The Lead March 2, 2021 - LeadingAge Illinois

Independent Affordable/Subsidized Housing:
Senior Housing Update

Home Health and Hospice:
Hospice Item Set Manual V.300 Available and Reminder About Common Questions

Technology:
Technology and Innovation Task Force Update

Other:
Member Spotlight: Chicago Methodist Senior Services
HFS Provider Notices

Education:
Education

From the Desk of Karen Messer, President and CEO:
We have opened a second call for cabinet member application. I encourage you to apply. The cabinets set the agenda for the association. Get involved and help shape the priorities for LeadingAge Illinois in 2021 and on. Please submit your completed nomination form to Maribel Rice by March 19, 2021.

Top Stories:

LeadingAge and Black Coalition Against COVID Vaccine Town Hall
LeadingAge members, here’s some help for frontline workers with questions about COVID-19 vaccines. More information from trusted sources will help member communities see more staff vaccinated – and potentially residents too. LeadingAge, in partnership with the Black Coalition Against COVID (BCAC), is sponsoring a national town hall with the aging services community to address concerns about the vaccines, particularly among direct care workers. This live event will be streamed online on Thursday, March 4 from 6:00 – 7:45 p.m. CST. The Town Hall will address questions that have been on the minds of direct care staff members about COVID-19 vaccines. Here’s a flyer with details.

The agenda will feature senior leadership from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a variety of nationally recognized experts including physicians from Meharry and Morehouse medical schools. Attendees will also hear from front line workers such as Miles Lee, life enrichment coordinator at Forest Hills Senior Center, Dr. Gregory Hall, medical director at Eliza Bryant Village and Altonia Garret, executive director, Center for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity. This town hall is open to care providers from all levels and backgrounds. You can join via Facebook Live or YouTube. If you have a question for the live event, please contact Joe Franco at LeadingAge.

Vaccination Updates
We have a couple more vaccination-related updates today, which are:

Vaccine Resources
Second CDC Listening Call: Older Adult COVID-19 Vaccinations in Community/ Residential Settings
COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Guidance for Providers

Vaccine Resources:
The CDC has updated their COVID-19 Vaccination Toolkits including the COVID-19 Vaccination Toolkit for Long-Term Care. Learn what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is doing through the COVID-19 and Flu Public Education Campaign. You can also check out the COVID-19 Partner Resources page for a run-down of what CMS and other government partners have been doing. While you’re at it, don’t forget the LeadingAge Vaccine Resources page and the Vaccination toolkit from Pathway Health.

Second CDC Listening Call: Older Adult COVID-19 Vaccinations in Community/ Residential Settings:
LeadingAge participated in this second call, hosted by Dr. Carolyn Bridges, Susan Farrell, and Elizabeth Roden of the CDC’s Disproportionately Affected Adult Populations Team of the Vaccine Task Force. First, Dr. Bridges outlined current facts about vaccine distribution, highlighting that homebound seniors need special attention to ensure access to COVID 19 vaccines, a focus of the DAAP team. Transportation options and non-internet based communications methods are being assessed and addressed.

Next, Dr. Bridges walked through these four “new and upcoming” CDC resources for vaccination of older adults and people with disabilities: Vaccinating Homebound Persons; Guidance for Vaccinating People with Disabilities at Vaccination Clinics; Ensuring Equitable COVID 19 Vaccine Access; What Older Adults Need to Know about COVID 19 Vaccines (coming soon.) A robust session of Q&A followed; LeadingAge staff raised questions about availability of on-site Clinics to HUD and other IL congregate settings; and how mobile clinics may be mobilized to HUD, IL, PACE, Adult Day, and other community based settings. In closing, Susan Farrell reviewed promising practices from the American Geriatric Society, the National Association of AAAs, Meals on Wheels, and LeadingAge.

COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Guidance for Providers:
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Office of Health Protection (OHPt) Immunization Section and the IDPH Office of Preparedness and Response (OPR) Medical Countermeasures Program are leading the development of the State of Illinois’ COVID-19 Vaccination Plan (Plan), which is being implemented by state and local partners. This COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Guidance for Providers (Guidance) should be read in conjunction with Illinois’ Plan, including any subsequent updates to the plan. This Guidance provides instructions for all potential provider organizations (providers), including but not limited to local health departments (LHDs), hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and other healthcare entities capable of administering COVID-19 vaccines and is subject to change as the vaccines become more widely available. For questions contact I-CARE.

Updated Provider Relief FAQ on Cost-Based Reimbursement Impacts
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has added the link to instructions for completing cost reports. The link to the instructions does not work due to a typo. Here is the correct link. The updated language also clarifies that if Medicare or Medicaid payments are based upon a provider’s costs that HHS considers these to be full payment. Therefore, Provider Relief Funds could not be used for additional costs as they are considered covered by the existing Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement. However, if there are caps on the cost-based reimbursement under Medicare or Medicaid and actual costs exceed the reimbursed amount then those unreimbursed incremental costs could be reimbursed using PRF. The FAQ reminds providers that PRF cannot be used to cover costs that are reimbursed from other sources or for which other sources are obligated to reimburse.

2021 LeadingAge Illinois Legislative Tracker
The 2021 LeadingAge Illinois Legislative Tracker is now live on our website and will also appear in each edition of the Lead. The tracker will be updated weekly and as needed. There have been 6,782 bills (4,002 in House/2,780 in House) introduced so far this season. Additional bills will be added to the tracker as we review incoming introductions. When your time allows, please check the tracker and provide any feedback on bills that pertain to your organization. Your feedback assists us in developing the association position on legislation and with discussions we have with legislators and legislative staff on issues. You can submit comments and questions to Jason Speaks.

Take Part in the 2021 Partner in Quality Program
Since 2006, the LeadingAge Illinois Partners in Quality program has hosted over 700 legislative visits between legislators and members. As you know, the program is currently still active but in a virtual format. In 2021, we have had 20 Partners in Quality Virtual Visits, connecting members with their legislators to update the elected officials on the challenges aging services providers are facing as well as present our 2021 Public Policy Priorities. We have a couple more visits scheduled this week and several more planned. If you would like to take part in the 2021 Partners in Quality program and educate your legislators on the needs of aging services providers, contact Jason Speaks.

Independent Affordable/Subsidized Housing:

Senior Housing Update
Today’s update includes:

DOJ Appeals Eviction Moratorium Ruling
Groups Urge On-Site Vaccine Clinics at HUD Communities

DOJ Appeals Eviction Moratorium Ruling:
On February 27, the U.S. Department of Justice announced its appeal of a February 25 district court ruling (see article on the district court decision here). While the district court decision found the CDC eviction moratorium unconstitutional, the decision only impacted the plaintiffs in that particular case, Terkel v. CDC. “For other landlords who rent to covered persons, the CDC’s eviction moratorium remains in effect,” a DOJ statement said. “The CDC’s eviction moratorium, which Congress extended last December, protects many renters who cannot make their monthly payments due to job loss or health care expenses. By preventing people from becoming homeless or having to move into more-crowded housing, the moratorium helps to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Brian M. Boynton, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in the DOJ statement.

Groups Urge On-Site Vaccine Clinics at HUD Communities:
A March 1 LeadingAge-coordinated sign-on letter urges HUD, CDC, and the White House’s Domestic Policy Council to “work together to ensure that HUD-supported affordable housing communities are prioritized for vaccines and have access to COVID-19 vaccine partners who will provide on-site vaccination clinics to residents and staff.” Together with the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, National Affordable Housing Management Association, National Leased Housing Association, and Public Housing Authorities Directors Association, LeadingAge sent the letter to the Biden Administration on the need for greater vaccine access at HUD-supported housing communities. The letter urges to White House’s Domestic Policy Council, HUD, and the CDC on the great need for on-site COVID-19 vaccine clinics at the full range of HUD-supported communities.

Home Health and Hospice:

Hospice Item Set Manual V.300 Available and Reminder About Common Questions
The final HIS Manual V3.00 is now available in the Downloads section of the Hospice Item Set (HIS) webpage. The updated Admission and Discharge Instruments, along with a Change Table showing what was updated from the HIS Manual V2.01 to V3.00, are also available for download. The HIS Manual V3.00 is effective as of February 16, 2021. For more information and to download the new documents, please visit the Hospice Item Set webpage. CMS put out Common Questions about claims-based measures in the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) a couple of weeks ago that answers frequently asked questions about changes to the Hospice Item Set (HIS) manual, the Hospice Visits in the Last Days of Life measure, and the forthcoming Hospice Care Index.

Technology:

Technology and Innovation Task Force Update
Last Friday, the LeadingAge Illinois Technology and Innovation Task Force held their second virtual meeting of 2021 to discuss their work plan for the year. Scott Code, Senior Director of LeadingAge Center for Aging Services Technology (CAST), provided an update from CAST. You can view the CAST resources here. The Task Force will be developing an ongoing list of resources and information that will appear in The Lead and on the LeadingAge Illinois website in the Resource Library. If you have any questions about the task force, contact Jason Speaks.

Other:

Member Spotlight: Chicago Methodist Senior Services
Chicago Methodist Senior Services (CMSS) was in 1898 in Evanston. Three years later, when the streets were still dirt, they moved to the corner of Foster and Glenwood in Chicago which is still the location for their flagship entity, Wesley Place.

CMSS provides skilled nursing including short and long term stays, and a dedicated Alzheimer’s unit; Memory Care Assisted Living; Supportive Living; Independent living apartments for older adults with very low-incomes; Para Professional Home Care Services; A program matching volunteers with older adults requesting weekly visits; and a SAGE support group for LGBTQ older adults. Overall CMSS serves 500 residents and clients with 300 employees.

Bill Lowe, president and CEO of CMSS, began his career in 1978 in the Accounting Department at Rush Hospital. Since graduating college he has always worked for not-for-profit organizations. He joined CMSS in 1989. With over 30 years at the organization, he has a history with it, and a lot to be proud of. “When I think about what I am most proud of, I think of our staff and the profound empathy and work ethic they bring to the residents and clients every single day. This, coupled with a mindset of collaboration, our differentiator, allows us to more effectively embrace our mission,” said Bill. “We lead by collaborating. We partner with new care technology, innovative arts programming, entrepreneurial memory care models, and a deepened Diversity, Equity & Inclusion approach. We design and engage in meaningful partnerships with other social impact organizations providing synergies that increase efficiencies, reduce costs and often lead to new essential non-operating revenue streams. Every day, I feel honored and full of enthusiasm to serve as CEO at CMSS.”

Pictured Above: Bill Lowe, president and CEO of Chicago Methodist Senior Services

Speaking again of his long history with the organization and in the industry, he offers the unique perspective of being able to detail the challenges and changes that have come about over the years. “You never know when the ‘golden era’ was until it ends. I can say that in 1989 the golden era for skilled nursing was about 10 years from ending. When I joined CMSS, we didn’t have a need for a marketing department. We had enough walk-in traffic to maintain a strong census. Eventually, more regulation, more competition, and lawyers on TV and billboards crying foul on our industry became the new normal. That said, we have evolved tremendously over the past 25 years, assessing needs of the older adults and designing programs and services to meet those needs.”

Bill has been a leader in the association for many years. A member of the Board of Directors, he serves as the Housing Cabinet President. He also has served in several other capacities, such as his current membership on the Technology and Innovation Task Force. He’s also been a strong supporter of the Partners in Quality program, educating legislators on the industry and advocating for support. The most recent example of his advocacy in the Partners in Quality program transpired last week in a virtual visit with his leadership team and Representative Gregory Harris, House Majority Leader. Bill and team discussed the challenges COVID has brought onto the industry and described the need for support from the legislature.

Surrounded by a quality team at CMSS passionate about caring and serving older adults, Bill is excited for the future. “We are at an incredibly exciting turning point at CMSS with a renewed vision, ambitious multi-year progress plan and an inspired team of professionals united and leading the way. Our vision is to design a memory care center of excellence – one that will serve as a model of best practice and innovation in the industry,” said Bill.

HFS Provider Notices
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) filed the following provider notices recently:

Education:
Emergency Medicine Telehealth for COVID-19 and Beyond
Thursday, March 4th at 10:00 a.m. CST
Hosted by the Illinois Telehealth Network
Faculty: ITN Advisor, Dr. Manish Acharya, FACEP, Director of Telemedicine & Innovation for Infinity HealthCare, Inc.

MEP Building Systems: Mitigating Infectious Disease Transmission
March 10
1-2 p.m. CST

Managing Therapy Needs
March 18
10:30 – 11:30 a.m. CST
Faculty: Neely Sullivan PT, CLT-LANA, CDP, Education Specialist, Select Rehabilitation

Sheltered and Secure: Strategies for IN-room Resident Engagement
March 25
10:30 – 11:30
Faculty: Neely Sullivan PT, CLT-LANA, CDP, Education Specialist, Select Rehabilitation

CMS TRAINING EVENT – Section N: Medications – Drug Regimen Review Web-Based Training Section N Web-Based Training is Available. Click here to access the training

Save the Date:
Virtual Assisted Living Bootcamp 1.0
April 20 & 21
Faculty:
Lynda Kovarik SPSA, Division Chief for IDPH Assisted Living
Polsinelli Attorneys:
Matt Murer
Meredith Duncan

Dementia Leadership Course
May 5, 7, 12, and 14
Featured presenters: Susan Frick, MSW, LSW, Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center and Anna Ortigara