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National Skilled Nursing Care Week

In recognition of this week, we would like to take this opportunity to commend our partners and healthcare heroes for your unwavering commitment to improving the lives of those you serve.

To celebrate this week, HTS has created a fun activity for residents and staff.

HTS will present cash prizes of $200, $100 and $75 to the top three communities that show the best participation! Be sure to take photos and let us know how your community shined this week.

Sunshine Award

Get your residents and staff involved in this fun coloring activity to share sunshine and appreciation. Tell someone they brighten your day by presenting them a Sunshine Award.

Display your Sunshine Awards on resident doors, decorate the halls, promote/share on Facebook, and find other creative ways to get your community involved!

Choose from multiple awards to download, print, and distribute for residents and staff to color and share their appreciation. Click here to download yours today!

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Isolation & Reduced Activity Health Risks for Seniors

Throughout the health crisis, older adults have followed national health expert’s advice to stay home and socially distance. While social distancing has certainly been necessary, limited social interactions and lack of physical activity have created new health challenges for older adults. Staying indoors and isolated from family and friends, may leave you feeling lonely, depressed, and anxious. Also, many adults have greatly reduced their level of physical activity triggering issues with mobility, balance, and overall strength. Some people may not realize this can also impact your lung function, functional independence, and overall quality of life.

How Can Outpatient Therapy Help you?
As experts in movement and functional activity analysis, physical and occupational therapists play an important role in helping individuals who are at risk of functional decline. From strength training that aims to restore lost muscle strength to balance training that can greatly reduce your fall risk, our goal is to proactively address challenges you may be facing to ensure you maintain an independent and active lifestyle.

If you answer “YES” to any of the below questions, talk with your doctor about a prescription for outpatient therapy.

  • Is pain affecting your daily activities?
  • Have you recently fallen?
  • Are you unable to walk your usual distances?
  • Do you have difficulty getting out of bed?
  • Are you out of breath quicker when walking?
  • Do you have weakness that’s affecting your daily activities?
  • Have you noticed weight gain or loss?
  • Are you having difficulty with bathing, dressing, toileting, or preparing meals?
  • Are you recovering from COVID-19?
  • Are you experiencing memory issues or difficulty focusing?
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2021 Audit Forecast: Cloudy with a Chance of Storms

Blog by: Stacy Baker, OTR/L, RAC-CT, CHC, Proactive Medical Review

Following a year of little to no medical review and extensive government spending, most experts forecast reimbursement compliance audits ramping up in 2021. Multiple areas are ripe for potential scrutiny, including, but not limited to PDPM coding and supportive documentation, the proper use of SNF waivers, and appropriate access to and accounting for Provider Relief Funds. Get the facts and ensure readiness with these insights into the current audit environment and the medical review entities that may rain on providers in the months ahead. CMS suspended audits between March 30 and August 3 of 2020 in order to reduce provider strain during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, however, audits are resuming in full swing.

  • Under the new Biden administration, many industry leaders and healthcare attorneys predict an uptick in audits and healthcare prosecutions with “both government initiated litigation and qui tam suits…set for continued growth in 2021” according to Georgia Ravitz et. al (i) With Xavier Becerra, a former prosecutor, appointed secretary of HHS, the government is poised to advance fraud prevention efforts.
  • False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries in FY2020 were $2.2 billion, down from $3.1 billion in 2019 and lower than any year since 2008 at a time when spending has escalated throughout the pandemic. Healthcare made up 85% of FCA recoveries in 2020 and that trend is likely to continue through both standard channels and a focus on new risk areas such as telehealth billing fraud. ii
  • Recovery Audit Contractors are now authorized to review for Medical Necessity and Documentation Requirements specific to the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM), and the OIG has added new focus to the Work Plan to identify program integrity risks associated with Medicare telehealth services during the pandemic.

Click here to continue reading this blog.

 

About Proactive Medical Review
HTS partners with Proactive Medical Review, a third party company who specializes in ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and promoting measurable care excellence. The team includes SNF experienced nurse, MDS, Health Facility Administrator, therapist and reimbursement specialists with experience serving in multi-site contract therapy operations, as corporate directors of quality, clinical program specialists, and Compliance Officers. Proactive is uniquely positioned to assist in managing the many changes and challenges facing providers partnered with HTS. Learn more about our commitment to compliance here.

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Exciting Changes in Executive Leadership at HTS

Healthcare Therapy Services, Inc. has announced exciting changes in our executive leadership roles. Please see the message below from Barry Chatham.

The Chatham family is very pleased to announce that Cassie Murray, OTR, MBA, QCP has been promoted to be the President of HTS. Cassie has served HTS for 27 years in various roles from a front-line therapist, Regional Director for southern Indiana, and recently a dual role as the Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

She will be responsible for operational leadership and will continue to ensure excellent care and support to the patients of our partners. Cassie has served HTS well, and her support and knowledge of healthcare and incredible work ethic are major reasons for our success.

Steve Chatham will take over as CEO and will help to support Cassie and the leadership team. Steve will continue to man the helm and provide strategic, financial and operational leadership for HTS and affiliate companies.

I am blessed to stay on as the Chairman of the Board and to be involved with our continued growth and new opportunities for HTS. These blessings continue as we remain focused on our mission and the core of why I created a Christian company. We will always stay very focused to live our mission statement based on Jeremiah 29:11 to provide a hope and a future.

Barry Chatham, Board Chairman
Healthcare Therapy Services, Inc.

Please join us in congratulating Cassie Murray, President of HTS.

 

Cassie Murray, OTR, MBA, QCP

President of HTS

Healthcare Therapy Services, Inc.

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Now introducing… STEADY:  A Comprehensive Therapy Approach to Fall Prevention.

Experts in rehabilitation, HTS is committed to introducing new clinical programs and best practices that improve patient care delivery and outcomes. With falls being the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for people 65 years of age and older, HTS has revitalized our Falls Prevention Program with evidence-based assessments, interventions, and resources. This new program, STEADY, provides the most advanced therapeutic interventions and treatment practices to adhere to the HTS commitment of perfecting rehabilitation.

Now introducing… STEADY:  A Comprehensive Therapy Approach to Fall Prevention.  STEADY is a therapy-driven fall prevention program designed to be utilized by Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy.  The overall purpose of this program is to reduce the prevalence and risk of falls while improving the quality of life for our patients.

The HTS STEADY Program includes tools and resources on fall risk factors, evidence-based assessments and interventions, and educational handouts for patients and caregivers. The STEADY program provides a program protocol, fall prevention analysis tool and a falls tracking log to drive program efficacy.

This program will address many of the factors that lead to falls, such as:

  • Physical Inactivity
  • Fear of Falls
  • Low Vision
  • Balance & Mobility
  • Polypharmacy
  • Foot and Ankle Health
  • Cognitive Function
  • Urinary Incontinence
  • Sleep Health
  • Pain
  • Vestibular Dysfunction
  • Environmental Modifications

Patient and caregiver education is a vital component of this program.  For patients, STEADY provides essential health literacy tools to use at home such as: exercise handouts, home safety checklists, daily pain diary and more.  For caregivers, education is focused on environmental modifications, safe patient transfers, wheelchair and bed positioning safety, and instructions for getting up from a fall.

For more information about the HTS STEADY Program, please contact your HTS Regional Director.

Need a Powerful Therapy Partner? Contact Amanda Green, Executive Director of Strategic Development amanda@htstherapy.com for information about our contract therapy partnerships.

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Skilled Nursing Facility PEPPER Report Now Available

The fourth quarter fiscal year 2020 Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Reports (PEPPER) are now available for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to download through the PEPPER Resources Portal. These reports summarize provider-specific data for Medicare services that may be at risk for improper payments. This data can be used to support internal auditing and monitoring activities.

To obtain your SNF PEPPER report, please follow the following steps:

  1. Visit the PEPPER Resources Portal
  2. Complete all the fields; and
  3. Download your PEPPER report

Click here to visit the PEPPER Resources Portal.

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LTC Surveys to Resume in Indiana on 4/12/2021

On April 12. 2021, the Indiana Department of Health, Division of LTC will resume federal and state health surveys for both nursing homes an residential care facilities. All surveyors have been updated with the Long-term Care Survey Process (LTCSP) Procedure Guide that was effective February 6, 2021. Surveyors will review facility information 12 months prior to the survey entrance date, unless there is a need related to complaint or other concerns that would require information past the 12-month time frame.

Click Here for More Details on Nursing Home Surveys.

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CMS Announces Some Waiver Flexibilities As Ending Effective 5/10/2021

On April 9, 2021, CMS issued a new Memo to State Survey Agencies (QSO-21-17-NH) resulting in an end to a few waivers which were granted under the PHE.

The below flexibilities will end effective 5/10/2021:

  • The emergency blanket waivers related to notification of resident room or roommate changes, and transfer and discharge notification requirements
  • The emergency blanket waiver for certain care planning requirements for residents transferred or discharged for cohorting purpose
  • The emergency blanket waiver of the timeframe requirements for completing and transmitting resident assessment information Minimum Data Set (MDS)

Changes in QSO-21-17-NH were updated on April 8, 2021 and made available to providers via this link: COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health care Providers. Please note, waivers that will end effective 5/10/2021 are found on pages 18-19 of the linked document are in red, strikethrough font

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CMS Releases FY 2022 SNF PPS Proposed Rule

On April 8, 2021, CMS released the new Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Proposed Rule which, once finalized, is effective October 1, 2021. This proposed rule updates Medicare payment policies for facilities under SNF PPS for fiscal year 2022. The proposed rule also includes information for the SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) and SNF Value-Based Program (VBP) for FY 2022.

See below for the most significant areas of updates:

  1. FY 2022 updates to the SNF payment rates
  2. Methodology for recalibrating the PDPM parity adjustment
  3. Rebase and revision of the SNF market basket to improve payment accuracy under the SNF PPS
  4. New Blood Clotting Factor Exclusion from SNF Consolidating Billing
  5. Changes in PDPM ICD-10 Code Mappings – The ICD-10 code mappings and lists used under PDPM are available on the PDPM Website at: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/MedicareFee-for-Service-Payment/SNFPPS/PDPM
  6. SNF QRP update – modification to the public reporting SNF quality measures
  7. SNF VBP Program proposal to suppress the SNF readmission measure

For more information on this proposed rule, please visit the Federal Register’s Public Inspection Desk under “Special Filings,” at http://www.federalregister.gov/inspection.aspx.

 

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Managing Morning Stiffness

Do you often wake up feeling stiff and sore in the morning? Do you have trouble getting out of bed or walking into the kitchen to get your breakfast? This is commonly known as morning stiffness that is caused by worn joints, muscle tightness, or arthritis. We feel this tightness in our bodies more frequently in the morning due to the hours of inactivity while sleeping. The area of stiffness varies by person, but most say in the morning is when it feels the worst. Research shows pain will subside about an hour after waking or soon after moving.

To help ease morning stiffness, keep these tips in mind…

  • Medication: Keep pain-relieving or anti-inflammatory medications by your bedside and take them 30 minutes prior to getting up.
  • Arm & Leg Circles: Moving arms and legs gently in a circular motion while lying in bed can help relax muscles and get the blood circulating.
  • Stretching: While still lying in bed, incorporate stretches that target the stiffest areas of your body including the back, hips, knees, and shoulders.
  • Heat: Before or after stretching apply a heating pad or take a hot bath to help loosen tight muscles and make it easier to get moving.
  • Joint Cream: Putting joint cream on specific areas of tightness can provide short-term relief and make it easier to move and stretch.
  • Herbs and Supplements: Herbal treatments like fish oil, evening primrose, borage, or black currant oils may ease joint stiffness and inflammation from arthritis.

If morning stiffness affects your ability to safely get out of bed or is keeping you from enjoying activities, talk with your doctor about the benefits of physical and occupational therapy.

How Can Physical & Occupational Therapy Help?

After a thorough evaluation, therapy may recommend different sleep positions and exercises to improve flexibility, strength, and range of motion. Additional specialized treatments may include hot and cold therapy, therapeutic massage, and the use of pain-reducing technology such as electrical stimulation and ultrasound therapy.

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