Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare “The Texas blackouts in February 2021 cast much of the state into darkness, leaving millions of residents without power for days as an arctic front blanketed the central United States with sub-freezing temperatures. Residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Texas were hit hard…… Continue reading Left in the Dark: The Impact of the 2021 Texas Blackout on Long-Term Care Residents and the Need to Improve Emergency Preparedness

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare “While nursing homes are better able to manage COVID-19, the pandemic has exacerbated a historic labor shortage, creating an access to care crisis for America’s seniors and a capacity issue for other health care providers, like hospitals. Meanwhile, the economic recovery of the industry remains in…… Continue reading AHCA State of the Nursing Home Sector Fact Sheet

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The February update of Appendix B to the RAI 3.0 User’s Manual contains changes to the list of State RAI Coordinators, MDS Automation Coordinators, RAI Panel members, and CMS locations and contacts. Appendix B 02172023 Changes to Appendix B_February_2023 

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has updated the SNF care booklet for Medicare beneficiaries.  The 44-page booklet can be found here.  The revision date of the booklet is identified as December 2022.

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS posted the Five-Star Quality Rating System: State-Level Health Inspection Cut Point Table … February 2023 on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. This document – Five Star Quality Rating System Technical Users’ Guide: State Level Health Inspection Cut Point Table – provides the data for the state-level…… Continue reading Five-Star Quality Rating System: State-Level Health Inspection Cut Point Table for February 2023

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS posted this notice on Friday, February 17, 2023: CMS is excited to announce that the transition of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment submission and reporting functionality to the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) will occur on Monday, April 17, 2023. To properly…… Continue reading iQIES for Minimum Data Set (MDS) Submission Release on April 17, 2023

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare INFORMATIONAL LETTER NO. 2427-MC-FFS DATE: February 17, 2023 TO: Iowa Medicaid-Enrolled Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS), Nursing Facilities (NF), Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) APPLIES TO: Managed Care (MC), Fee-for-Service (FFS) FROM: Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Iowa Medicaid RE: Quality Assurance Assessment Fee…… Continue reading Quality Assurance Assessment Fee (QAAF) and NF Rate Increase for Iowa Medicaid Providers; Also Virtual Town Hall

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Please join the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Wednesday,  February 22, 2023 at 3:00 pm ET for a National Nursing Home Stakeholder Call. Long-term care providers, facility staff and resident advocates are encouraged to attend. This event is open to the public.  Registration is…… Continue reading National Nursing Home Stakeholder Call – Next Week Wednesday February 22, 2023 at 3pm ET 

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has posted updated documents pertinent to the LTC Survey Process for the 3rd consecutive Friday this month. Those documents can be found here. Appendix PP is the February 3, 2023 version posted that Friday while Chapter 7 SOM is the February 10, 2023 version posted…… Continue reading LTC Survey Process Documents Updated Again

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare In-Depth Review of Nursing Home Citations Related to the Use of Antipsychotic Drugs The potentially inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs among nursing home residents remains concerning despite efforts to decrease their use over the last decade. Antipsychotic drugs were developed to treat schizophrenia—a serious mental disorder…… Continue reading OIG Additions to February 2023 Work Plan