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Welcome to the March 14 issue of the Quality Insights Renal Network 4 e-newsletter. In this issue, we bring you information about required Dialysis Event Surveillance training, where to review and attest that you have reviewed our 2018 Network 4 goals, a trial of devices aimed to prevent catheter-related bloodstream infections, patient education features, upcoming events, National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) updates, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updates, continuing education opportunities,  resources and much more. We encourage you to  contact us with any questions, concerns or suggestions.  
FeedbackPlease provide us with your feedback on last month's Facility-LED PATIENT EDUCATION
Please take this short survey to let us know what you thought about last month's facility-led patient education topics
FeaturedEducation2FACILITY-LED PATIENT EDUCATION TOPIC OF THE MONTH: 
Grievance Process
We will be providing a Network 4 Patient Education Sheet each month in 2018. These documents are also located on  our website. Please provide all of your patients with this education sheet this month.   Also, we ask that you please encourage your facility's Patient  Representatives to pass out this educational information as well. 
RequiredTraining2required dialysis event surveillance training
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires that at least one person from each outpatient dialysis facility that is eligible to report positive blood cultures (PBC), IV antibiotic starts, and pus, redness and swelling (PRS) to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) in 2018, complete the Annual NHSN Dialysis Event Surveillance Training. Eligible facilities include: 
  • Facilities that provide in-center hemodialysis to at least 11 in-center hemodialysis patients
  • Facilities that have a CMS Certification date prior to January 1, 2018 
Learn more about eligibility  here

Starting in 2018, Network 4 must verify, track, and report to CMS on a monthly basis the number of facilities completing this training for 2018. Please complete the following steps as soon as posssible. 
  1. Complete the training and attestation no later than September 28.
  2. Print the certificate of completion. 
  3. Attest to completion of the training.
Dialysis Event Training/Re-training is available:
NetworkGoals2018 Network Goals: Attestation Link Available
Quality Insights Renal Network 4 is providing Network facilities with 2018 Network 4 Goals. We ask that you attest in the following site after you receive and review these goals. If you oversee more than one facility, please add all of the CCNs in one attestation. Access the attestation here.  
Trialtrial of devices aims to prevent catheter-related bloodstream infections
A recent prospective, randomized controlled study of patients undergoing hemodialysis using central venous catheters compared the use of a catheter closure device that uses rod and threads containing dry chlorhexidine and thus applies disinfectant between dialysis treatments, with a similar disinfecting cap that applies disinfectant only on the outside of the catheter connector. In the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) study, the chlorhexidine-containing device inside the catheter lumen resulted in significantly fewer positive blood cultures and catheter-related bloodstream infections for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative infections, and resulted in fewer antibiotic starts. An editorial notes that the findings may help achieve the goal of zero preventable infections in dialysis patients.
UpcomingEventsUpcoming Events

Western PA Kidney Support Groups to Celebrate World Kidney Day
In recognition of World Kidney Day, Western PA Support Groups in collaboration with the Allegheny Health Network will be offering a free informational program on chronic kidney disease on Sunday, March 18 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Canonsburg General Hospital located at 100 Medical Boulevard, Canonsburg, PA 15314. Topics covered include Medicare and Chronic Kidney Disease, Kidney Smart and A Message from the Nephrologist. Please RSVP by March 15 by contacting Mike Curren at (724) 796-1603 or Diana Bell at (724) 292-9318. Door prizes and refreshments will be available. 

Registration Now Open for RPA's Billing and Coding Conference
Knowing and understanding the rules of the game are the keys to proper billing, coding and documentation. The Renal Physicians Association (RPA) Billing and Coding conference is scheduled for March 15, 2018 in Orlando, Florida and can help physicians, practice managers and coders gain greater understanding around office, hospital and dialysis coding. Jeffery Giullian, MD, Rob Blaser and Leland Garrett, MD will be presenting for this dynamic, fundamental, interactive workshop. Registration is now open.

Registration Now Open for the Latest National Kidney Foundation Patient & Community Education Seminar
Registration is now open for the National Kidney Foundation's latest Patient & Community Education Seminar, Everyday Heroes Living with Kidney Disease. The seminar will take place on Sunday, March 25, 2018 from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the South Philadelphia Community Health and Literacy Center located at 1700 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19145. The National Kidney Foundation invites kidney patients from early stages of kidney disease to dialysis or transplantation and their caregivers to come together, learn and become empowered through this Patient Education Program. To register, contact Eleanor at (215) 923-8611 ext. 743 or email eleanor.kennedy@kidney.org. This seminar is sponsored by Pentec Health.

2018 National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings
The 2018 National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings (SCM) will be held in Austin, TX on April 10-14, 2018.  The SCM website features a comprehensive preliminary program, a call for abstracts, a sign-up area for news and a link to the NKF Professional Education Resource Center (PERC) that will have many free-to-members courses based on the 2017 SCM.  SCM includes separate pre-conference workshops and conference tracks for physicians, pharmacists, advanced practitioners, nurses, technicians, dietitians, social workers, and transplant professionals.  Registration is now open, and discounted advance registration closes January 26, 2018. Learn more.

Network 4 Executive Director to Present at CKD Conference
Quality Insights Renal Network 4 Executive Director Chris Brown will be a presenter at the upcoming Update on Chronic Kidney Disease, coordinated by Penn State College of Medicine and The Kidney Foundation of Central PA. The conference will take place on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET at the Hotel Hershey, located at 100 Hotel Road, Hershey, PA 71033. Brown will present about lessons learned from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The event is designed to update nephrologists, physicians, physician assistants, certified registered nurse practitioners, dialysis nurses and technicians, renal social workers, renal dietitians, and other interested health-care professionals on recent medical advances in the care of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The conference will help practitioners attain the knowledge and skills to maintain competency in the management of patients with CKD. Continuing Education credits may be available. Cost to attend is $85 per person. Registration cost includes instruction, all meals, online handout materials and refreshments. Download the conference brochure to learn more and register

CEU Opportunity at Updates in Transplantation Care Symposium
The Lankenau Kidney Transplant Program presents Updates in Transplantation Care, which will be held Friday, April 27, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Lankenau Medical Center at 100 East Lancaster Avenue, Wynnewood, PA 19096. 

This educational symposium will address emerging issues in kidney transplantation, including impacts of the opioid crisis and hepatitis C epidemic on availability of quality donor organs and clinical implications of increased-risk organ transplantation. Safe pain management in patients with failing kidneys, prior opioid use and obesity risks in kidney transplantation, indications for kidney-pancreas transplantation, and special needs of patients with delayed graft function also will be reviewed.  The program will include presentations by members of the organ transplant teams at Lankenau Medical Center and Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, as well as personal accounts from a panel of individuals who have undergone kidney transplantation and living kidney donation at Lankenau Medical Center. Those encouraged to attend include nurses, social workers, dialysis center staff, transplant professionals, and other health professionals involved in the care of patients before and after kidney transplantation. For more information on objectives, agenda and the speakers, please download the symposium brochure . Registration is required for the symposium. Call (866) 225-5654 to register.

This activity has been submitted to the American Board for Transplant Certification, American Nephrology Nurses Association, and Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers to award 5.0 CEUs for nurses, social workers, and dialysis patient care technicians. The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
NHSNUpdatesNHSN Updates

New Instructional Guidance on the re-Consent Process
The National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) team has published some informational guidance on our website to assist users with completion of the updated NHSN Agreement to Participate and Consent. A 5-minute video informs users of the new Consent purposes and the simple process for accepting the Consent electronically. Furthermore, a step-by-step guidance document provides detailed instructions and screen shots for what Facility Administrators and Primary Contacts can expect to see when they begin the re-consent process in the NHSN application. A link to the video and the guidance document can both be found in the FAQs About NHSN's Agreement to Participate and Consent. As a reminder, the deadline for accepting the updated Consent is April 14, 2018, for all components except Long-term Care, which has a deadline of June 15, 2018. If you have any questions about the re-consent process, please email the NHSN helpdesk.

NHSN 8.8.1 Introduces Updated Agreement
The January 23 release of the NHSN 8.8.1 application introduced an updated NHSN Agreement to Participate and Consent for current NHSN facility users who enrolled in NHSN prior to December 2, 2017.  Facilities that enrolled in NHSN on or after December 2, 2017, have already accessed this new Consent and will not need to accept it again if they have already done so.  Primary Contacts or Facility Administrators should agree to this updated Consent form for each component by April 14th, 2018, or risk losing access to NHSN.  The Consent form became available on January 23rd and an alert appeared on all NHSN component home pages. Primary contacts and facility administrators also received an email notification.  Additional information, including Frequently Asked Questions and the updated NHSN purposes, are available on CDC's NHSN website.  If you have any questions, please send an email to NHSN@cdc.gov with the subject line "NHSN Reconsent."
CMSUpdatesCMS Updates

CMS-2744 Submission Dates Updated
ESRD Networks across the country have come to a consensus regarding the submission dates for CMS-2744 forms. Please have your 2744 generated by February 15, 2018 and submitted for acceptance with NO errors or warnings by March 31, 2018. This means that you may begin working on your surveys at your earliest convenience.

Be aware that Batch Submitting Organizations (BSOs) such as DCI, DaVita, FMC and any other facilities that have data submitted electronically may still have 2017 data being loaded into CROWNWeb (CW) through the beginning of February.

Training on the 2744 is available on the MyCROWNWeb.org website.  

The training link will take you step-by-step through the 2744 process. Also, the CROWNWeb Outreach, Communications and Training team will begin conducting training by next month. We will inform you as soon as those training dates are available.

Please remember that you are completing the survey for calendar year 2017 and thus will be examining data for activity that took place between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017.
CEUOppsCEU Opportunities

CEU OPPORTUNITY AT UPDATES IN TRANSPLANTATION CARE SYMPOSIUM
The Lankenau Kidney Transplant Program presents Updates in Transplantation Care, which will be held Friday, April 27, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Lankenau Medical Center at 100 East Lancaster Avenue, Wynnewood, PA 19096. 

This educational symposium will address emerging issues in kidney transplantation, including impacts of the opioid crisis and hepatitis C epidemic on availability of quality donor organs and clinical implications of increased-risk organ transplantation. Safe pain management in patients with failing kidneys, prior opioid use and obesity risks in kidney transplantation, indications for kidney-pancreas transplantation, and special needs of patients with delayed graft function also will be reviewed. The program will include presentations by members of the organ transplant teams at Lankenau Medical Center and Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, as well as personal accounts from a panel of individuals who have undergone kidney transplantation and living kidney donation at Lankenau Medical Center. Those encouraged to attend include nurses, social workers, dialysis center staff, transplant professionals, and other health professionals involved in the care of patients before and after kidney transplantation. For more information on objectives, agenda and the speakers, please download the symposium brochure. Registration is required for the symposium. Call (866) 225-5654 to register. 

This activity has been submitted to the American Board for Transplant Certification, American Nephrology Nurses Association, and Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers to award 5.0 CEUs for nurses, social workers, and dialysis patient care technicians. The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses  Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

Advanced Renal Education
This educational site provides CEU credits for anyone who completes a course. Register to gain access and complete a course.

American Kidney Fund
The American Kidney Fund offers several online courses that provide free CEs for health care professionals. Learn more

Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality
The Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality is now offering short, interactive samples of courses to get a feel for how it creates engaging learning experiences that are relevant and applicable to your work improving patient safety. Samples are now available for the following cours es:
  • Patient Safety Certificate Program
  • Human Factors for Patient Safety
  • Becoming a Patient Safety Hero
  • Foundations of CUSP
These samples will work on mobile devices; however, for the best experience use on a laptop or desktop computer. Browse the course catalog for details on all courses, including continuing education credits, learning objectives and costs.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The CDC has new free continuing education opportunities available through its Tune In for Safe Healthcare webinar series. Webinars include: 

  • Empowering Nurses to Protect Themselves and Their Patients: The Importance of Collaboration between Nurses and Environmental Services
  • Infections in Dialysis Centers: Understanding what Matters to Patients
  • Empowering Nurses for Early Sepsis Recognition
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) and Medscape
CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) presents a FREE continuing education activity on the following topics:
  • Cancer and Obesity
  • Invasive Cancer
  • Recommendations on the Use of Seasonal Influenza Vaccines

In support of improving patient care, Medscape, LLC is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. If you are not a registered user on Medscape, please register for free or login without a password and get unlimited access to all continuing education activities and other Medscape features.

ESRDResourcesESRD Resources
Latest edition of KCER Watch is Now Available  
The  February 2018 issue of KCER Watch , the monthly environmental scan that provides timely and pertinent information related to emergency preparedness, is now available. The goal of KCER Watch is to facilitate the exchange of information, sharing of resources, and advancement of knowledge and expertise among ESRD and emergency management stakeholders.

Check out the ESRD NCC Information Exchange
The ESRD Network Coordinating Center (NCC) provides centralized coordination and support for the Medicare ESRD Network program. Each month, the ESRD NCC distributes an e-newsletter, known as the Information Exchange, that compiles the most important information from numerous ListServs and publications related to renal health. To sign up to receive this informative newsletter, please contact the ESRD NCC at ncc@ncc.esrd.net or visit the ESRD NCC website

 
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IMPORTANT NOTE:
This bi-weekly e-newsletter will serve as our primary method of communicating important news and updates. We encourage you to visit our Web site for the most up-to-date information or to contact us with questions, comments or suggestions.
 
This material was prepared by Quality Insights Renal Network 4 under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The contents do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.

Publication No. ESRD4-030518