|
|
|
|
|
|
Hello everyone,
I hope you are all enjoying a great fall season!
Also, thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the Rural Route newsletter. If you haven't already, please try to take a moment and give us your thoughts on the newsletter by completing the 2020 Rural Route Assessment so you can provide feedback on the newsletter. The assessment is only a few short questions and we'd really appreciate you filling it out before or after you read the newsletter. As always, we also appreciate you taking the time to read this newsletter.
If you have questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or TASC.
Best, Andy Naslund Program Coordinator TASC
|
|
|
Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) Updates
Dear Flex Coordinators,
Thank you to everyone who assisted with the rapid request regarding ventilators earlier this month. We really appreciate the quick turnaround time! We hope to provide you with more information about next steps very soon.
Please take note of these important upcoming due dates:
- The Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Flex Performance Improvement Measurement System (PIMS) report is due Friday, October 30th. Please use the resources, webinars, and tools and reach out to your Project Officer if you have any questions.
- The FY 2019 End of Year Report is due on November 30th for all Flex programs, please reach out to your Project Officer if you have any questions.
- If your program is one of the eight Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Supplement awards, you have the FY 2019 EMS Supplement End of Year Report due on November 29th, please reach out to Tahleah Chappel if you have questions on EMS.
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) will host "MBQIP Open Office Hours" to solicit feedback from state Flex coordinators on the new Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) report format and content. This event will be held on October 29th, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EST. You should have received an invitation from the MBQIP Lead, Natalia Vargas. This interactive webinar event is appropriate for state Flex coordinators and state contractors assisting with MBQIP efforts. For any questions, please email [email protected]. As a part of National Rural Health Day and Antibiotic Awareness Week, on November 18th, FORHP and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be hosting a webinar on the Implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Activities in critical access hospitals. The one-hour long webinar will start at 3 p.m. EST, please register in advance for this webinar.
 CAH Regulatory Update
|
space
This month, we bid a fond farewell to Maria Bustamante of Texas.
We wish you well Maria!
|
CAH Recognition Spotlights! Innovative Approaches to Post-Acute Care
space
Critical Access Hospital Recognition was established by The Center and FORHP to recognize the excellent work in critical access hospitals (CAHs) and other rural safety net providers throughout the country. In this round of CAH Recognition, these three hospitals received national recognition for demonstrating an innovative approach to post-acute care that supports a patient's continued recovery from illness or management of a chronic illness or disability:
- Harrison County Community Hospital -- Bethany, Missouri (Featured in upcoming newsletter)
- Pinckneyville Community Hospital -- Pinckneyville, Illinois (Featured in this newsletter)
- UPMC Cole -- Coudersport, Pennsylvania (Featured in upcoming newsletter)
|
space
To better serve their patient population, Pinckneyville Community Hospital implemented the position of a transitional care management (TCM) nurse. This nurse functions to improve the care of the patient after they are discharged from the hospital. All high-risk patients about to be discharged are referred to the TCM nurse. The TCM nurse visits the patient while they are still in the hospital to explain the TCM process and answer any questions. Within forty-eight hours of being discharged, a phone call to check on the patient is made and a follow up home visit is scheduled. Medication education and a review of the discharge instructions for comprehension are performed during this home visit.
The TCM nurse continues to make weekly phone calls for the next three weeks to check on the patient. The TCM nurse makes weekly updates to the primary care office and will work with the primary care provider or the home health agency to address any needs that are identified during the interactions with the patient. After 30 days of TCM, there is a warm handoff to the chronic care nurse for long-term management.
From left to right: Eva Hopp, Chief Nurse Executive; Deb Hale, Care Coordinator; Barb Brand, Transitional Care Coordinator; Sherrie Morse, Case Management Manager; Michelle Headley, Social Services Coordinator
Positive Outcomes
- Readmissions rates for Pinckneyville have been reduced from 12.6% to 3.1% through the use of a dedicated TCM nurse and improved communication between all the team members.
- space
- Pinckneyville Community Hospital is part of an accountable care organization (ACO) and is therefore cognizant of the need to control its skilled nursing facility (SNF) per member per month (PMPM) costs. Between Quarter 2 2019 and Quarter 1 2020, they have reduced their SNF PMPM spending from $97 to $90.
Top Accomplishments
The focus on transitional care management has clearly been an innovative approach for post-acute care. In addition to decreasing readmission rates and SNF PMPM costs, Pinckeyville's initiatives have benefited their patient's post-acute experiences in numerous ways. To decrease confusion over discharge medications, Pinckneyville Community Hospital created discharge medication instruction sheets. The instruction sheets were created through a collaboration between Pinckneyville's pharmacists and hospitalists. The sheets increase patient understanding and therefore reduce medication errors. Both patient and physician satisfaction scores have improved since the implementation of the discharge medication instruction sheets. Moreover, all follow up appointments for patients are scheduled prior to discharge. If the patient is discharged after hours, the clinic Care Coordinator calls and schedules an appointment time with the patient. This has greatly reduced missed appointments and helps to ensure continuity of care post discharge.
"With the addition of Barb Brand, RN, Transitional Care Coordinator, we have been able to reduce our readmission rate from 12.6 to 3.1. Barb assists with patients who are high risk for readmission to ensure they understand their hospital discharge instructions, obtain their medications, keep their scheduled doctor's appointments, and help coordinate any additional services they may need," said Randall Dauby, CEO of Pinckneyville Community Hospital. "Barb works closely with Deb Hale, RN, Chronic Care Manager at Family Medical Center, to transition these patients to their primary care physician for further monitoring of their medical condition and implementing preventative care measures to keep the patient in their home setting."
Laura Fischer, Flex Grant Project Manager from the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN), said, "Illinois is very proud to have a critical access hospital doing such innovative work to provide comprehensive quality health care to its patients."
|
New from CMS: Frequently Asked Questions for the CHART Model
Spac
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a frequently asked question document addressing stakeholder questions regarding the Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model. The FAQs are posted on the CHART website.
|
New from AHA: TeamSTEPPS Video Training for the COVID-19 Crisis
Spac
The American Hospital Association (AHA) has produced a new limited video series featuring TeamSTEPPS tools designed to optimize teamwork and communication, two skill sets that are especially needed during the pandemic. Each video focuses on how different TeamSTEPPS tools can be used in COVID-19 scenarios.
|
TASC Updates
space
Recently updated: COVID-19 Funding Sources Impacting Rural Providers
TASC, in coordination with the FORHP, is pleased to provide an update of the COVID-19 Funding Sources Impacting Rural Providers guide. This funding resource is intended to support rural health care providers, along with their state and local partners, navigate the availability of federal funds to support the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic response and recovery efforts. This guide is updated regularly to capture changes in funding sources.
Seven tables, or matrices, are provided for quick reference at the beginning of this resource. The tables can be used to check eligibility of participation in funding sources by provider types: rural prospective payment system (PPS) and critical access hospitals (CAH), rural health clinics (RHC), federally qualified health centers (FQHC), long-term care (LTC) or skilled nursing facilities (SNF), tribal facilities, and emergency medical services (EMS). The tables also provide an at-a-glance view for each provider type sharing the different types of funds that may be accessed from various funding sources dependent on their participation eligibility. Each funding source is described in its own section of this resource with an executive summary followed by further detail on the use of funds, reporting requirements, hyperlinks to the legislation and detailed information.
Please feel free to share this updated resource broadly.
The guide can be found in COVID-19 Collection located on The National Rural Health Resource Center's website. This collection consists of trusted and reliable resources, such as the COVID-19 Funding Sources Impacting Rural Providers Guide, along with standing links to additional organizations' COVID-19 resources, FAQs, webinars, tools, and trainings. The Center aims to help direct the most up-to-date and relevant tools and resources to rural hospitals, clinics, and their communities. This Collection will be updated regularly to help assist with the abundance of circulating information relating to COVID-19.
Upcoming Events
space
Hosted by FORHP -- Thursday, October 29, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Central Time.
Flex webinar hosted by TASC -- Thursday, November 5, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Central Time.
MBQIP VKG hosted by Stratis Health -- Thursday, December 3, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Central Time.
|
MBQIP Updates
Space
On November 18th, FORHP and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be hosting a webinar on the Implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Activities in Critical Access Hospitals . The one-hour long webinar will start at 3 p.m. EST, please register in advance for this webinar.
Updated Resources
MBQIP Office Hours
space
FORHP will be hosting an MBQIP Open Office Hours call on Thursday, October 29, 2020 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. CT. The event offers an opportunity for state Flex personnel and MBQIP subcontractors to provide feedback to FORHP on the new MBQIP quarterly reports produced by the Flex Monitoring Team.
Please send your MBQIP questions to [email protected]. TASC will ensure your question reaches the appropriate person.
|
|
Webinars, Recordings & Events
space
Webinar Playbacks
|
|
|
The most recent interviews include multiple new conversations with rural health leaders.
|
|
|
