In good news, the CDC says those vaccinated for COVID-19 do not need to wear masks – even indoors. If trading masks for the vaccine doesn't sway staff, you may wonder how others are driving vaccine acceptance.

A recent McKnight's article, Mandate staff vaccines or promote them with a $1K bonus? compares Jewish Senior Services' decision to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine to The Gardens at DePugh Nursing Center's offer of a $1000 bonus, which helped them achieve a 92% vaccination rate.

Adding to that, we've put together a summary of how other organizations are getting it done based on an article from Becker's Hospital Review, 15 employers, hospitals rewarding workers to get COVID-19 vaccines.

Additionally, take look at our previous infographic, 9 Tactics for COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in Nursing Homes.

These tactics come at a good time, given CMS' release Tuesday of a new rule, asking requires long-term care facilities to report weekly COVID-19 vaccination data for residents and staff.  

For those of you using our primeVIEW KPI dashboard, you now have the ability to track COVID-19 vaccinations across residents. If you're not using primeVIEW, request a demo. Vaccinations aren't the only critical measurement it tracks!

In a May 5 article, 'CMS let the cat out of the bag, but it’s managed care that’s ready to pounce,' McKnight's Long-Care News recapped critical points from our recent Managed Care Webinar: Goodbye PDPM, Hello Levels! with Mix Solutions.

• Webinar poll: 42% of attendees said they’d already had to convert at least some contracts from PDPM to levels.
• Susie Mix: "They (the plans) are very aggressive in not only cutting our rates 30% to 40%, but they’re also very aggressive in starting this right now."

If you missed advice offered during our webinar, there's still time to tune in.

In an April 19 article, Ransomware ‘bull’s eye’ grows, clouding telehealth’s rise in long-term care, McKnight's Long-Care News recapped suggestions from Prime Care Tech's Mark Owens.

• Providers pursue a multipronged approach to data protection, with a "modern and managed firewall" with:
  
  • Geo-blocking to limit access to out-of-area attackers
  • Access that is restricted to specific users and departments
  • Backups that are stored on separate servers in different locations.

• Facilities require repeated employee training about IT security, keeping in mind the going rate for resale of medical records is about $250 per record.

Related resources:

• On-Demand Webinar: Want to Avoid Cyber Sharks? Swim with the School
• Cyber Security Audit: 10-Point Check
• Willis Towers Watson: Insurance Marketplace Realities 2021 Spring Update – Cyber risk
  
  

We're teaming up with Marcus Evans for this May 13 webinar on post-pandemic operations optimization in senior care. SNF and senior living operators from Health Dimensions Group, Sage Senior Living, and Titan Senior Living, along with our SNF technology expert, Jonathan Duvall, will join the discussion on:

• Embracing technology to enhance census management

• Improving data management for operational effectiveness

• Monitoring clinical trends with technology to promote better patient outcomes

This panel will update you on how they're pivoting and adapting to the new normal while keeping a close eye on sustainability and growth.

About Our Senior Living Expert Panel

 

Erin Shvetzoff Hennessey, MA, NHA, CPG
Chief Executive Officer and Principal
Health Dimensions Group

Erin Shvetzoff has expertise in the senior health care industry, advising providers in the areas of post-acute care management, operational and financial performance improvement, and organizational and ownership structure, as well as hands-on experience as an administrator of skilled nursing and senior living facilities in several states. She is active in senior services trade organizations to provide them with education resources, industry information, and support for members, and speaks at state and national meetings on senior health care, health care reform, and planning for aging populations. Ms. Hennessey is a certified gerontologist and was named a 2019 Senior Living Leader Under 40 by Argentum, a national senior living association. Most recently, she was named to the LeadingAge Minnesota board of directors.

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Kim Smith
Vice President Operations
Sage Senior Living

 

Kim Smith brought a diverse background to SageLife; having served on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide to two Colorado representatives, as an organizational development consultant, and later, owning and operating a lodge and spa in New Mexico. Joining Sage in 2011 as Executive Director at The Maples of Towson in Maryland, Kim brought the community to full occupancy and implemented electronic healthcare records.

A Certified Dementia Specialist, Kim was well suited to her next role as Vice President of Wellness. Kim led the development and implementation of an innovative dementia program at Lighthouse Senior Living in Ellicott City, Maryland, a Sage-managed community. Kim oversees operations at all the Sage and Lighthouse communities.

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Jonathan Duvall
Senior Director, Product Management
Prime Care Technologies

 

As the Senior Director of Product Management, Jonathan oversees customer onboarding while continuously looking for ways to make our senior care apps easier, so caregivers can spend less time gathering reports and more time driving better patient and financial outcomes. Prior to Prime Care, Jonathan spent 5 years overseeing finance and business applications at Pruitt Health, the 14th largest skilled nursing provider.

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Justin Border
Founder & President
Titan Senior Living

 Mr. Border began his career as an Occupational Therapist in 1998. In his career, he has developed and led multiple aspects of acute and post-acute continuum operations, including clinical services, human resources, managed care contracting, case management, business development, financial planning, and compliance. Justin has been a featured speaker at the American Occupational Therapy Association annual conference and multiple other local, state, and national conferences. Justin is also a member Healthcare Workforce Forum Advisory Council.

Early this month, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) released Dobson DaVanzo TOPS study findings in a joint statement. The study calls on payers to model their reimbursement based on these results, instead of disincentivizing appropriate therapy use. Get the highlights via the summary infographic or continue reading for more detail.

PT/OT provides functional benefit to most patients:

• Significant rehabilitative value seen across 1.4 million Medicare cases.
• Direct and positive impacts seen with patients in post-acute care (PAC) settings, including improving the functional ability of patients and reducing readmissions to acute care hospitals.
• Patients who receive OT and PT during their initial post-acute episode are more likely to have better outcomes and better quality of life
• Therapy increased meaningful participation in everyday living

PT/OT provides direct and positive value in post-acute care:

• There are positive ramifications for PT/OT reimbursement under the current fee-for-service and any future unified payment system.
  • Improving the functional ability of patients
  • Reducing readmissions to acute care hospitals
• There is positive value in PT/OT provided in PAC settings – rehabilitating and preventing decline of core function in daily living activities.
• Increased therapy intensity is positively correlated with increases in measured functional status in patients following discharge from initial hospitalization.
• Thirty-day readmission rates to acute-care hospitals following a PAC episode decreased after therapy and appear to have varying threshold effects within each setting.

The takeaway is obvious. Therapy improves the quality of patient care and outcomes. The hope is that payers like Medicare will take this into consideration when it comes to reimbursement models. 

For help managing contracted therapy costs, contact us about our Managed Care MASTER software for PAC contract and case management, or join our 4/27 webinar with Mix Solutions – Goodbye PDPM, Hello Levels!