Per the CMS Memo on Resident's Right to Vote issued earlier this month, senior care providers are required to support the right of residents to vote and not impede this right in any way. Here are 5 ways to ensure you're supporting your residents' right to vote!

#1 – Assess cognitively impaired residents' capacity to vote 

• If a person can indicate a desire to vote, s/he can also indicate a choice on a ballot.
• Remember, it is ok to assist – either yourself or by connecting them to others – but, it's not ok for anyone to make choices for them.
• For more tips, see Assisting Cognitively Impaired Individuals with Voting: A Quick Guide (American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging).
  

#2 – Make sure residents are registered

• Check to see if they are registered at vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote. 
• If they find they aren't, they can register at vote.gov

#3 – Help residents utilize absentee voting

• In some states, applications for absentee voting were due 10-11 days pre-election (AZ, FL, ID, IN, KY, MD, NM, RI, TX, VA).
• There is still time in many others, so check absentee voter deadlines for both application and submission deadlines.
• Most submissions are accepted up to and including the day of the election. 

#4 – Help residents track absentee votes

• For many, absentee voting is new and mysterious. You can offer residents peace of mind by helping them track their votes.
• Options vary by state but some form of tracking is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

#5 – Support safe practices for residents who still want to visit polls

• While it certainly makes your job harder, residents have the right to vote at polls – even during COVID-19 and despite facility lock-downs.
• Educate residents and drivers on measures to take during the outing to reduce risks – physical distancing, masks, and other infection control precautions.
• Be prepared to handle the residents' return to the facility.

• Local LTC Ombudsman Program
• Local AARP chapter
• Local election commission

Download our At-A-Glance Infographic to remind your staff!

COVID-19's financial toll brings new headaches for senior care operators. Occupancy is down (2-9%) and new expenses are up ($500-15,000/week). Added to this is an expected increase in liability insurance costs.

So what can you do? Senior Housing News interviewed senior care providers to bring you best practices to focus on for your organization. Here's an at-a-glance infographic of their story, Senior Living Providers Have Little Room for Error As Margins Shrink (September 23, 2020).

1. Maintain real-time visibility into your budgets
2. Reallocate grand opening/other event funds
3. Revisit and renegotiate contracts 
4. Consider lease-to-own vs. purchase of new technology/equipment
5. Make sure you're collecting on rent and care fees
6. Benchmark your resident rates, care levels, meal plans, etc.
7. Resist urges to drive occupancy with discounts; safety/care costs are up
8. Take advantage of federal stimulus programs (PPP and/or paycheck protection program (PPP) or the Provider Relief Fund Phase II)

For the financial 'caretakers' in senior care, attention to detail and discipline are key. It positions you to pivot as quickly as COVID can. 

If you lack real-time visibility into your budgets, contracts, collections, and care costs – our senior care applications can help. Visit our App Store to learn more or view our recently recorded demos!

The days fly by so fast; we suspect excellent articles like this one from Skilled Nursing News do as well. In All Or Nothing for SNFs: ‘Managed Care Is Not Something You Can Dabble In,' experts from Blue Sky Therapy and BKD are interviewed. We compiled their advice into a one-page checklist to help you maximize your managed care reimbursements.

If you prefer to keep reading versus downloading our checklist, here are the highlights:

1. Establish authorization process with therapy partners 
2. Take an inventory of managed care contracts 
3. Communicate contract terms to staff - reimbursement criteria, pay types, delivery of care mandates, authorization requirements 
4. Determine method of reimbursement - PDPM, visit rate, old RUG model Review inventory for outdated contracts 
5. Research and target new payers - review declined admissions/payer out-of-network or CMS list of payers with highest local enrollment. 
6. Stay on top of CMS Five Star ratings - minimum three stars to negotiate with MCOs; five stars likely required in metro areas 
7. Monitor your outcomes - readmissions, discharge to home/hospice /other, average length of stay, admissions by insurance company 
8. Compare your stars and outcomes to competitors 
9. Diligently document care - a top reason for denial is neglecting authorization of care requirements 
10. Seek out forums with hospital liaisons and competitors to jointly address various payer issues 

We can't say it enough – technology can help! Our Managed Care MASTER was designed to address nearly everything on this checklist. We did a 30-minute recorded demo of it just last month if you'd like to check it out, or get in touch for a live demo.

We've heard plenty about the 'new normal' and how COVID-19 has changed our lives. But, the one thing that's stayed constant in senior care is that technology can help. 

For example, our primeVIEW clients are employing this mobile-capable app with built-in alerts to track developing COVID-19 symptoms and proactively respond. Other examples from SNFs of all sizes, some of which were recognized in McKnight's recent tech awards, follow below. 

Download our At-A-Glance Infographic or read this short summary for more information and links to each article.

TACTIC #1: Telehealth

After cutting readmissions up to 50%, the largest health care provider in New York State looks to expand nursing home telehealth network.

READ MORE » Skilled Nursing News, September 24, 2020

TACTIC #2: Family Connectivity

Low-country assisted living and memory care community kept its approach simple by emphasizing time together and privacy.

READ MORE » McKnight's Senior Living, October 1, 2020

TACTIC #3: Visitor Screening

Nursing homes and schools are getting some added help in keeping their residents safe thanks to thermal facial recognition cameras and touchless check-in technology.

READ MORE » RochesterFirst.com, August 2020

TACTIC #4: Wristwatch Wearables

New cellular wristwatch wearables — without too many confusing, expensive and unneeded bells and whistles — are available to connect residents directly to their families without staff assistance.

READ MORE » McKnight's Senior Living, October 2020

TACTIC #5: Telemedicine Devices

A small chain of nursing homes in West Virginia uses the Eko CORE digital stethoscope to reliably transmit sounds from the heart, lung or bowels to an iPad, that stores data in an EHR system — accessible to all caregivers.

READ MORE » McKnight's Senior Living, September 2020

Need help with technology? Get in touch. 

Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) issued a COVID-19 Nursing Home Visitation Memorandum consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. This is good news in addressing ongoing concerns about the psychosocial well-being of residents who've been disconnected from families due to COVID-19. 

Understanding that this is yet another change for you to review and revise your policies around, we've summarized the recommendations and at-a-glance infographic and included it below. 

The memo also explains that compassionate care does not just refer to end-of-life and may include residents:

• Recently-admitted/struggling with transition
• Grieving recent friend/family death
• Needing encouragement to eat/drink
• Experiencing emotional distress, seldom speaking or frequently crying

The goal of the memo goes beyond guidelines to encourage person-centered caregiving during this time. SNFs should consider the residents’ physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being, and support their quality of life.