January 2020
Stay Connected
IPRO ESRD Network of New England staff have NEW email addresses as of January 1, 2020 . Please make note of this information and update your contact records accordingly.
Upcoming Events
See what's happening this month .
Alerts and Recalls
Visit the KCER Coalition website for the latest alerts and recalls.
Monthly Facility Activities Calendar
Please click on the image above to download and print the monthly calendar of activities and upcoming events.
Learning and Action Networks (LANs)
The End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) National Coordinating Center (NCC) LAN meetings connect stakeholders from across the continuum of care in support of meeting quality improvement and patient/family engagement goals for the ESRD population. The LANs help foster cross-setting communication and collaboration, and provide a platform for sharing and quickly spreading best practices.

Registration is required. Please select the link for each event to register. A registration confirmation will be provided, via email, containing event link, password, and dial-in information.

For more information about ESRD NCC LANs, including upcoming events and recordings, visit https://esrdncc.org/en/qia/.

Who Should Attend?
These mandatory webinar presentations are appropriate for all facility staff, including directors of operations, regional managers, facility administrators, clinic managers and coordinators, nurses, social workers, and patient care technicians, transplant directors and coordinators, patients, and caregivers.

Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Provided
One CEU will be provided by the NCC  for attending. Please include your license number when registering to receive CEU credit or certificate.
Bloodstream Infection (BSI) LAN
January 7, 2020 - 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm EST
Featuring Sardeliah Pearson, BSI Affinity Group Subject Matter Expert, was involved with the development and testing of the Test Your Hand Hygiene Knowledge Interactive Tutorial. Ms. Pearson volunteered with the National Patient and Family Engagement (NPFE) LAN for one year.
Home Dialysis LAN
January 14, 2020 - 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm EST
Featuring Renita Peck, Subject Matter Expert with the Home Dialysis Affinity Group, helped develop and test the Let’s Talk: Home Dialysis conversation cards. Ms. Peck has also volunteered with the National Patient and Family Engagement (NPFE) LAN for the past two years.
Transplant LAN
January 21, 2020 - 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm EST
Featuring Timmy Nelson , former Kidney Transplant Affinity Group Subject Matter Expert, was involved with the development of the  Partnering Along the Road to Transplant  handout. Mr. Nelson volunteered with the National Patient and Family Engagement (NFPE) LAN for three years.
Patient and Family Engagement (PFE)
Patient Advisory Committee (PAC) Recruitment
Patient and family engagement (PFE) includes the perspectives of patients and families directly into the planning, delivery, and evaluation of healthcare, thereby improving the quality and safety of the care provided. The Network aims to increase the number of ESRD patients and family members working in partnership with dialysis facilities through the recruitment of Patient Advisory Committee (PAC) membership. Dialysis facilities are being requested to identify at least one patient and/or family member or caregiver to be nominated to the PAC.

ACTION ITEM: Start PFE in your facility TODAY! Download the PAC Application Form and Confidentiality Agreement and submit all nominations, via fax or US mail, by January 31, 2020
Quality Improvement Initiatives
National Healthcare Initiatives
In 2020, there are many national healthcare initiatives being launched to improve the quality of care and quality of life for individuals impacted by End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). IPRO ESRD Network of New England, under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Federal Regulations, is mandated to oversee quality improvement activities (QIAs), monitor performance outcomes, address patient experience and access to care concerns, spread best practices, and report intervention barriers to CMS. The initiatives for improving kidney health in 2020 are:
  1. making care safer by reducing the harm caused in the delivery of care,
  2. modality education to increase home dialysis utilization and transplantation, and
  3. patient and family engagement.

On December 11, 2019, the Network conducted a webinar, “What You Need to Know about CMS’ 2020 Priorities, Goals, and Quality Improvement Activities." The webinar recording and PowerPoint slides can be downloaded and shared with dialysis staff.

If you have any questions about the national initiatives, facility participation, or activity requirements, please contact Network staff at 203-387-9332 or esrdnetwork1@ipro.us. 
Root Cause Analysis
In order to support the Advanced American Kidney Health (AAKH) goals and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) objectives, the Network is tasking facilities with the completion of a root cause analysis (RCA) for each of the following objectives:
  • Reduction of bloodstream Infections
  • Reduction of long term catheter use
  • Increasing the number of patients utilizing a home modality
  • Increasing the number of patients active on the transplant wait list

RCA Tools:

ACTION ITEM: If your facility has not submitted a RCA, via REDCap, which was due by January 3, 2020, please complete it ASAP.

Know Your Network Staff Inservice
During the month of December, dialysis facilities in New England were required to conduct in-service training with all staff members to ensure understanding of who IPRO ESRD Network of New England is and what we do within the ESRD community.

Training Materials:

ACTION ITEM: If your facility has not submitted the staff participation attestation to the Network, which was due by December 31, 2019 , please fax it to 203-389-9902.
Announcements & Updates
Kidney Care Choices Model
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released clarifications to the Kidney Care Choices (KCC) Model’s Request for Applications (RFA) that was posted on October 24, 2019.

These clarifications were created in response to questions from applicants regarding the Kidney Care First (KCF) and Comprehensive Kidney Care Contracting (CKCC) Options.  This document expands upon eligibility requirements regarding revenue calculations and practices’ Tax Identification Numbers (TINs).

The KCC Model is designed to help health care providers reduce the cost and improve the quality of care for patients with late-stage chronic kidney disease and end stage renal disease by aiming to delay the need for dialysis and encourage kidney transplantation.

The clarifications, full RFA, and additional resources can be found on the  Kidney Care Choices website .
The Model is expected to run from 2020 through December 31, 2023.  The deadline to apply is January 22, 2020.
2020 NHSN HAI Checklists
The 2020 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) Checklists developed by the NHSN subject matter experts (SMEs) are now available on NHSN’s webpage at   https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/hai-checklists/index.html . The 2020 HAI Checklists are intended for use in conjunction with the 2020 Patient Safety Manual to assist Infection Preventionists and other users with making a final determination for healthcare associated infections. Please note all NHSN HAI criteria for each respective module is contained in a single document. It is hoped that the checklists will help streamline your surveillance efforts.

Please send any questions to   nhsn@cdc.gov .
CROWNWeb New User Training
Are you new to CROWNWeb, or just need a refresher on how to use the system? CROWNWeb New User Training is for you! This informative  ONE-DAY ,  90-minute  course covers all the basic information a new CROWNWeb user would need to begin using the system.  January’s New User Training will be held on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 from 2:00 PM ET to 3:30 PM ET.

Click here to register.
Network 1 Staff
Danielle R. Daley, MBA
Executive Director
(203) 285-1212

Sarah Keehner, RN, BSN, CNN
Quality Improvement Director
(203) 285-1214

Agata Roszkowski, LMSW
Patient Services Director
(203) 285-1213

Jaya Bhargava, PhD, CPHQ
Regional Operations Director
(203) 285-1215
TBD
Sr. Program Support Coordinator
@ipro.us
(203) 285-1222

Nadine Caruthers, LPN
Quality Improvement Coordinator
(203) 285-1224

Cheryl Pettway
Community Outreach Coordinator
(203) 285-1223

Krystle Gonzalez
Customer Service Manager
(203) 285-1225
IPRO ESRD Network of New England
1952 Whitney Avenue, 2nd Floor, Hamden, CT 06517
Phone: 203-387-9332 · Fax: 203-389-9902
IPRO End-Stage Renal Disease Network of New England, the ESRD Organization for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, prepared this material under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. CMS Contract Number: HHSM-500-2016-00019C.