AAPACN 2023 Award Winners

Celebrating the AAPACN 2023 Award Winners At the AAPACN 2023 Conference held in Las Vegas last week, AAPACN honored the work of five LTPAC professionals who embody the vision and values of AAPACN – integrity, innovation, inspiration, and influence – and who have made a lasting impact on post-acute care …

What Role Should the NAC Sign Up for in iQIES?

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that MDS assessment submissions and reporting will transition to the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) on April 17, 2023. To prepare for this transition, skilled nursing facilities must register for an account in the HCQIS Access Roles and …

Tell Your LTC Story: What Brought You to Long-Term Care (LTC) and Why Do You Love It?

AAPACN asked members to share their long-term care (LTC) story – what brought them to LTC and why they love it. Below is a collection of stories from AAPACN members who are passionate about their careers and wanted to spread their love for caring for the elderly and everything in-between …

Strengthen Care Plans to Reflect the Residents’ Needs

by Michele Mummert, RN, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, DNS-CT, Director of Research and Development, The Compliance Store Care planning is the foundation of resident care in the long-term care setting. Everything done to care for the resident rests in the care plan. Inadequate care plans that do not appropriately address the resident’s …

Five Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining MDS Coordinators

Written by Michael Daniels, RN, DNS-CT, QCP, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA All one needs to do is peruse the long-term care (LTC)/skilled nursing facility (SNF) job openings online for a few minutes to realize that something is amiss. Frenzied healthcare staffing recruiters seem to crawl from the woodwork as they compete to …

SNFs, Are You Ready for the October 24 Survey Changes?

On Oct. 24, 2022, surveyors will begin using new survey guidance to identify noncompliance with QAPI, trauma-informed care, and resident safety, including abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Skilled nursing facility (SNF) leaders should be in the process of reviewing and updating their systems and processes to maintain compliance. To ensure SNFs …

CMS Releases Draft MDS 3.0 Nursing Home Comprehensive (NC) Item Set – How Can Nursing Homes Start Preparing for the Changes?

On Sept. 1, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the draft MDS 3.0 Nursing Home Comprehensive (NC) Item Set, version 1.18.11, which is scheduled to become effective Oct. 1, 2023. Among the major changes seen in the new item set, CMS removed section G from the …

4 Tips for Surviving the Mental Load of the NAC’s Job

The nurse assessment coordinator’s (NAC’s) job is mentally taxing. There is so much to keep track of—assessment reference dates, when to complete an interim payment assessment, how the case-mix adjusted components impact the Patient-Driven Payment Model and reimbursement, how to code every section of the MDS, when to deliver beneficiary …

Burnout: How Can Nurse Leadership Help?

By Melanie Tribe-Scott, BSN, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, QCP                        The U.S. Surgeon General recently issued an advisory highlighting the urgent need to address the health worker burnout crisis across the country (Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, 2022). In a press release, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated …