Inaugural “Trustee of the Year” Award Presented at the 66th AHCA/NCAL Annual Convention & Expo

The Not for Profit (NFP) Council of AHCA/NCAL presented the inaugural “NFP Trustee of the Year” award to Neil Gulsvig (pictured), immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors for The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society (Good Samaritan Society).  Mr. Gulsvig served two years as Chair preceded by four years in various committee leadership roles.  The Good Samaritan Society has more than 240 locations across the country and is the largest NFP provider of senior care and services in the USA.

The new award presentation was made by Mark Parkinson, AHCA/NCAL President and CEO, during “NFP Day” at the 66th AHCA/NCAL Annual Convention in San Antonio, TX.  Other dignitaries participating in the ceremony included David J. Horazdovsky, President and CEO of the Good Samaritan Society, and Steve Chies, Chair of the AHCA/NCAL NFP Council and past national Chair of the AHCA/NCAL Board of Directors.

Mr. Gulsvig’s 35-year career spans all aspects of long term care and senior services.  He is perhaps best regarded for his years leading MyInnerView, Inc.’s joint effort with AHCA/NCAL to promote and encourage the use of customer and staff satisfaction surveys at skilled nursing care and assisted living centers.  Today, as CEO of Align and Living Life Solutions, Mr. Gulsvig is still an active participant in developing efficient services and supports and offering a focus on patient transitions.

The AHCA/NCAL Trustee of the Year award will be presented as part of the NFP Day at the Annual Convention.  The award will be an integral part of the AHCA/NCAL Awards Program and will recognize a trustee who demonstrates several key attributes, including a commitment to faithfully executing the functions of the board, fostering effective board practices, showing a passion toward the organization’s mission, and, lastly, being willing to devote the time and energy necessary to be successful.

A Work Always in Progress

“CARC Inc. was the 2015 AHCA/NCAL Awards recipient for the NFP Program of the Year award for its community benefit program called the “Work Services Program” (WSP), which provides opportunities and support for people with special needs to find employment in the Carlsbad, New Mexico community.

“The WSP identifies employment needs of the community and integrates its clients into that environment,” according to CARC CEO Mark Schinnerer. “It’s a stepping stone for individuals to develop good work habits and learn social skills.” Listen to one satisfice local business: “The clients of CARC Inc. perform landscaping services for the bank under the direction of a coordinating supervisor, always performing in an above satisfactory manner,” said EVP of Carlsbad National Bank Chris A. Bird. Other supervised operations for the community include Rainbow Recycling, Document Destruction, running a country store, landscaping and even operating a large farm to supply a local processing plant with pecans to sell nationwide.

West Jordan’s Board President, Carolyn Olson, feels “The best part of the program is the satisfaction of the clients when they receive their paychecks. Words cannot explain the pride and self-worth clients gain from their employment.” The next career step in CARC’s “career ladder” is the Supported Employment Program where clients have greater autonomy and earning potential. 

The 2015 NFP Program of the Year award was presented at the AHCA/NCAL Annual Convention in San Antonio, TX, on October 7, 2015. 

Living the Mission: A Day for NFP Providers a Success

The third annual day for NFP providers was held during AHCA/NCAL's 66th Annual Convention & Expo in San Antonio, Texas on Tuesday, October 6. The constituency education program for NFP providers was packed with motivational and educational speakers, including CMS and HUD. Lee Ellis (pictured), President and founder of Leadership Freedom® LLC, was our keynote speaker and is a popular media personality and high-profile human performance expert. Lee focused on organizational integrity, operational effectiveness and personal accountability for enterprise, government and NFP leaders. A prolific writer, blogger and thought leader, Lee's latest award-winning book, Leading with Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton, shares his POW experience and the 14 leadership principles that helped him and his compatriots resist, survive, and return with honor. Attendees also had the opportunity to attend the NFP reception, which capped the day off.

If you have any questions about NFP Day, please contact AHCA's Senior Director for NFP & Constituent Services, Dana Halvorson, at dhalvorson@ahca.org.

NFP Grassroots Advocacy

 

Steven Chies, AHCA’s NFP Council Chair, encourages AHCA’s NFP providers to participate in our grassroots advocacy efforts in 2015.  AHCA would like to help you get facility tours and in-district meetings set up over future recess days.  Please provide your name, facility address, and email address and we will craft the invite and send it to you to send to the Congressional office.  The four brief steps for a successful facility tour visit can be found here.  Please feel free to contact Matthew Smyth and Dana Halvorson who can help you with all of the logistics.

AHCA’s NFP Council member, Van Moore (pictured to the right), meets with Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR-2, pictured on the left) at the Oregon Veterans’ Home in The Dalles.  Van discussed with the Congressman issues impacting AHCA/NCAL members, including the observation stays issue.

NFPs Engaging in the Political Process

For more information on how NFPs can engage in the political process, please review this webinar and handout from Wiley Rein, LLP.  Both documents will give members of 501(c) 3 tax exempt organizations an overview of what they can and cannot do in regards to lobbying and political activity.  For issue briefs, talking points and more, visit AHCA’s advocacy page.

U.S. Congressional Calendars

As you are planning your visits with members of Congress and their staff in Washington, D.C., or in your district, the Congressional calendars will be of assistance to you.  The U.S. House of Representatives calendar for the 114^th Congress, first session, can be found here.  The U.S. Senate schedule for 2015 can be found here. The dates in black reference the times the U.S. Senate is in session.  The red dates represent when the U.S. Senate is in recess.  

AHCA/NCAL Advocacy App

If you haven’t already heard about it, then we wanted to alert you to a great app that allows you to keep abreast of AHCA advocacy efforts.  Among other things, it provides important talking points, issue briefs and features that allow you to take action.  It will be useful not only to you, but serves as a great way for providers to weigh in.  You can get the app by clicking on the appropriate black box below.

 

Download our advocacy app!

   

AHCA’s State of the States Clearinghouse

AHCA members have access to key Medicaid and Medicare information through the State of the States Clearinghouse.  The AHCA State of the States Clearinghouse is a one stop shop for key Medicaid and Medicare information impacting the long term care profession.   

This new resource provides valuable data, including:

·         Overview of the demographic landscape;

·         State-specific nursing center occupancy and ownership breakouts; 

·         Certificate of Need requirements for nursing centers and state licensure requirements; 

·         State data on the cost of care for long term services and supports;  

·         State data on the total number of Medicare enrollees; 

·         Data on state Medicare Advantage plan enrollees and comparisons to the national average; 

·         State and national Medicaid expenditure data;

·         State Medicaid rates, costs and shortfalls;

·         And other significant state-specific data related to payment structure, managed long term services and home and community based services coverage.

AHCA will continue to provide the most up-to-date information through the Clearinghouse and share new data/resources as they become available.  Also be sure to visit the AHCA Medicaid Page to learn more about the program and to access additional AHCA members-only Medicaid resources.

We’ve Got You Covered! AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions Website

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) now offers a variety of comprehensive insurance programs to meet your business needs. Backed by the strength of our membership, AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions programs are designed with exclusive member savings and discounts for both the fully-insured or self-insured members.

The program offers health insurance options, group and voluntary benefit packages, an aggressive Stop-Loss insurance program as well as cloud based HR platforms that will help members achieve savings and greater efficiencies on HR services within your company, while also tracking and reporting on key Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements.  For more information, please contact AHCA’s Dave Kyllo at dkyllo@AHCA.org and visit the AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions website.  

Articles and Resources of Interest

• Influenza Vaccination: A Summary for Clinicians – cdc.gov
• Seasonal Influenza Vaccine & Total Doses Distributed – cdc.gov
• Early flu treatment reduces hospitalization time, disability risk in older people – cdc.gov
• Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among Health Care Personnel — United States, 2014–15 Influenza Season – cdc.gov
• Memory and Healthy Aging – cdc.gov
• Take a Stand on Falls – cdc.gov
• Disaster Preparedness: Alzheimer's Caregiving Tips – nia.nih.gov
• Tight Control of Type 2 Diabetes May Help Prevent Dementia – healthfinder.gov
• Alzheimer's Disease Medications Fact Sheet – nia.nih.gov

Legislative and Agency Corner

• HRSA Strategic Plan FY 2016-2018 – hrsa.gov
• Final Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020 Released – hhs.gov
• Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay for Direct Care Workers – dol.gov
• Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) in Indian Country – cms.gov
• Multifamily, Health Care Facilities, and Hospital Mortgage Insurance Premiums for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 – federalregister.gov
• HHS launches resources system to improve disaster preparedness – hhs.gov
• HHS takes next step in advancing health equity through the Affordable Care Act – hhs.gov

Webinars of Interest

Stay informed and tune in to AHCA/NCAL-hosted pre-recorded and live webinars on a number of topics impacting the long term care profession.

In addition, CMS released a webinar earlier this year entitled, Caring for the Caregivers: Using REACH into Indian Country to Support People Caring for Patients with Dementia and Alzheimer’s. This webinar is a discussion with IHS and VA staff on coordination, collaboration, and training opportunities for the REACH into Indian Country. 

Association Launches New Learning Management Website

AHCA/NCAL recently launched a comprehensive online Learning Management System to support the training needs of its members. The website, known as ahcancalED, contains a wealth of information including educational programs, webinars, instructional videos, training courses, and other tools. It is available free to AHCA/NCAL members.

We created ahcancalED for our members who do not have the time or budget to develop the newest in-service training," said Dr. David Gifford, AHCA/NCAL Senior Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs. "Our objective also was to provide the best and latest educational tools, especially as CMS increases its regulatory requirements about staff training and competency in a number of areas. ahcancalED is designed to help individuals in our profession do a better job of caring for patients and residents and advance in their careers."

 

The information on ahcancalED is structured to make the online learning experience engaging, meaningful, and interactive for users. The fresh graphics and clearly defined sections within the site make it easy for users to navigate and find the information they need. The site also allows users to track their own learning progress.

Teams of experts from around the country working with AHCA/NCAL staff helped to create the content. "We will constantly be adding new programs and materials so that we can keep the site fresh and dynamic," said Gifford. "We'll continue to look for new ways the site can grow and serve our members. It's a great value-added benefit and a tangible example of our commitment to enhancing quality."

ahcancalED can be accessed at https://educate.ahcancal.org/. Suggestions for content or other site enhancements can be submitted to the ahcancalED team at educate@ahca.org .  AHCA/NCAL welcomes ideas that will help improve quality and strengthen the knowledge, skills and attitudes of staff in the long term and post-acute care community.

Personal Excellence: The BIG Decision Each Person Must Make

Dr. Bryan K. Williams states in one of his blog postings that, “No one can make you have enthusiasm. Success, vitality, and achievement are all a direct result of it. One of the most beautiful sights to behold is someone who is fully engaged in what they do and enthusiastic about their craft. I love to see that. At the end of the day, however, enthusiasm is a personal choice. Despite the best leadership practices and organizational standards, having a strong commitment comes down to each person making a personal decision about how exceptional they are going to be.”  To read the full blog posting, please click here.   

Dr. Williams is a consultant, trainer, and author, who focuses on the areas of service excellence and organizational effectiveness.  He has spoken at numerous AHCA/NCAL events, and his passion is to serve others so they may better serve the world.  Here is a link where you can see some of Dr. Williams’ book recommendations on service, leadership and personal development.

From the Blog of Josh Linkner

Noted on the Josh Linkner blog, “To Josh Linkner, creativity and innovation are the lifeblood of all human progress. As such, he’s spent his career harnessing the power of creative disruption.  His journey has been non-traditional at every step. As the founder and CEO of four tech companies, Josh built his businesses from a blank page into a combined value of over $200 million. As a hyper-growth CEO of over 20 years, he’s used innovative approaches to topple competitors, fight through adversity, and achieve at the highest levels.”  The bio section of Linkner’s blog goes on to include that, “Josh is an internationally-recognized thought leader and top-rated keynote speaker on innovation, creativity, reinvention, and hyper-growth leadership. His keynotes are focused on not only inspiring audiences, but also sharing actionable strategies to drive meaningful outcomes.”  Read some of Linkner’s blogs below.

• The Math of Worrying
• Ignore the Critics
• Flip the Fear
• A New Theory of Relativity

National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities

The National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) holds a monthly call or webinar concerning topics of interest to those who work in the field of aging and disability.  One of the past calls focused on resources for people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias and their caregivers.  Information about future calls, and audio recording of previous ones, can be found here.

2015 Health Care Observances

The 2015 AHCA/NCAL Health Care Observances Calendar can be found here.  November marks, among other observances, National Family Caregivers Month, National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, and American Diabetes Month.