On-Demand Precision OASIS Training Available

HHAC partnered with the Home Care & Hospice Association of Utah for this virtual two-day OASIS intensive. This course is designed for field staff, quality reviewers, case managers, clinical supervisors, directors of clinical services, administrators, and anyone who desires to learn the official guidance on how to answer OASIS items with precision.

When: On-Demand Recorded Access Available Until 05/31/22

Credits: 12 Contact Hours / 12 CEUs Pending for PT and OT *

Attendees will learn:

• Purpose of the OASIS data set
• Types of OASIS assessments and timelines for completion
• Eligible patients and those excluded from collection of OASIS data
• Conditions of Participation related to the administration and submission of OASIS data
• Official conventions and item specific guidelines for OASIS items
• Wound Ostomy Continence Nurse guidance for answering integumentary status items
• Best practices for gathering comprehensive assessment information, medication reconciliation, communication with physician/providers regarding discrepancies, possible interactions, or issues
• Care plan and case management implications from the OASIS information
• CMS’s definition of falls and how to answer J items appropriately
• The differences in answering M items and GG functional and mobility items
• CMS definitions of assistance and device types
• Overview of PDGM Payment implications and the OASIS
• Overview of Quality implications: Home Health Compare, Star Ratings, and HHQRP
• A former case manager’s tips on how to combine the professional assessment with the comprehensive assessment, including OASIS items to ensure accuracy of both

• HHAC Member Individual - $195
• Non-Member Individual - $390
  
  
• HHAC Member Agency Access - $975
• Non-Member Agency Access - $1,950

For more information & to register, click here. 

Nationwide Temporary Halt on CMS COVID-19 Vaccination Order

On November 30th, a preliminary injunction was issued by the Louisiana Federal District Court,  to temporarily halt CMS’ healthcare worker COVID-19 vaccine requirement.

Read order here

The ruling was in response to a lawsuit brought by the State of Louisiana and joined by the states of Utah, Indiana, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia. However, the judge determined that healthcare workers in other states would also be affected by the mandate and applied the preliminary injunction nationwide, except in those 10 states that are already subject to the Missouri Federal District Court injunction which paused the mandate for them earlier this week. That injunction applies to Missouri, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

CMS is expected to appeal both rulings but the timing on further action is unclear, particularly with the original vaccine deadlines and the holidays pending. Though the nationwide CMS and OSHA mandates have been blocked, pending further action, Colorado vaccination orders are still in place.

Stay tuned for additional information.

Home Care Industry Update – A Legal Webinar Series Presented by Polsinelli

Thursday, December 16 (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. MT)

Cost: Free

Please join Polsinelli, Home Care Association of America (HCAOA),The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), and Sharecare for a legal update for the Home-Based Care Industry (home health, home care and hospice providers). 

Vicki Hoak and Bill Dombi will provide an update on the latest advocacy efforts and initiatives of HCAOA and NAHC, Mr. Spinola and Mr. Vail will provide an update on CMS and OSHA’s recent vaccine mandate requirements for private employers and what employers and HR departments in the home-based care and hospice industry are obligated to do.

Register for Update

Harris Announces $1.5B Investment in Health Care Workforce

Associated Press
 
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris announced Monday that the Biden administration is investing $1.5 billion from the coronavirus aid package to address the health care worker shortage in underserved communities.
 
The funding will go to the National Health Service Corps, Nurse Corps and Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery programs, all federal programs that offer scholarship and loan repayments for health care students and workers if they pledge to work in underserved and high-risk communities.
 
“Our nation must invest in a health care workforce that looks like America, and provide access to equitable health care for all Americans,” Harris said.
 
The money, which includes funds from the American Rescue Plan and other sources, will support more than 22,700 providers, marking the largest number of providers enrolled in these programs in history, according to the White House. It comes in response to recommendations laid out earlier this month by the White House’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, which issued a report outlining how the administration could address systemic inequality in the health care system.
 
The COVID-19 pandemic has both highlighted and exacerbated health care disparities for minority and underserved communities. According to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, over the course of the pandemic, minority Americans have seen higher numbers of cases and higher rates of death than their white counterparts.
 
“COVID-19 did not invent health disparities. Just ask any healthcare professional and she will tell you: Health disparities existed long before this virus reached our shores. Health disparities stem from broader systemic inequities,” she said.
 
It’s just the latest investment from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, passed in March of this year, aimed at addressing health disparities among minority and underserved communities. Earlier this month, the White House announced an additional $785 million in funding for federal programs aimed at improving diversity in the public health workforce and supporting people with disabilities.
 
During the Monday event, Harris pushed for passage of President Joe Biden’s nearly $2 trillion social safety net and climate change package, which would provide funding to temporarily close the Medicaid coverage gap and expand access to health insurance marketplace subsidies through 2025.
 
Harris said the package would also make a historic investment in maternal health “to address the tragedy of black maternal mortality in America.”
 
Black women in the U.S. are about three times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause as others, partly because of racial bias they may experience in getting care and doctors not recognizing risk factors such as high blood pressure.