The NCALA Advisor

Message from NCALA Board President

NCALA Members,
As you know, resident safety is a top priority in Assisted Living. It is a good practice to do an internal review of the current safety measures you have in place in your community and revisit and retrain as necessary. The following list of questions may be helpful in identifying potential areas of need and or providing a proactive means of insuring your residents are as safe as possible:

• Are chemicals and other toxic/hazardous materials locked in a secure place inaccessible to residents?
• Does the Executive Director make daily rounds in the community to identify potential safety issues?
• Is there an active safety committee/safety culture in the community?
• Are there identifiable trends related to resident falls?
• Are resident apartments clean and clutter-free?
• Are associates using gait belts when assisting residents to ambulate/transfer?
• Are routine MAR audits completed?
• How are oxygen tanks stored?
• Are assignment sheets up to date and reflective of resident care needs?
• Is there an effective shift to shift communication system that is also reviewed by the Executive Director and Community Nurse/Resident Care Director?

Regards,
Tonya Cloutier, NCALA Board President

Urgent CALL TO ACTION on National Alzheimer’s Plan

The Draft National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s disease was recently released and excludes assisted living from any of the strategies and recommendations, with the exception of that related to elder abuse. Our parent organization, The Assisted Living Federation of America, supported passage last year of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act. It is critical that as many people as possible submit comments to the Department of Health and Human Services by the deadline of February 8, 2012, urging them to correct this omission.

DHHS Secretary Lanier Cansler Resigns

Lanier Cansler announced his resignation mid-January, effective at the end of the month. Cansler’s plans are to return to the private sector but he will also chair the new Commission on an Affordable Healthcare System for North Carolina. The new acting head for NCDHHS will be Al Delia, currently the Governor’s senior policy adviser. Delia will take over in February. NCALA has been working closely with Secretary Cansler and his staff over the past several months regarding the 1915i state plan addressing potential changes to reimbursement for personal care services in assisted living communities throughout North Carolina. NCALA Executive Director, Peggy Smith, will now begin working with acting Director Al Delia, regarding the 1915i state plan. Continue to look for updates on NCALA’s Web site and in future e-newsletters.

Gov Perdue Will Not Seek Re-Election

On January 26, Governor Perdue announced that she will not seek re-election. As she finishes out her term, she will focus on children and North Carolina’s school system. Living most of her life in New Bern, her previous career included teaching and serving as the director of geriatric services in the hospital setting. Prior to being elected governor, she also served as a legislator and as Lieutenant Governor.

New ACH Death Reporting Form

In order to obtain more accurate information related to the death of a resident, the Report of Death to DHHS from has been revised. This form is required as follows in order to comply with General Statute 131D-34.1:

• The Department of Health and Human Services shall be notified immediately:
  • Upon the death of a resident that occurs in an assisted living community.
  • Upon the death of a resident that occurs within 24 hours of the resident’s transfer to a hospital if the death occurred within 7 days of the assisted living community’s use of physical restraint or physical hold of the resident.
• The Department of Health and Human Services shall be notified within 3 days:
  • Upon the death of any resident of the assisted living community resulting from violence, accident, suicide, or homicide.

The most significant change to the form is in Section 3. The assisted living community must now select the category of the event related to, or that resulted in, the resident’s death. If “unknown” is selected and later it is determined that the resident’s death was related to an accident, violence, homicide, suicide—or within 7 days of the community’s use of a physical restraint or physical hold of the resident—the community is required to submit an “amended” death report to the Complaint Intake Unit indicating the category of the event. Instructions to amend the death report are also provided in Section 3 of the form. The amended form can be faxed to the Department of Health Service Regulation Complaint Intake Unit. A copy of the revised form is posted on the Adult Care Licensure Section Web site.

Questions regarding this revised form can be directed to Megan Lamphere at megan.lamphere@dhhs.nc.gov or (919) 855-3781.

Submit Deficiency-free Surveys to NCALA

As a reminder, in order to be listed on the NCALA Web site as a deficiency-free assisted living community, we must receive a copy of your survey indicating this status. We see a good bit of traffic from general consumers coming to our Web site for this type of information.

Reminder: DMA3050R

In addition to physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants can now sign the DMA3050R.

Norovirus Toolkit Now Available from CDC

The new toolkit provided by the CDC is designed to help healthcare providers manage and stop outbreaks of norovirus, one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis outbreaks in the US. The toolkit includes infection control recommendations, as well as tools for outbreak response, coordination, and reporting.

VA Aid and Attendance Program Update

As of December 1, 2011, rates have increased for current and future applicants to the VA Aid and Attendance Program. This is great news for veterans and widowed spouses of disabled veterans who depend on this non-service connected disability pension benefit with aid and attendance entitlement.

2012 VA Aid and Attendance Rates:
Single Veteran = $1,704.00
Married Veteran = $2,020.00
Widowed Surviving Spouse = $1,094.00
 

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