Hello, everyone!
This week we would like to honor all Veterans, present and
past!
Here are some home health related updates for this week:
AMITY’S NEWS
The next available CNA/HHA and Skilled Nursing Competency is Tuesday, November 17th, 2020, and Thursday, November 19th, 2020.
If you would like to register your Skilled Nurses and/or HHAs/CNAs for a competency, please follow the links below:
Skilled Nursing Competency: https://amityhealthcaregroup.com/services/nursing-competencies/
HHA/CNA Competency: https://amityhealthcaregroup.com/services/cna-hha-competency/
Let Amity Healthcare Group to assist you with staying compliant with competency and ongoing training/continued education requirements in a worry-free manner.
For more information, please call 303-690-2749 or email: ig@amityhealthcaregroup.com or schedule a meeting at https://calendly.com/ig–3/30-min-free-consultation.
Amity’s Friday emails (newsletters) will be archived on Amity’s Healthcare Group website at https://amityhealthcaregroup.com/resources/ under the Weekly Newsletter section.
NATIONAL NEWS
CDC Updates Interim U.S. Guidance for Risk Assessment and Work Restrictions for Healthcare Personnel with Potential Exposure to COVID-19
On November 6, 2020, CDC revised interim guidelines for risk assessment and work restrictions for healthcare personnel with potential exposure to COVID-19. The revision offers an update to the definition of “prolonged exposure” that refers to a cumulative time period of 15 or more minutes during a 24-hour period, as well as provides guidelines on how to assess for necessary work restrictions for health care personnel with potential exposure to COVID-19.
For a complete CDC revised guidelines, please go to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/guidance-risk-assesment-hcp.html Please update your COVID-19 policies and procedures accordingly.
Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP) also shared a great tool (checklist for identifying proper work restrictions for exposed personnel) with the providers (please see attached ). This checklist provides a concise, CDC compliant method of managing employee health.
CY 2021 Final Rule
Last week we explored the 2021 Home Infusion Therapy benefit as described in CY 2021 Final Rule. This week, let’s review provisions for telehealth in home health for 2021.
CMS stated, “we believe that the use of telecommunications technology in furnishing services in the home has the potential to improve efficiencies, expand the reach of healthcare providers, allow more specialized care in the home, and allow HHAs to see more patients or to communicate with patients more often.”
As a result, a decision was made in CY 2021 Final Rule to permanently allow the use of remote patient monitoring, other telecommunications, or audio-only technology.
Key elements to be aware of:
- The use of the technology must be related to the skilled services being furnished and included on the plan of care, along with a description of how the use of such technology is tied to the patient-specific needs as identified during the comprehensive assessment.
- Information regarding how services delivered via telehealth will help to achieve patient’s goals outlined on the plan of care must be documented in the patient’s medical record.
- HHA cannot discriminate against any individual who is unable or unwilling to receive home health services that could be provided via telecommunications technology.
- Access to telecommunications technology must be inclusive, especially for those patients who may have disabilities where the use of technology may be more challenging.
- Telemedicine/telehealth will remain to be a service that is not covered by Medicare Home Health benefit and cannot be considered a home health visit for the purpose of eligibility or payment for home health.
- Costs associated with telehealth can be reported as administrative costs on the Agency’s cost reports.
To learn more about telehealth in home health, please tune in to an upcoming webinar that Amity Healthcare Group will be co-hosting with ACHC University on December 2, 2020.
Telehealth in Home Health and Hospice: New Norm, New Opportunity will be presented live at 1 p.m. EST (11 a.m. MST) on December 2.
Register here
COLORADO NEWS
COVID-19 TESTING
As per notification posted by CDPHE on November 10, 2020, CDPHE and HCPF are recommending that employees who provide direct care to older adults or individuals with disabilities receive COVID-19 testing on a routine basis. Per CDPHE, “best practices for repeated surveillance testing advise that asymptomatic individuals be tested weekly, on the same day each week.”
To assist in meeting this recommendation, CDPHE has prioritized free testing through the State of Colorado. Testing can be done on a weekly basis without referral and at no cost at the following locations (registration in advance is required at https://www.primarybio.com/l/cdphe for the locations listed below):
- Colorado Mesa University (Drive-Through Testing) 1280 Cannell Ave, Grand Junction, Colorado 81501
- All City Stadium 1495 South Race Street, Denver, CO
- North High School 3125 Eliot Street, Denver, CO 80211
- Cherry Creek High School 4700 South Yosemite Street, Greenwood Village, CO
- Instructional Support Facility (ISF) 5416 South Riviera Way, Aurora, CO 80015
- Mountain Range High School 12500 Huron Street, Westminster, CO 80234
- St. Vrain Valley Schools Innovation Center 33 Quail Road, Longmont, CO 80504
- APS Professional Learning Conference Center 5771 E 1st Ave, Aurora, CO 80011
Additionally, the following community- based testing sites are available:
- Water World 8801 N. Pecos St., Federal Heights at the Water World parking lot adjacent to W. 90th Ave.
- Aurora Center for Active Adults parking lot, 30 Del Mar Circle, Aurora
- Centennial Center Park 13050 E. Peakview Ave. (East of Arapahoe Rd & Peoria)
- Citadel Mall in the parking lot just south of JCPenney 750 Citadel Dr. E, Colorado Springs
Please also note that ALFs and Group Homes were instructed to implement weekly COVID-19 testing for staff not later than 11/20/20 as per Public Health Order 20-20 issued on 11/10/2020. As we discussed last month, ALF and Group Homes may require home health staff attending patients in ALFs or a Group Homes to comply with the same requirements.
ConnectToCareJobs is Now Open to Home Health Providers
ConnectToCare Jobs (ConnectToCareJobs.com ), job seeking site that was previously open only to skilled nursing and residential facilities, is now open to home health and home care providers. This may be a useful tool for providers to utilize in their job search for home health professionals. Registration for the site is required and may be completed as follows:
- Complete your initial intake form through this link:https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ConnecttoCareJobs. * Please be sure to use the email address you would like to use when logging in and using your ConnectToCareJobs.com profile.
- After your information is verified, you will receive an invitation to register at the email address provided in the intake form (Survey Monkey link above).
- Once you receive the invitation, you will be able to complete the registration process at ConnectToCareJobs.com.
Please do not hesitate to reach out for any assistance or questions via email, phone or website at https://amityhealthcaregroup.com/resources/
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Thank you,
Irina Gorovaya, RN BSN, MBA
Amity Healthcare Group, LLC
Home Health Consulting, Education and Outsourcing Services
720-353-7249 (cell) 303-690-2749 (office) 720-398-6200 (fax)