The Lead November 13, 2020 - LeadingAge Illinois

Life Plan Communities/CCRCs:
Member Spotlight: Wabash Christian Village

Assisted Living:
Member Receives Local Best of Recognition
Members of Congress Send Letter to HHS Outlining Senior Living Needs

Nursing and Rehabilitation:
CMS Nursing Home Call Recap
IDPH Extends Emergency Rule on Long Term Care Testing
Telligen LTC Office Hours Session Set for November 19
Advancing Excellence 2020 Virtual Summit

Independent Affordable/Subsidized Housing:
Senate HUD Funding Bill Update

Home Health and Hospice:
Home Health and Hospice Town Hall

Home and Community-Based Services:
Private Duty Home Care Symposium

Other:
LeadingAge Pandemic Playbook Has Been Launched
IDPH Adopts Rules on Background Checks
BD Veritor Educational Tools
HFS Proposes Rules on Medical Transportation
Long-Term Effects of COVID

Top Stories:

Provider Relief Funds Update
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) informed LeadingAge Illinois on Thursday afternoon, that the second round of CARES Act funding allocations for nursing homes and supportive living will begin next week on a rolling schedule. We will continue to seek more details and will provide updates to members as we get new information.

In other provider relief news, LeadingAge will be hosting a webinar with accounting experts from LeadingAge Silver Sponsor CLA on December 2 at 1 p.m. CST on Provider Relief Funds (PRF) Reporting Requirements. This webinar will outline how LeadingAge members can maximize their use of PRF payments received while complying with the current reporting requirements.

LeadingAge is also waiting for a response from HHS from their submission of nursing homes who did not receive an Infection Control Incentive Payment, but believes they met the gateway criteria. HHS has not published a list of nursing homes who received the incentive payments or how much they are. LeadingAge will raise the issue again on Wednesday morning and hope to get at least a status update. LeadingAge has compiled an additional 17 nursing homes recently that they will submit to HHS to add to the previous 14 nursing homes submitted last Friday. If you are in this same situation, you can submit your nformation to Nicole Fallon at LeadingAge using this survey monkey tool.

For providers who are stuck in Provider Relief Fund Phase 2 due to TIN validation or no payment received, LeadingAge submitted a list of 17 member organizations (per HHS’s request) to HHS with those providers who are stuck in Phase 2 so they can research and hopefully resolve the issue. If you are in this situation, you can also submit your information to Nicole Fallon using a survey monkey link.

Chicago Mayor Issues 30-Day Stay-at-Home Order Effective November 16
“We are here with some very sobering news. For weeks now, we have been sounding the alarms on the record level daily COVID cases across our city. The rapid rise in Chicago is being felt across the state, region and nation,” said Mayor Lightfoot on Thursday. She followed her opening statement with news of a 30-day Stay-at-Home Order, effective at 6 a.m. on November 16.

Positivity rates range from 14% to 25% in the city. These levels are the same or worse than the spring surge. The order states that no more than six people are allowed to gather in a household that are not living in the home. Indoor dining at restaurants and bars remain closed. Curfew is 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

No social meetings or events are allowed. If they must occur, they must be 10 people or less. This includes outdoor meetings and events. Enforcement will be ramped up with financial penalties for those who violate the order. About 2,000 city workers, including 500 contact tracers and 100s of community-based organizations will be utilized to each out to at least half of the city households during the 30-day order.

Veto Session Cancelled
The Illinois General Assembly’s Fall Veto Session has been cancelled. The annual, six-day session was supposed to run November 17-19 and December 1-3.

TNA Program Officially Extended
As we reported last week, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), is extending the Temporary Nurse Assistant (TNA) Program until December 18, 2020. IDPH had given LeadingAge Illinois a heads up that they were extending the rule, and officially made the extension shortly after. Persons currently working as TNAs may not work in that capacity after December 18, according to the rule, but hours worked as a TNA may be counted toward clinical instruction requirements for CNA certification.

Governor’s COVID Briefings Recap
LeadingAge Illinois continues to monitor the Governor’s daily COVID-19 briefings for information pertinent to members.

Illinois’ COVID data is increasing in every single measure. The Governor is working over the next few days on a decision on additional statewide mitigations. All options are being considered.

Cases:
There are over 536,542 total cases with over 10,477 total deaths.

Testing:
Over 8.7 million tests have now been conducted. Illinois is the third best testing state in the country. Due to a soaring demand for testing in the state, Illinois will increase capacity over the weekend at the highest capacity sites in Aurora, Arlington Heights and Harwood Heights. The community-based sites are hitting capacity.

Hospitalizations:
Illinois hit a new record on Thursday with 5,258 COVID hospitalizations. A total of 956 are in the ICU with 438 on ventilators. Hospitalizations are reaching and surpassing the highest rates from the spring.

Positivity Rates:

No region is under 12.5%.
Region 1 (Jo Davies, Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone, Dekalb, Carrol, Ogle, Whiteside, Lee, Crawford counties) is at 18.9%, the highest in the state.
Region 5 (Marion, Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Perry, Jackson, Franklin, Williamson, Saline, Hamilton, White, Gallatin, Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Massac, Pulaski counties) is at 12.5%, the lowest in the state.

IDPH Recommendations:

IDPH issued new recommendations on keeping you and your family safe during the holidays.
Illinois is directing a small portion of federal funds to support a new awareness campaign to have a healthy holiday season. The program is entitled Healthy Holidays to You.
IDPH encourages residents to stay at home as much as possible and only leave for essential activities (work, school, groceries, doctor visits, COVID testing).
If you travel, it is important to take extra precautions, such as quarantining for two weeks prior.

Life Plan Communities/CCRCs:

Member Spotlight: Wabash Christian Village
For this week’s spotlight, let’s take a journey about three hours south of the capital city to Carmi, the home of Wabash Christian Village.

The Christian Horizons community has flourished in Southern Illinois since 1974. The campus has 220 staff that serve 200 residents. Wabash Christian offers GracePoint Rehab (short-term rehab to home), skilled nursing, memory care, outpatient therapy, supportive living, and independent living garden homes. The outpatient therapy, supportive living, and memory care were all added the community under Sandra’s leadership.

Sandra Bryant, executive director at Wabash Christian, has served seniors for over 18 years. Throughout her nearly two decades of service, she is reminded of why she decided on a career in aging services. “The residents, they are why I do what I do each and every day,” said Sandra. “I want to make things as good as possible for them and provide the best quality of life.”

She is also proud to have such dedicated staff on her team at Wabash. “We would be nothing without them. This year has been the most challenging and they have shown grit and perseverance as we face each new day,” said Sandra. “I could not do my job or be successful without them.”

A 2017 graduate of the LeadingAge Illinois Leadership Academy, she has been a longtime leader in LeadingAge Illinois. For the last three years, she has served on the Nursing Facilities Cabinet, helping set the association’s agenda for nursing and rehabilitation. She has also served on the Supportive Living Cabinet.

She has also been a supporter of the Partners in Quality program, giving her elected officials a firsthand look at a senior living community focused on helping older adults in the district flourish.

Assisted Living:

Member Receives Local Best of Recognition
Concordia Village, a Lutheran Senior Services community, in Springfield recently was named 2020 Best Assisted Living by the Illinois Times. The annual awards are annually selected based on reader voting. Congratulations to Concordia Village on the local honor.

Members of Congress Send Letter to HHS Outlining Senior Living Needs
LeadingAge Illinois joined Argentum affiliates throughout the country this week in contacting members of Congress to urge them to sign onto a letter for additional relief for senior living communities. The letter was sent to Alex Azar, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and demonstrated the need for additional relief for senior living communities and caregivers. U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-13^th District; Taylorville) signed onto the letter.

Nursing and Rehabilitation:

CMS Nursing Home Call Recap
With increasing community spread of COVID, 74% of nursing homes nationwide are experiencing COVID, Seema Verma, CMS Administrator said at a call yesterday with LeadingAge and other associations.

“Some have one case and can mitigate it, others face quick spread of infection,” she said. The purpose of the call was to review recent developments and preview upcoming activities. Four new points of information came up:

Phone calls to each nursing home with a positive COVID case. Each nursing home that has at least one positive diagnosis of COVID (and possibly those that have reported PPE or testing shortages) will receive a phone call from CMS, CDC, or a QIO and be given a 7-8 question assessment, then triaged for help. LeadingAge has heard that the questions might cover: PPE, cohorting, percentage of staff who completed the CMS/CDC training, frequency of testing, how the outbreak occurred, availability and supply of tests. Those needing the most help will be “triaged to resources,” though it was made clear that the resources would have to come from the states, as CMS doesn’t have these resources.
Holiday guidance. CMS is working on something that will come out soon to help providers with the holidays. They are very concerned about residents leaving nursing homes, which of course, they cannot prevent. They are also concerned about staff participating in family gatherings, including with college students on break.
Monoclonal antibodies. Administrator Verma said CMS is pleased about the new Lilly monoclonal antibodies. Allocations are going to states and states will distribute them; they show promising results in older people and in those who are not hospitalized. CMS has determined that these are “more like vaccines” so infusions can take place in nursing homes.
Publishing names of nursing homes whose staff took the CMS/CDC training. CMS leaders strongly urge nursing homes to have their staff take the three-hour CMS/CDC training. Administrator Verma said many nursing homes that have outbreaks have not taken the training. The difference, she observed, is around the understanding of infection control. This training is not mandatory and is separate from the longer QIO training and from Project ECHO.

Additional points reviewed were that everyone is hopeful that not only will the Pfizer vaccine be available soon, but the Moderna one as well. The CVS/Walgreen’s partnership arrangements are being finalized and will be ready to start as soon as the vaccine is available. Most nursing homes have signed up to participate and CMS hopes most eligible assisted living communities have too.

Finally, Verma said she and others on the call encourage continued dialog, including about issues raised by associations such as duplicative reporting – and a request to extend the date for reporting testing beyond November 20; paying for testing; and an ongoing request for less punitive surveys focused more on infection control.

IDPH Extends Emergency Rule on Long Term Care Testing
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has adopted emergency rules for skilled nursing facility COVID-19 testing. The rules are an extension of previous emergency rules that expired October 23. The effective date is October 23 and they will remain in place for 150 days.

Here’s a look at the rules:

Clarify IDPH’s infection control policies for long term care facilities in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each facility must maintain its written infection control policies and procedures onsite and make them available upon request to residents, their families, or representatives, IDPH, and the local health department.
The rules lists specific Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for COVID-19 testing and infection control that facilities must follow.
If a resident, employee or volunteer of a long term care facility tests positive for COVID-19, all residents, staff and volunteers must be tested; those who do not test positive must be retested every 3 to 7 days until no new cases are identified.
If there are no active cases in a facility, staff and volunteers must be tested at least twice a week if the county’s positivity rate for COVID-19 testing is above 10%; once a week if the positivity rate is between 5% and 10%; and once a month if the positivity rate is below 5%.

Telligen LTC Office Hours Session Set for November 19
COVID-19 fatigue got you down? Join Telligen on Thursday, November 19 at 2 p.m. CST for an interactive Long Term Care (LTC) Office Hours session that will feature special guest speaker Dr. Lea Watson. She will discuss the importance of recognizing COVID “fatigue” and how to manage the chronic stress it has caused. It is easy to become desensitized to the magnitude of loss, which is dangerous and unhealthy. The antidote is mindful awareness, resilience training and gratitude for the good that is always present. She will also highlight the importance of meeting this moment as one of opportunity to advocate for reform in our industry. In doing so, we can find purpose in a time of chaos and uncertainty. Dr. Christine LaRocca, Telligen Medical Director, will join the conversation. Click here to register!

Advancing Excellence 2020 Virtual Summit
The Advancing Excellence in Long-Term Care Collaborative (AELTCC) will host its annual summit virtually December 9-11, exploring the topic: Mitigating Racial Inequities in Post-Acute & Long-Term Care. Participation is free and open to collaborative member organizations and their constituents. LeadingAge is a member of AELTCC. Register here.

As nursing homes have struggled to adapt to COVID-19 and keep residents safe, the pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated widespread disparities in healthcare outcomes. Amid national cries for racial justice, nursing homes are challenged to understand and address persistent inequalities experienced by patients, staff, and leaders of color.

The AELTCC summit will feature three afternoons of education and action. During Day 1, nationally renowned experts will describe the presence and causes of racial disparities in nursing homes and how this connects to systemic racism. Day 2 will feature working sessions for AELTCC members to develop plans of action based on barriers and opportunities identified in Day 1. The meeting will culminate on Day 3 with a discussion on these action plans and concrete next steps for advancing equity in PALTC.

Independent Affordable/Subsidized Housing:

Senate HUD Funding Bill Update
This week, the U.S. Senate released its FY21 HUD funding bill. LeadingAge hopes a final FY21 HUD spending bill can be enacted before December 11, when the current Continuing Resolution expires. The Senate bill acknowledges LeadingAge’s priorities and provides funding for new Section 202 housing and new Service Coordinators, but not to the extent LeadingAge would like to see. The bill would also extend HUD’s IWISH demonstration for two years, another of LeadingAge’s priorities.

Home Health and Hospice:

Home Health and Hospice Town Hall
This year, LeadingAge and VNAA/EH are hosting a standalone town hall event for all home health and hospice members. The town hall will take place on Thursday December 10 from 12-1 p.m. CST. The Town Hall provides valuable feedback as the 2021 policy priorities are developed. You can register for the Home Health and Hospice Town Hall here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Home and Community-Based Services:

Private Duty Home Care Symposium
The 6^th Annual Private Duty Home Care Symposium is a partnership between LeadingAge Illinois, the Home Care Association of America, and the Illinois HomeCare & Hospice Council. The Symposium brings together experts and thought leaders in the home care industry to inform, inspire and enlighten attendees. This year’s event is a two-day (December 2-3) virtual event that allows you to connect from anywhere.

Get quality access to these speakers:

Adam Guetzow, David Alfini, and Aimee Delaney, Partners, Hinshaw and Culbertson
Karen Senger, Division Chief Home Services, Home Nursing, IDPH
Brendan Flinn, Director, Medicaid and Home and Community-Based Services, LeadingAge

These speakers and many more will be a part of this year’s Symposium. Early Bird Registration ends today. Register Now.

Other:

LeadingAge Pandemic Playbook Has Been Launched
The LeadingAge Pandemic Playbook is an interactive collection of insight, wisdom, and best practices for serving older adults during a catastrophic health crisis. Its purpose is to help ensure that providers can prepare for and mitigate the impact of a future pandemic or health crisis by applying what has been learned this year. See the Pandemic Playbook here.

IDPH Adopts Rules on Background Checks
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) adopted rules recently that make a change to the Healthcare Worker Background Check Code. The rules implement Public Act 101-176, which allows staffing agencies, workforce intermediaries (i.e., organizations that provide job training and employment services) and organizations that provide pro bono legal services to initiate fingerprint-based criminal history background checks for their clients seeking employment in health care. These organizations may also initiate requests for waivers allowing an individual who would otherwise be disqualified from health care employment due to a past criminal conviction to be cleared for employment.

BD Veritor Educational Tools
Here’s a listing of BD Veritor tools:

HFS Proposes Rules on Medical Transportation
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) proposed rules recently adding licensed practical nurses and licensed clinical social workers to the list of medical professionals authorized to complete a physician certification statement (PCS) for a patient to use medi-car, service car or medically supervised ground ambulance transportation.

Long-Term Effects of COVID
The CDC has posted new information about the long-term effects of COVID-19. This resource talks about persistent symptoms and this resource talks about long-term effects. It’s important to note that these documents are based on data from COVID-19 survivors and are not specific to older adults.