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Welcome to the October 20 issue of the Quality Insights Renal Network 4 e-newsletter. In this issue, we bring you information about webinar opportunities, flu season, National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Release Notes, CMS updates, continuing education opportunities, patient education features, ESRD events, resources and much more. We encourage you to  contact us with any questions, concerns or suggestions.  
WebinOppwebinar opportunity: examining the role of the environment in infections across the continuum of care
A free webinar titled Examining the Role of the Environment in Infections Across the Continuum of Care will be offered on October 25 and will use a case study to discuss the relationship between the environment, the patient and patient outcomes. The webinar will be hosted by the Emergency Nurses Association, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, and the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses. Continuing education credits are available for physicians, registered nurses, health educators, administrators, and others.  Learn more and register

This webinar is the third in the series Empowering Nurses to Protect Themselves and Their Patients, launched by the Nursing Infection Control Education (NICE) Network to address key issues surrounding infection prevention in healthcare facilities.  The American Nurses Association (ANA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and various nursing specialty organizations, including the American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA), have partnered to form the NICE Network, which seeks to empower nurses to protect themselves and their patients by providing infection prevention and control training to U.S. nurses.
Future webinar topics in the series include: Antibiotic Stewardship (December 2017), Injection Safety/Handling Hazardous Materials (February 2018), Disaster Preparedness and Infection Control (March 2018), and Infection Prevention and Control in Maternal and Child Health (March 2018).

The ANNA Infection Prevention and Control Program also includes a number of other free continuing education opportunities.  Learn more
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: 
Medicare Parts A through D
We will be providing a Network 4 Patient Education Sheet each month in 2017. 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. 

Immunization Graphic FluSeason2Flu Season Updates

"Dear Colleague Letter Released by CDC
On September 20, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the "Dear Colleague" letter to health care professionals about the influenza vaccination in the 2017-18 flu season. The letter is signed by CDC and 17 professional societies and nonprofit organizations, including the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC). View the letter.

Flu Vaccine and People with Egg Allergies
The CDC and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices have updated guidelines on egg allergy and receipt of influenza (flu) vaccines. Learn more.
NHSNlatest NHSN Release Notes include changes to healthcare personnel safety and dialysis components 

Changes to the Healthcare Personnel Safety Component
  • Some issues with the HPS annual surveys - Even though a 2017 Home survey has been saved as complete, the application generated an error message when attempting to save HPS Monthly Reporting Plans (MRPs) for 2017-2018. MRPs can now be saved if a Home survey has been completed. The issue about being able to save a Home survey for 2016 will be resolve in a future release; the Home survey is only applicable for 2017 and going forward.
Changes to the Dialysis Component
  • DOB field on the Patient and Event form - There was an issue when using the calendar to edit the patient's date of birth. 

CMSUpdatesCMS Updates
 
Does Your Facility Have Saved CMS-2728 Forms in CROWNWeb?
CMS-2728 forms should be submitted in CROWNWeb within 10 business days from the date regular chronic dialysis began. See page 33 of the CROWNWeb Data Management Guidelines for details.

Revised 2017 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey Data Collection Schedule 
As you know, there has been a delay in providing the 2017 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey sample files to vendors due to a problem with CROWNWeb files.  Below is the revised tentative schedule for the 2017 Fall Survey. If any changes are required due to issues with the sampling process, vendors will be alerted as soon as possible.  Please contact the ICH Coordination Team via e-mail at ichcahps@rti.org or call 1-866-245-8083 if you have any questions about this.
  • Sampling Window:  4/1/2017 - 6/30/2017
  • Sample Files Uploaded on ICH CAHPS Website:  10/9/2017
  • Vendors Attest to Receipt of Sample File:  10/11/2017
  • Mail Prenotification Letter:  10/25/2017
  • Mail 1st Questionnaire (mail only and mixed mode)/Begin Telephone data collection (phone only mode):  11/8/2017
  • Mail 2nd Questionnaire (mail only)/Begin phone follow-up (mixed mode):  12/6/2017
  • Data Collection Ends:  1/17/2018
  • Vendors Clean/Process Final Data and Construct XML File:  1/18/2018 - 1/31/2018
  • Deadline for Submitting XML Data File to ICH Data Center:  1/31/2018

UpcomingEventsUpcoming events
 
Save the Date for November 9: Infection Disease Webinar
On November 9, 2017, from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET, ASPR TRACIE and the National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC) will host the webinar "Highly Pathogenic Infectious Disease Exercise Planning for Healthcare Coalitions." This fourth in a series of joint webinars will highlight NETEC's free exercise templates for HCCs to test their readiness to manage patients suspected or known to have a highly infectious disease and will feature speakers from HCCs that have already exercised their plans. Stay tuned for additional details and a registration link.

Save the Date: ANNA Keystone Chapter Annual Fall Day of Learning
The American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA) Keystone Chapter's annual Fall Day of Learning will be held on  Thursday, November 2, 2017 at the Crowne Plaza in Trevose, Pennsylvania. More information will be coming soon.

freeCEUsFree CEU OPportunities
 
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 courses:
  • 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 MMWR presents a FREE continuing education activity on U.S. pregnant women and infants with recent Zika virus exposure. Continuing Medical Education (CME), American Board of Internal Medicine Maintenance of Certification (ABIM MOC), and Continuing Education (CE) credits are all available for this activity - Vital Signs: Update on Zika Virus - Associated Birth Defects and Evaluation of All U.S. Infants with Congenital Zika Virus Exposure - U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry, 2016. This activity is intended for infectious disease clinicians, obstetricians/gynecologists, family medicine practitioners, internists, nurses, public health officials, pediatricians, and other clinicians who treat and manage women of reproductive age who may be exposed to Zika virus and risk for birth defects in their offspring.
ESRDResourcesESRD resources 

Emergency Management Resources and Tutorials
The Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) just released its October newsletter of resources and tutorials. Check it out.

CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation Offers New Web Resource
The CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation has published a new web page on What to Do in an Emergency if You Need Dialysis.  While it doesn't have a lot of new advice, it's concise, and includes a long list of additional resources.  

Looking for a Patient Support Group?
Sometimes it's helpful to talk about your journey to kidney health with peers that understand what you're going through. Check out our website periodically for information about local support groups near you, including upcoming meeting dates as they become available. 
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. ESRD4-101317