The last day to receive the early bird discount rate for the  64th Annual Convention & Expo, Quality Trek,  is August 1, 2018, so register now and save! 

Additionally, we are very excited that the New Mexico Department of Health Division of Health Improvement has registered thirteen surveyors to attend the Convention and Expo. We look forward to them joining us!

Last week NMHCA Executive Director met with leadership from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Region VI Office. A portion of the meeting was dedicated to providing an update from the CMS Division of Nursing Homes. Their presentation included the current status of the long-term care survey process; trainings, resources, and highlights; Payroll-Based Journal; and updates on the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care. The Division of Nursing Homes also included a list of the top 10 deficiencies under the new survey, which included infection prevention, food procurement–storage, comprehensive care plan, accident and supervision, label/store drugs and biologicals. A full list of the top ten deficiencies, along with common reasons they were cited can be seen on page ten of the presentation.

As you know, CMS Requirements of Participation, require all skilled nursing facilities to have a trained infection control specialist by November 2019. One of the key issues in infection control is the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant infections.  According to a recent McKnight's article, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rolled out the second installment of a four-part training series on antibiotic stewardship. This installment focuses on outpatient antibiotic use, inappropriate antibiotic use, and communicating whether these medicines are necessary or not with patients.

The New Mexico Department of Health will hold a public hearing on the adoption of a new rule, 7.5.5 NMAC, “New Mexico Statewide Immunization Registry” or NMSIIS, on September 13, 2018, in Santa Fe. The proposed rule will add sanctions to entities, including long-term care facilities, that may be non-compliant with reporting immunization information to the statewide registry.

NMSIIS reporting has been in effect for long-term care since 2013 and is mandatory for all immunization providers. If your facility has not already started immunization reporting, you must first contact the New Mexico Department of Health Help Desk at 1-800-280-1618 or 505-476-8526 and register, along with getting training for reporting any immunizations given by facility. To visit the NMSIIS website click here. A training video is available here.

For further information, please contact Pat Whitacre at the NMHCA office at 505-880-1088 or pwhitacre@nmhca.org.

Last year, NMHCA received CMP funds to send ten CNAs to the National Association of Health Care Assistants CNA Conference. This year, NMHCA has applied for those funds, and pending CMS approval, NMHCA will begin accepting applications for CNAs to attend the national conference in Little Rock, Arkansas on August 21-22.

If you wish to send a CNA to the conference, you can start identifying potential candidates. The minimum standards for a scholarship are:

• Minimum of one year of service in current center. 
• Meet or exceed organizational standards for attendance and professionalism. 
• Embody the highest standards of the CNA profession. 
• Be endorsed by elders/residents, center’s leadership, and/or peers. 
• Receive preferential consideration if they have served for a period of more than 20 years.

To be considered, the candidate must submit a short essay outlining their commitment to quality and resident satisfaction along with three letters of recommendation: one from their administrator, one from a resident or family member, and one from a peer. 

"THE SUCCESS GROWER", written by NMHCA Board Member, Mark Schinnerer, has been nominated for a 2018 Author Academy Award, an honor bestowed for literary merit and publishing excellence in the writing and publishing industry.

Mark's book is up for an award in the Self-Help category, which tells the story of about how an individual was given the steps and process to create success in his life and how it can work for others looking for success in their career, life and relationships. Click here to learn more.