Volume 10, Number 41 — August 11, 2021
Dear Healthcare at Home Colleague,
August 16 is the official launch date of "Trusted Messages from Trusted Messengers" in home care. Both home health and home care agencies can register to participate in one of the Health Resources & Services Administration grants aimed at encouraging COVID vaccinations. The National Minority Health Association is the only grantee delivering the message about the importance of getting vaccinated through our own trusted messengers who provide care in homes.
Register here. Funds will be distributed to patients/clients, home care workers, and home care agencies for each shot deliver to an arm. Continue reading for a summary and link to our exclusive interview with NMHA Executive Director Burgess Harrison.
A hearty welcome to our newest sponsor, Cortex. We will publish our interview with company President and co-founder Josh Albrechtsen next week.
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Burgess Harrison, Executive Director of the National Minority Health Association, delivered a presentation at this week's HIMSS conference in Las Vegas, in which he laid out the organization's mission to advance health equity as well as an invitation to participate in the HRSA grant. Scroll down and click on the headlines to read this and other news items in this week's issue.
There is still time to share your insights into our industry through the "Healthcare at Home 2021 Best Practices and Future Insights Study," conducted by BerryDunn and sponsored by a dozen of home healthcare's and hospice's state and national associations and tech vendors. Agencies that join the study will enjoy a number of benefits, including advance access to the BerryDunn interactive benchmarking portal. See how to sign up in the article of the same name, below.
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Telehealth Advocacy: 430 organizations signed on to a letter asking Congress to make sure support for telehealth services does not fall of a metaphorical cliff after the current Public Health Emergency comes to an end. We publish several pertinent quotes from the letter.
Speaking of telehealth, we spoke with our friends from VivifyHealth at their HIMSS booth this week. They announced new product developments to enhance the reach and usability of their remote patient monitoring technologies.
Lastly, in this week's Vendor Watch column, we captured two partnership announcements from Forcura, one with Kno2, the patient communication and data interoperability company, and the other with Axxess.
Worth the Trip
Naturally, we are aware that our country is farther away from getting rid of COVID than we were a few months ago, and that some states are suffering more than others. But at this time, we are still planning to see you at the HCAOA Annual Leadership Conference at the Hilton Orlando Hotel, September 26-27. We will be talking about the latest technologies we have discovered to help with staff recruiting and retention, as well as how to boost your online reputation. The following week, we will be looking for you in New Orleans at the NAHC Home Care & Hospice Conference & Expo, October 3-5.
Remember that our landing page, where all of our news items live, is a permanent archive. Use our search engine to find every topic we have covered since going electronic in 2005.
Have a great week. Keep making a difference!
Minority Populations Dying at Higher Rate from COVID
Expert defines difference between 'health equality' and 'health equity' at HIMSS conference, invites membership and participation in HRSA grant.
Healthcare at Home 2021 Best Practices and Future Insights Study
There is still time to participate in this year's survey and be among the first to gain exclusive access to the BerryDunn interactive portal with detailed benchmarks based on survey data.
430 Organizations Urge Congress to Address 'Telehealth Cliff'
Letter to Congressional Leaders Highlights Telehealth Priorities.
Vivify Health Announces Product Enhancements at HIMSS21
Leading remote patient monitoring company introduces enhancements at this week's HIMSS meeting.
Vendor Watch
— Forcura continues adding strategic partners
— Kno2 and Axxess announce Forcura partnerships
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During the 3rd Quarter of 2021, web sites of the above advertisers were visited by home care and hospice executives and staff 6532 times. To inquire about placing your message here, contact: Kristin@rowanresources.com As of this date, approximately 42,636,000 Baby Boomers have become Medicare eligible. |
Last Week's Most-Read Stories:
Director of Home Health Position Open
Battle Underway Between HHAs and Palmetto
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2021 Home Care and Hospice Conference and Expo *
National Association for Home Care and Hospice
Date: October 3-5
Venue: New OrleansSadly, this conference has had to be postponed, due to the hurricane in New Orleans and COVID situation in Louisiana.
FREE WEBINAR: Vaccine Hesitancy: How Training Can Help
Presented by: Nevvon, Flex For Checks, & Dr. Ian Smith
Date: Monday, October 11
Time: 10:00 AM Pacific; 1:00 PM Eastern
Information and Registration
Featuring:
- Dr. Ian Smith, MD, host of TV's "The Doctors," and NY Times bestselling author
- Burgess Harrision, Executive Director, National Minority Health Association
- James Cohen, CEO, Nevvon Inc.
Who should attend? Caregiver agencies looking for creative ways to alleviate vaccine hesitancy and get more workers and patients protected from the COVID-19 virus.
Agenda:
Learn how training caregivers on vaccines can ensure better compliance, reduce hesitancy and lead to better outcomes. We will share first-hand experience of how the Flex For Checks program has been leading the way in vaccinating caregivers through an amazing and potentially lucrative incentive program.
FREE WEBINAR: Targeted Probe & Educate: Where Do You Stand?
Presented by: Healthcare Synergy
Featuring: Michael Tidd, COS-C, HCS-D, HealthCare Synergy Clinical ManagerDate: Wednesday, November 3
Time: 11:00 am PDT / 2:00 pm EDT
Overview:
Targeted Probe and Educate is a CMS initiative to seek a better understanding of agencies practices in order to protect the Medicare funds. Agencies self-identify themselves and request reviews by their actions and the data they provide to CMS. Are you aware of the signals you might be sending and how to protect yourself?
Objectives:
Speaker:
Michael Tidd has over 19 years of experience in the Home Care Industry and is a frequent speaker at HealthCare Synergy Workshops and Webinars. He is a Software Developer, LVN and Certified in ICD-9/10 Coding and OASIS (COS-C, HCS-D). As the Clinical Manager for HealthCare Synergy, he directs the Outsourced Management Services, assists in directing the development of the Healthcare Assistant Web Edition, oversees the Clinical Documentation Auditing provided to clients and directs the Clinical Form Development for the Healthcare Assistant Web Edition. Michael continues to educate agencies in the ongoing regulations that CMS produces, the proper application of the Medicare Conditions of Participation and completing timely, accurate and defendable clinical documentation to survive in the current Medicare Reimbursement Model.
AHHC 2021 Leadership Conference
Presented by: Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina
Date: November 8-9
Location: Holiday Inn Resort, Wrightsville Beach, NC
FREE WEBINAR: Admit more Patients & Stop Nursing Burnout!
Presented by: OperaCare
Date: November 10
Time: 1:00 pm EST; 10:00 PST
The nursing shortage is getting much worse and will most likely impact your business if it has not already.
During this event we will demonstrate how to complete an entire OASIS in approx. 60 minutes or less. This includes ICD-10 coding, entry and revision of medication’s, all the OASIS items, and Quality Assurance while the nurse is with the patient in the home.
The result: Eliminating 100% of after-hours documentation, increasing clinical productivity, and reducing your labor costs.
The Benefit: The ability to significantly increase your recruitment and retention efforts by providing your clinicians with a sane and humane work life balance.
Important Final Rule Discoveries Every Agency Needs to Know: Examining HH PPS for CY2022
Presented by: HealthRevPartners
Featuring: John Reisinger, CPA
DATE: November 18
TIME: 2:00 - 3:00 EST
VENUE: Online
FEE: NONE
One of the major changes in CMS’ final rule for the Home Health Prospective Payment System announced is this — ???2022 will be a "pre-implementation year for the HHVBP, which was originally scheduled to begin in January.
Learn exactly what you need to do in 2022 for HHVBP.
Additionally, we will cover these final rule changes and more:
- Individual payment rate changes ranging from:
- An increase of 35.7%, to
- A decrease of 34.6%
- 2022 will be the last year of the Rural Add-on
- Significant changes with all 432 Case-Mix Weights
And, do you know how much your Medicare revenues are projected to change?
There will be a 3.2% increase ($570 million) in home health spending for CY2022.
*The Rowan Report will see you there.
FREE WEBINARS: "Best of Home Care Heroes" Series
Sponsored by: Ankota
Featuring: Steve "The Hurricane" Weiss, Ophelia Cole, Barbara Gaines, Cheryl Hammons, others
Dates: Ongoing
- How Home Care Thrives in the Post-COVID World (with Steve "the Hurricane" Weiss)
- ADDED THIS WEEK: "Finishing 2021 STRONG!" Wednesday, September 15, 3-4pm EST.
Register HereContact Ankota directly about two special offers: a free trial of a staffed, live-chat solution for your website, and a discount to Steve Weiss' "Mililonaire Bootcamp."
FREE WEBINAR: New, Science-Based Methodology Reduces Cost of Recruitment and Retention
Presented by: The Rowan Report
Featuring: Eric Becker, CEO, MiliMatch
Date: Thursday, March 18
Time: 3:00 pm EST; Noon PST
Recorded version available.
Agenda:
Every time a home care agency hires and trains a new caregiver, it invests about $4,500, which is wasted if that new hire does not work out, often before working a first shift. MiliMatch CEO Eric Becker will explain the company's patented product/service, based on the science of Applied Cognitive Linguistics, which has been proven to help home care agencies avoid those costly bad hires.
Your state or national association meeting or webinar not listed? Send the details to Conferences@RowanResources.com using this format:
Conference Title
Sponsoring Association
Date(s)
Hotel or Conference Center, City, State
URL
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