HFAM Update and Reminders
COVID Surge, HFAM Announcement, Honoring Healthcare Heroes, Workforce
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Friends:
Thank you for all you have done and are doing to provide quality care to Marylanders in need during this most recent Omicron surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. While this has been a far less deadly variant of the virus that we have all been fighting for two years, it was still highly contagious and was challenging due to workforce availability.
Truth is, as we’ve said all along, we will be fighting COVID at work, at home, and in the community for years to come. That said, it is also true that in skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers, in other healthcare settings, at home, and in schools, we must return to some sense of normalcy by learning to live with COVID as safely as possible, and pushing for vaccinations and boosters.
Celebrating Patricia DeGrasse:
For many decades, HFAM and its team of dedicated employees have actively served the long-term care community by creating dialogue on behalf of our members with federal, state, and local agencies and educating legislators and the public on long-term and post-acute care services. Over the past 35 years, Patty DeGrasse has served in many roles at HFAM, most recently as the Vice President of Operations and Member Services.
It is with great sadness that I announce Patty will be leaving HFAM to pursue other opportunities. Her last day with HFAM will be February 18. During her last few days at HFAM she will transition her responsibilities and say her goodbyes. We urge you to reach out and thank Patty for her longevity with HFAM, her professionalism, and her commitment to serving our members.
HFAM cannot thank Patty enough for her dedication and loyalty to the organization for the past 35 years and we all wish her well on her new ventures, both personal and professional. She will be missed in day-to-day operations here at HFAM and by our extended HFAM family.
We have a saying in ‘oleo Hawai’i, Hawaiian language, a hui hou. It translates to until we meet again. Please join us with much love as we bid not goodbye to Patty, but a hui hou.
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Honoring Healthcare Heroes |
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Carlos Miranda, Assistant Activities Director, Cadia Hyattsville
"Carlos has a contagious positive energy and shining disposition. He can be found dressed in full costume as many characters to put a huge grin on the faces of residents and staff. He can also be found painting resident’s nails, serving ice cream in the dining parlor, singing and dancing for a crowd of people to lighten the atmosphere and performing many other services and tasks that lift our collective spirits."
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Fatou Ann, GNA/Medication Technician, Charles E. Smith Life Communities
"Fatou holds herself personally accountable for working collaboratively with others while delivering exceptional service. This was true prior to the pandemic and her commitment to those she serves has not diminished during COVID."
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Malick Daffeh, Director of Nursing on GBMC Sub Acute Unit
"Malick is dedicated to his staff and patients, he handles the toughest situations with kindness and a positive attitude. Malick always goes above and beyond to get the job done correctly."
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Karen Brown, Household Associate, LifeBridge
"Karen is very in tune with individual needs of the residents she cares for and oriented a team of safety sitters onboarded to offer nursing support."
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Carlos, Fatou, Malick, and Karen remind us of the people behind the scenes who continue to provide quality care to Marylanders in need each and every day.
As you know, HFAM skilled nursing and rehabilitation center members provide the majority of quality post-acute and long-term care to Marylanders paid for by Medicaid and across all payor sources annually. The Maryland long-term and post-acute care workforce, made up of approximately 30,000 individuals from dietary staff and housekeepers to nursing staff and physicians, each saves lives and contributes to the well-being of the residents under their care. They are all true healthcare heroes.
The current workforce crisis pre-dates the pandemic and the pressures of the pandemic have dramatically amplified the workforce shortage. The most recent surge of COVID-19 proved that there is not a separate nursing home, hospital, and physician’s office healthcare workforce. There is ONE Maryland healthcare workforce. Currently, that workforce is historically shorthanded. The length of this workforce crisis and its associated challenges will be measured in years, not months.
With all of us working together, we can create impactful jobs and powerful careers in long-term and post-acute care settings - including skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers, assisted living campuses, adult day centers, and continuing care retirement communities.
Both now and in the future, we must have adequate Medicaid rates to continue providing quality care for Marylanders in need and to pay the highest possible wages supported by the rates. Over the last two years, nursing homes have paid historically high direct and agency staff wages. At the same time, direct care hours per resident have also dramatically increased on average. Very few of these increased costs are adequately supported by the current base Medicaid rate.
It is important to remember that quality care and jobs are not just about money. They are about calling, purpose, and building a culture of quality. Just as scholar Jim Collins says in the book Good to Great — First Who, Then What — get the right people on the bus (and in the right seat on the bus).
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As Always:
- Focus on what is in your control and not what is out of your control.
- Let’s get those boosters and the flu vaccine in the arms of people.
- Overcommunicate – with residents, patients, families, staff, and government partners.
- Adapt and innovate.
- Rely on your partnerships.
- Speak up when you need help.
- Double efforts on infectious disease protocols, training, and operations.
- Take and document your action; keep a timeline.
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CLICK HERE for the Dr. Katz Video, and please see the Donning and Doffing Checklist we have been sharing.
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Joe DeMattos
President and CEO
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New Resources from AHRQ
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has several new resources that may be helpful to long-term care facilities.
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Take advantage of your credit union membership benefit!
As a reminder, HFAM has partnered with First Financial Federal Credit Union to offer our members access to all that the credit union has to offer. Credit Unions provide the same services as a bank, but offer lower loan rates, higher dividend rates, little or no fees, and maintain a commitment to the communities that they serve. You are eligible to join as an HFAM member, plus your immediate family members are eligible to join.
Join First Financial and open a new account from now through March 4th and you will receive $25!
To join online, simply go to firstfinancial.org/open or visit any branch. Choose Partner Group Promo Application and enter promo code: PROMO25. You will need your ID and $5 to open your account – your $25 cash deposit will be made after the promotional period ends. First Financial FCU looks forward to having you join the credit union family!
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Want to see previous HFAM updates?
Visit our website to view all previous HFAM alerts, as well as guidance
from our federal and state partners.
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