were constructed is provided in the “Technical Notes” at https://homehealthcahps.org/Portals/0/HHCAHPS_steps_calculate_composites.pdf?ver=2016-11-07101103-157.

See the link below for more information about how the data were analyzed and for the patient-mix adjustment factors that were used to statistically adjust the results reported on Home Health Compare: https://homehealthcahps.org/Portals/0/PublicReporting/ PMAandHHCAHPSresults_OctPublicReporting2017.pdf

UAS-NY to be Upgraded on November 7 The state Department of Health (DOH) has announced the UAS-NY software will be upgraded to version 1.3a (v.1.3a) on November 7, 2017.

In addition to the Online Upgrades related to release v.1.3a, DOH will also be releasing v.1.3a of the Offline Client. This is a required upgrade for all Offline Client users. Complete instructions for upgrading the UASNY Offline Application will be available in the UAS-NY Training Environment Reference and Resources 8500 Online and Offline Application by no later than close of business on November 3, 2017.

The UAS-NY now houses multiple assessment instruments across several domains; therefore, release notes specific to each domain will be forthcoming.

Questions can be directed to the UAS-NY Support Desk at (518) 408-1021 or uasny@health.ny.gov.

Additional Paid Family Leave Forms Posted The state Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) has released additional Paid Family Leave (PFL) forms. This includes a general Request For Paid Family Leave form (PFL-1), as well as various certification forms depending on the type of leave.

The following forms are needed to apply for PFL: 

Combination PFL-1 form and PFL-2 (a bonding certification form) to bond with a newborn or a newly adopted or fostered child (https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/bonding.pdf) Continued on next page

16

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

Continued from previous page 

Combination PFL-1 form, as well as PFL-3 (a release of personal health information form) and PFL-4 (a health care provider certification form), to apply for PFL to care for a family member with a serious health condition (https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/careforfamilymember.pdf)



Combination PFL-1 form and PFL-5 (military qualifying event form) for a qualifying exigency arising from service of a family member in the U.S. Armed Forces (https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/ files/military.pdf)

As we mentioned in the October 16 edition of The Situation Report, the WCB has also released: 

PFL-Waiver: “Employee Opt-Out of Paid Family Leave Benefits” (https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/ atoms/files/PFLWaiver.pdf)



PFL-135: “Employer’s Application for Voluntary Coverage” (https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/ atoms/files/PFL-135.pdf)



PFL-136: “Employer’s Application for Voluntary Coverage” (Employee Contribution Required) (https:// www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/PFL-136.pdf)

Lastly, the WCB has posted an Employer Checklist at https://www.ny.gov/new-york-state-paid-family-leave/ new-york-state-paid-family-leave-employers.

PFL, when fully implemented (starting January 1, 2018 and phased in over 2018 to 2021), will provide employees up to 12 weeks of paid family leave in any given 52-week benefit period. Leave can be used to: 1) care for a family member (including a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, spouse or domestic partner) with a serious health condition; 2) bond with an employee’s newborn or newly placed adoptive or foster child during the first 12 months following birth or placement; or 3) address any qualifying exigency to a spouse, domestic partner, child or parent who is serving on active military duty.

Long Island VBP Bootcamp Open for Registration Registration for the Value Based Payment (VBP) Bootcamp in Long Island is now open. Registration will close on November 8, 2017.

The VBP Bootcamp in Long Island will take place on November 15, 2017 at The Long Island Marriot (101 James Doolittle Boulevard, Uniondale, New York 11553) from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Registration is at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vbp-bootcamp-20-long-island-tickets-37813431993.

While the state has already held Bootcamps in New York City, Albany, and Lake Placid (Rochester will be held on November 3), we have been informed that DOH plans to hold another one in New York City in January. More details on that one will be coming.

VBP Bootcamps are a regional learning series created by the state Department of Health to equip VBP contractors and interested parties (such as Managed Care Organizations, Providers, Associations, and Community Based Organizations) with the knowledge necessary to implement payment reform. The daylong

17

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

VBP Bootcamp is designed to be an interactive training session that will give participants a thorough understanding of VBP. This event is free and open to all interested parties. Space is limited, and space will be on a first-come, firstserved basis. Registration is limited to no more than four participants from each organization.

Questions can be sent to mailto:VBP@health.ny.gov.

CMS Seeks Hospices to Pilot Test Draft HEART Assessment Instrument The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has contracted with RTI International to develop the Hospice Evaluation & Assessment Reporting Tool (HEART), an expanded item set covering the comprehensive patient assessment for hospice providers.

As part of the HEART development process, RTI will be pilot testing the draft HEART instrument by conducting two sequential pilot tests.

Hospices that are interested in participating in the pilot should complete the pilot interest form located in the download section of the HQRP Requirements and Best Practices webpage at: https:/ /www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Hospice-Quality-Reporting/ HQRP-Requirements-and-Best-Practices.html. The form can be e-mailed to hospice@rti.org by October 31, 2017.

The RTI project team will reply to further discuss the pilot project. If you have questions about the pilot, please contact Jennifer Tierney Lyden at (919) 541-7447 or at jlyden@rti.org. The contract name is Hospice Quality Reporting Program Measure Development, Maintenance and Support. The contract number is HHSM500-2013-13015I.

Fall eMedNY Training Schedule Announced The eMedNY Training Schedule for October through December is now available. Registrations for seminars and webinars are currently being accepted.

Some of the topics offered include: 

ePACES for Dental, DME, Free Standing and Hospital Based Clinics, Institutional, Nursing Home, Professional (Real-Time), Physician, Private Duty Nursing, Transportation, and Vision Care



Medicaid Eligibility Verification System (MEVS)



eMedNY Website Review



New Provider/ New Biller

eMedNY training seminars are being held at the following locations: 

Canandaigua Continued on next page

18

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 2, No. 39 October 30, 2017 

Continued from previous page 

Plattsburgh



Poughkeepsie



Rensselaer



Hauppauge

To view the training schedule and register, visit https://www.emedny.org/training/index.aspx. Questions can be directed to the eMedNY Call Center at 800-343-9000.

More information is at https://www.ny.gov/programs/new-york-state-paid-family-leave.

Resources 

“Employers’ Checklist: What You Need to Do Now (under Paid Family Leave),” New York State Department of Labor https://www.ny.gov/new-york-state-paid-family-leave/new-york-state-paid-family-leave-employers



“Creating a conduit for better health: Technology connects medical and social services,” by Rocky Mountain Health Plans https://www.rmhpcommunity.org/sites/default/files/resource/RMHP-Oct2017.v5.pdf



“Medicare Enrollment at Age 65, “NYS DOH Administrative Directive (October 24, 2017) https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/publications/pub2017adm.htm

For more information, contact Andrew Koski at (518) 810-0662 or akoski@hcanys.org.

19

Quality AND

Technology

Crowne Plaza Hotel 3 Executive Blvd.

Suffern, NY 10901

AGENDA Crowne Plaza Hotel 3 Executive Blvd.

Thursday, November 16 Suffern, NY 10901 8:30AM

Registration and Light Breakfast

9:00 AM

HCA Opening Remarks

9:15 –10:15AM

NYS Vision & Directions in Quality Marcus Friedrich, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, Office of Quality and Patient Safety, New York State Department of Health In this opening session, Dr. Marcus Friedrich will present the state’s overall vision and direction for quality. He will address: quality in the evolving health care system; priority areas of quality focus; priority state policies and initiatives; and implications for each sector, including home care, managed care and hospice. The session will also describe tools, resources and supports that the state envisions for providers and managed care plans to help achieve these priority goals.

10:15 – 11:15AM

To be truly effective, all health care quality programs must embrace innovative technological solutions for achieving process improvements, data sharing, and communication capabilities that drive improvements in patient care, analytics and oversight.

‘Disruptive Technologies’ in Home Health Carl Queton, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, OperaCare As governments continue to squabble over the future of health care, home care remains the victim of constant regulatory change. With the advent of Value Based Purchasing, our industry is not just forced to evolve but to innovate. However, the path to innovation is compounded and complicated by three top issues already facing home care: 1) shrinking margins; 2) an unprecedented caregiver shortage; and 3) a cascade of regulatory requirements.

Health care technologies, for their part, are only useful to the extent that they support the quality of care that you deliver to patients – which is the lifeblood of your overall mission and a marker of your agency’s reputability and viability in an increasingly competitive health care marketplace.

Within this environment, third-party software and hardware vendors are rising to the top, focusing their work on how to help fix one – or all – of these problems. These new approaches can be characterized as “disrupters,” which simply means a kind of innovation that upends traditional markets, models, or value systems in the business world.

HCA’s signature Quality and Technology Symposium, on November 16 and 17, is designed for home care clinical managers, Directors of Patient Services, quality improvement officers, and other strategic planners (including the leadership executives at your agency) who need to know the latest trends, policy developments, quality program requirements, and technological opportunity areas to fulfill your mission at this fundamental intersection of quality and technology in the home care, managed care and hospice arenas.

This session will discuss some of these marketplace competitive factors, as well as innovations and opportunities, including many that are already available to home care providers, such as: •

The role that telehealth, telemedicine and remote patient monitoring plays in reducing readmissions;

•

How artificial intelligence and predicative analytics can remove variables that lead patients to enter the hospital in the first place;

•

The place of online education, not just for the caregiver but also for the client; and

•

The growth of private-duty home care, and how it is becoming “Uber-ized” through new business models that are potentially circumventing traditional methods of home care delivery.

Continued…

1

Thursday, November 16 - continued 11:15AM – 12:00PM

Surviving Sepsis: a Cautionary Tale & Insights for Community-Based Interventions Joe Caruso, Sepsis Survivor (Invited) Alan Sanders, M.D. (Invited) After spending a week in a coma and experiencing significant organ failure, Joe Caruso triumphantly emerged from his life-threatening battle with sepsis. Hear his firsthand account of how hours and minutes made the ultimate difference in surviving this brutal condition. This session will also highlight the critical role of early sepsis recognition and treatment protocols in community-based settings. These insights will offer a compelling framework for home care to tackle the sepsis crisis head-on, including through HCA’s first-in-the-nation community-based sepsis screening tool, which is one component of a New York State Health Foundation grant recently awarded to HCA for clinical efforts in sepsis prevention.

Friday, November 17 8:00AM

Light Breakfast

8:30-9:30AM

Best Practices for Quality Managers TBA

Opportunities for Advanced Home Health Aides to Support Quality Outcomes

Quality alignment among collaborating clinical partners – and, indeed, across the continuum – is crucial in coordinating, measuring, and promoting excellence in care. This is especially true under integrated systems and in models like DSRIP, value based payments and managed care. What should quality directors working in each sector be doing to best align and facilitate quality and performance with their clinical and organizational partners? This session will discuss strategies, protocols and best-practices for achieving seamlessness in your clinical partnerships.

Rebecca Fuller Gray, Director, Division of Home & Community Based Services, NYSDOH

9:30-10:45AM

12:00 – 1:00PM

Lunch

1:00 – 2:00PM

Climbing Out of Chaos – A Roadmap to Sanity for Clinical Managers

In 2018, the state will be implementing a new law (enacted last year) to authorize Advanced Home Health Aides (AHHAs). Under an RN’s supervision, AHHAs will be able to perform advanced care functions, including some tasks that otherwise fall under the scope of nursing practice. Hear how the use of AHHAs in a home care plan-of-care can support quality patient care, and what quality procedures are critical to consider in this process.

Barbara Katz, RN, MSN, BK Health Care Consulting For home care clinical managers, juggling constant change while running an effective clinical operation is a daunting and exhausting task. This interactive seminar will use selfassessments and class exercises to provide managers with a toolkit of practical techniques for staying sane while working efficiently in the new world of health care. Participants will leave knowing how to: balance change and daily work; use data to distinguish real work from wasted effort; apply proven time management techniques to gain control of their time; and create a personal resilience recipe.

2:00 - 3:00PM

How One Home Care Provider Used a Novel Health IT Platform to Achieve Concrete Quality Outcomes Brian A. Schiel, Vice President, Bestcare, Inc. and Ilyne Rabinowitz, RN, Vice President, Clinical Services, Bestcare, Inc. (Invited) Case studies of the real-time disease management platform, eCaring, are demonstrating positive results in preventing unnecessary health care utilization, as well as increasing employee and patient satisfaction. Hear from a home care agency that is using this platform, and learn about the agency’s experiences and promising preliminary outcomes with this innovative technology.

3:00 – 3:30PM

Extended Break & Exhibitor Networking

Break

11:00AM – Noon

The Quality and Value Proposition for Palliative Care in Home Care Madeline Jacobs, MPA, Center to Advance Palliative Care Palliative care can be the most critical factor in the quality of a patient’s care and life. It is also critical in preventing avoidable hospitalizations and emergency care episodes, containing costs, and promoting achievement of priority quality goals, which are core elements of virtually all new health care models. In this session, we will learn about palliative care as a serious illness strategy for improving quality and value in home care.

3:30 – 4:30PM

Integrating Behavioral Health with Chronic Care to Improve Patient Outcomes Katherine Vanderhorst, RN, BSN, President, C&V Senior Care Specialists Patients with chronic medical conditions often face “double jeopardy” in the form of co-occurring behavioral health issues. This session will cover the steps for a successful behavioral health program that improves patient care, outcomes and, ultimately, the agency’s star rating by integrating behavioral health into a patient’s care plan.

4:30PM

10:45 – 11:00AM

Day One Wrap Up and Adjourn 2

12:00- 12:30PM

Lunch

Friday, November 17 - continued 12:30 – 4:00PM

Implementing QAPI Program Requirements for Senior Managers Barbara Katz, RN, MSN, BK Health Care Consulting The new Medicare Home Health Care Conditions of Participation (CoPs) require senior leaders to develop, implement and lead a robust and effective organizationwide Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement (QAPI) Program. This program must monitor and address the full scope of agency services, clinical outcomes and patient service gaps.

During this practical and interactive program, senior leaders will learn how to structure an effective QAPI program, create a quality indicator monitoring system, identify high-impact performance gaps, and launch and guide process improvement teams that can meet the CoP requirements for Performance Improvement Projects (PIPs). Participants will leave with a specific and detailed action plan for implementing QAPI requirements in their own organizations.

By the end of this program, senior leaders will be able to: • • • • • • •

Hotel Information

Explain Medicare QAPI CoP requirements; Create a QAPI structure that meets requirements; Build or refine a quality key indicator system; Choose priority areas for improvement and identify two potential PIP projects; Implement a QAPI committee; Create mechanisms for launching and guiding quality teams; and Develop a process for sustaining improvements

4:00PM

Crowne Plaza Hotel 3 Executive Blvd.

Suffern, NY 10901 A small block of rooms has been secured at the Crowne Plaza Hotel for the evenings of November 15 and November 16 at a discounted rate of:

$119/night

Wrap Up and Adjourn To make your overnight accommodations, call the hotel directly at 1-800-227-6963 before October 25th and

ask for the group code HCA.

3

Thanks to our Sponsors!

Thanks to our EXHIBITORS!

4

Registration

Payment Information

Registration Deadline: November 6 Pay by Check:

Full Conference (November 16 & 17)

Make checks payable to HCA and mail to 388 Broadway, 4th Floor, Albany, NY 12207.

Checks must be received by November 6th.

HCA Member Rate $299 Prospective HCA Member Rate $429

Pay by Credit Card: Amex

One-Day Pass

MasterCard

VISA

(Indicate date and rate)

November 16 or

November 17

HCA Member Rate $169 Prospective HCA Member Rate $259

_______________________________________ Registrant/Contact Name _______________________________________ Company Name _______________________________________ Email (required for confirmation details)

Special Accommodations In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or special meal needs, please let us know how we can accommodate you:

_______________________________________ Phone

_____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

_______________________________________ Credit Card Number _________________ Expiration Date

_________________ Security Code

_______________________________________ Billing Address of Card Holder _______________________________________ Floor/Suite _______________________________________ City, State, Zip

Cancellation Policy: Cancellations received in writing via email to info@hcanys.org by November 7 are refundable less a 25% administrative fee. No refunds are permitted after this date or for no shows. Substitutions are permitted.

_______________________________________ Name on Card _______________________________________ Authorized Signature

PLEASE FAX THIS COMPLETED REGISTRATION TO (518) 426426 - 8788; or register online at ht tp://event ville .com/hcanys

November 16 & 17, 2017 Crowne Plaza Hotel 3 Executive Blvd.

Suffern, NY 10901 388 BROADWAY FOURTH FLOOR ALBANY, NY 12207

TO:

Crowne Plaza Hotel 3 Executive Blvd.

Suffern, NY 10901