The WiAHC Spring Conference has moved to virtual! This gives you and your entire agency the ability to watch all conference sessions for one price. This is the first time you do not need to choose who attends each breakout session or who attends the WiAHC Spring Conference from your agency. Everyone can benefit, firsthand!

There are experts presenting from Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.  Five sessions are for new nurses presented by Teresa Northcutt, BSN RN COS-C HCS-D HCS-H, Senior Associate Consultant, Selman-Holman, A Briggs Healthcare Company. We have three sessions by Larry Prince, CEO and Managing Partner, Prince Health, LLC covering motivating employees and managing performance during times of change. Phil Ward, CHA, President of Hospice Operations, Community Hospice and Palliative Care presents on improving profitability of hospice GIP facilities and the evolution of business intelligence. Other topics include PDGM, infection control, revenue cycle management and many more.

Register today! Recorded sessions will be available starting June 4, 2020.

Pricing - Login to access your member rate!

• Level 1 Member Agency $250
• Level 2 Member Agency $500
• Level 3 Member Agency $750
• Non-Member Agency $1,000
  

Sessions

New Nurses Training (5 sessions)
Teresa Northcutt, BSN RN COS-C HCS-D HCS-H, Senior Associate Consultant, Selman-Holman, A Briggs Healthcare Company

HH Coverage and Regulations 101
This presentation will review the Medicare coverage requirements for the home health benefit, with tips for the initial assessment to determine if the patient is appropriate for home care admission.  The presentation will focus on documentation to ensure eligibility is met, especially for homebound status and medical necessity for skilled services. The role of the field clinician if the F2F encounter visit has not taken place will be discussed. The Conditions of Participation, Interpretive Guidelines, OASIS Guidance, ICD-10-CM Coding Conventions and Guidelines, and the regulations that are addressed by state surveyors will be explained.

Case Management
This presentation will discuss the principles of case management, solutions to “old” issues like aide supervision and care coordination, and the impact of PDGM on “new” challenges like LUPA management, therapy utilization and discharge planning.  One of the key features is team coordination – examine options for collaboration and documentation. 

Assessment and Care Planning
This presentation will examine the components of the comprehensive assessment, introduce OASIS data collection requirements, provide tips for documenting to support key OASIS item responses (those used for payment and Star ratings), brief discussion of intake information that should be available to clinicians prior to the SOC visit.  The steps in the care planning process, identification of patient and caregiver needs, goal setting and collaboration in development of the plan of care will be explained.

Best Practice Standards of Care Part 1 & Part 2
Part 1 will review evidence-based best practices for the drug regimen review (with med reconciliation), wound management, fall prevention, and reducing acute care hospitalizations.  Part 2 will review evidence-based best practices related to improving Quality of Care Star rating measures (pain, shortness of breath, management of oral medications, bathing, transfers and ambulation, timely initiation of care). 

Motivating Employees during Times of Change
Larry Prince, M.Ed., CEO and Managing Member, Prince Health, LLC

Organizations of all types have experienced unprecedented change due to regulatory, health care industry and reimbursement challenges. Change leads to diminished employee performance and lower employee motivation. Studies show that the greater the health care employee satisfaction, the greater the patient outcomes. Strong and focused leadership drives employee engagement, motivation and satisfaction. This presentation will help leaders learn different approaches to motivating employees leading to a boost in their engagement, satisfaction and performance

Redefining Therapy in Home Health Under PDGM
Shannon Liem, MS, CCC-SLP; COS-C, National Clinical Director-Home Health Services, Aegis Therapies

Whether you have an in-house therapy team or contract rehabilitation services from an outside vendor, you need to know what to expect from that therapy partnership. How does your therapy team contribute to your outcomes or support interventions for chronic conditions? This presentation will look to best practices to improve your collaborative and communicative efforts with your therapy team. Additionally, this course will help you recognize the interventions and documentation from therapists that support the patients durability of response; or whether the gains made in therapy will endure over time.

Evolution of Business Intelligence
Phillip Ward, Certified Hospice Administrator (CHA), President of Hospice Operations, Community Hospice and Palliative Care

This presentation will provide an overview of the development and evolution of the business intelligence function in our organization as we moved from “pushing data” through standard reports to an environment of “stage data” that allows ad hoc analysis of key performance indicators.

How Hospice Practices Can Support SNF Regulatory Guidelines
Ginger Davies, RN, IP, Nurse Consultant, Marquardt Management Services
Lauren Davis, RN, WCC, CLTC-DON, Clinical Advisor, Leading Choice Network

This presentation will help you understand the complex regulatory guidelines that skilled nursing facilities must follow and how the these might change the way you approach patient care planning in this setting. The presentation will cover the limits on use of psychotropic medication in SNF, antibiotic stewardship programs in SNF settings and the use of urinary catheters in the SNF setting.

Infection Control in Home Care and Hospice
Tammy La Rocco, RN, MSN, APNP, Home Care Clinical Manager, SSM Health at Home – Wisconsin
Jim Todd, PT, Quality and Safety Specialist Senior, SSM Health at Home

This presentation will provide an overview of best practice infection control in home care and hospice, as well as related information on the recent COVID-19 pandemic including appropriate measures for pandemic preparation and methods to have a successful incident command process for a pandemic.

Managing Performance during Times of Change
Larry Prince, M.Ed., CEO and Managing Member, Prince Health, LLC

Healthcare organizations are immersed in change, which can cause misalignment in setting shared goals and managing people’s performance. This presentation will help leaders boost organization accountability and improve implementation of a plan for managing all levels of performance. Strong performance planning is proven to increase employee satisfaction, which leads to better patient outcomes.

Positioning Back Office Infrastructure to Prepare for Growth
Victoria Nihan, MHA, Assistant Consulting Supervisor, McBee Associates

Home health organizations, both new and established, are now facing severe reimbursement and regulatory changes. This session will help identify opportunities to refocus business office initiatives to provide the greatest return on investment and better insight into the financial performance of the agency. The identification of an optimization team focused on developing a climate of change where quantifiable results can be monitored and sustained will be explored as the foundation of organizational agility. This session will aim to unlock performance indicators and optimal financial and operational performance systems designed to position your organization for growth and standardization, ultimately ensuring financial stability throughout an agency’s life cycle.

Hire Well, Live Well
Larry Prince, M.Ed., CEO and Managing Member, Prince Health, LLC

The expression: “Hire Well, Live Well,” grows in significance in the face of unprecedented industry and organizational change. How satisfied are you with the people you hire? This presentation will help deepen your understanding and skills in hiring the right people. A high level of proficiency with these skills leads to stronger hiring decisions, which can lead to a more productive and coordinated work team and minimize turnover. You will also learn methods for on-boarding new employees to set them up for success.

How to Improve Profitability of Hospice GIP Facilities
Phillip Ward, Certified Hospice Administrator (CHA), President of Hospice Operations, Community Hospice and Palliative Care

This presentation will provide an overview of factors leading to improvement of financial performance of a hospice inpatient facility including the marketing strategy, financial measures and improvement initiatives.

Revenue Cycle Management
Petria Pierre, CEO, Precision Medical Billing

In this day and age of high deductible health plans and insurance companies pushing more and more of the financial responsibility to patients, healthcare providers need to know and understand the importance of making patients priority #1 when it comes to getting reimbursed. We will give them the guidelines and tools needed to be proactively pursuing payment BEFORE services are done or at the time of service compared to, in the olden days, of sending a statement a month or 2 after services and been performed.

Exhibit
$500 WiAHC Associate Members, $750 Non-Associate Members

Sign up here to reserve your space in WiAHC's new Virtual Exhibit Hall (VEH)! Your participation includes the following promotional benefits:

• Exhibitors will be listed on a VEH landing page
• Each Exhibitor will have a dedicated “booth” in the exhibit hall to showcase information about your company’s product and services (each booth has capacity to display your logo, up to three images and/or videos, and up to three pdf documents)
• Ask Me Anything session with our members for 15 minutes (live option, recording pushed out to members and stored within your "booth")
  
• The VEH will be visible not only to registered conference attendees, but to everyone who visits the WiAHC website
• The VEH will be prominently featured on our home page and will remain “open” 24/7 up to the Fall Conference
• WiAHC will highlight its VEH exhibitors through social media
• Complimentary display ad on the home page of the website
• Complimentary display ad featured in three issues of the monthly member e-news

Please view this prototype Virtual Exhibit Hall to get an idea of how it will be displayed.

Sponsor
1 spot available at $2,500

Sign up here to sponsor WiAHC's new Virtual Exhibit Hall (VEH)! Your participation includes the following promotional benefits:

• All the benefits of exhibiting
• Premier placement in the exhibit hall
• Company logo displayed on home page of the Virtual Spring Conference
• Three-minute presentation opportunity to introduce your company and welcome attendees to the first ever WiAHC Virtual Spring Conference
• Company logo featured on Spring Conference Banner
• Complimentary display ad featured in an additional three issues of the monthly member e-news
• Additional 15 minutes for your Ask Me Anything session
  

July 8^th, July 29^th, August 5^th– 10:30am – 12:00pm

Part 1 - COVID-19:  Emergency Preparedness for a Pandemic – What Your Agency Needs to Know!

Healthcare is currently facing a Pandemic called COVID 19.  How prepared is your organization to handle a pandemic?   This webinar will take you through current information on the novel COVID-19 virus.  We will discuss conducting a risk assessment for both your patients and staff, mitigation, how to provide education and training to your staff, patients, and the community.  This webinar will also help your agency assess any potential gaps in your Emergency Preparedness Plan and dealing with a pandemic. A Tabletop Exercise will be discussed to help you conduct a gap analysis of your plan to identify any updates required to keep you compliant with the latest CMS guidelines.  You will be provided with the latest up to date recommendations to optimize your Emergency Plan and policies related to Infection Control and Prevention. 

Goals and Objectives of the Webinar upon completion

• Identify any gaps in your Emergency Preparedness Plan for COVID-19.
• Use a variety of tools recommended to assess your high-risk patient population, staff and healthcare facilities that serve your patient population.
• Explain the responsibilities of your organization to the public, patients, and staff in a pandemic situation.
• Distinguish between what are your immediate strategic steps to prepare for this current public health crisis and what are ongoing strategic steps to handle this crisis.

Part 2 - Infection Control & Prevention COVID 19 - Implementing a Comprehensive Surveillance Program

Healthcare is currently facing a Pandemic called COVID 19.  Has your agency set up a comprehensive surveillance program to support your infection control program during the novel COVID-19, a pandemic risk?  This webinar will teach your organization the necessary components to an Infection Control & Prevention surveillance program during a pandemic with a focus on novel COVID-19.  Discussed are components in surveillance during a pandemic, what data you should collect, what trends to pay attention to and what actions to implement in your agency for both patients and staff.   We will also review how to integrate your data and findings into your agency’s reports.

Goals and Objectives of the Webinar upon completion:

• Define how to establish and implement a comprehensive surveillance program during the novel COVID-19 Pandemic.
• Define higher areas of risk to incorporate into your surveillance plan.
• Distinguish which assessment tools to incorporate into your surveillance program.
• Know how to integrate and report infection control surveillance data

Part 3 - COVID-19 Best Practices - Patient Care, Staff Protocols, Containment and Contact Tracing

COVID 19 is presenting all of those within Healthcare to practice within a “new normal”.  Is your agency prepared to address all aspects of this new normal? This webinar will identify best practice policies, procedures and processes that should be implemented by your agency as we embrace our new normal.  Discussed are best practices for staff, patients, and the public.  Presented will be the use of technology as a tool, syndromic surveillance, a designated COVID-19 team, and your agencies role in contact tracing.  Best practice’s for communicating and supporting patients, staff, providers, and the public will be addressed. 

Goals and Objectives of the Webinar upon completion:

• Define the role Hospice, Palliative Care and Home Health will play within the CoVID-19 new normal.
• Define the role and responsibility of contact tracing.
• Explain key policies and procedures your agency must have in place
• Identify the critical steps required to implement best practices within a pandemic and after.

About the Presenter

Kathy Ahearn, RN, BSN, PHN - Ahearn Advisement Partners

Kathy Ahearn has both a Bachelor’s in Nursing and Social Work, serving the healthcare community for over 30 years.  She owns and operates Ahearn Advisement Partners located in Encinitas, CA.  Kathy has worked in a variety of post-acute care settings with an emphasis on home health and hospice, home infusion, homecare and skilled nursing.  She has a unique ability to identify agency challenges and opportunities quickly providing education, support and mentoring to organizations guiding them to a new level of operation.

Kathy started her Nursing career in Oncology and helped to develop pain scales with the American Pain Society and The Joint Commission.  She has been ahead of the curve working in retail pharmacy working on accreditation and reimbursement for disease states.  She has worked in medical device as a Managed Care Director developing one of the first real-time cloud-based disease specific (diabetic) software programs to assist patients, clinicians, and managed care organizations improve outcomes and collect data.

Kathy pursued an interest in healthcare due to a disabled parent.  She has experienced healthcare professionally and personally (mother and daughter) dedicating her life to improving patient quality of life.   She is continually working as a change agent for the betterment of all served in healthcare.

Cost: $120/member and non-member

Continuing Education

The Ohio Council for Home Care & Hospice is an approved provider of continuing education by the Ohio Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. (OBN-001-91)

Individuals requiring special arrangements as stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act, should notify OCHCH at least 48 hours prior to the program.

Register Here!

Program Description:
Post-acute care is key for accelerating hospital throughput to ensure beds are available during potential Covid-19 surges and for providing critical rehabilitation services for patients with and without a Covid-19 diagnosis. But the epidemic has upended the role post-acute should play, particularly the transition patterns between acute and post-acute providers.

Learn how each post-acute setting fits into a hospital’s updated discharge strategy and find opportunities to optimize relationships and support post-discharge care.

Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of the webinar, attendees will be able to:

• Describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the role post-acute should play
• Describe how each post-acute setting fits into a hospital’s discharge strategy
• Identify the opportunities to optimize relationships and support post-discharge care

Intended Audience:
CMOs, CNOs, Quality Leaders, Skilled Nursing, and Home Health

Featured Presenters:
Jared Landis is the Executive Director over the Advisory Board’s post-acute research practice and a national spokesperson for the company—regularly presenting at industry conferences such as the American Health Care Association, National Association for Home Health and Hospice, and Leading Age. In 2010, he helped launch and continues to lead the Post-Acute Care Collaborative, which provides original research and dedicated resources to assist post-acute and long-term care providers, as well as hospital systems. Jared is a subject matter expert (SME) in post-acute market trends, post-discharge care management initiatives, and acute/post-acute alignment strategies. Jared is a 2005 graduate of Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Questions:
For registration questions, contact Allison Taylor at ataylor@wha.org.

Fee:
There is no cost for this webinar.

August 13th, August 20th, August 27th - 1:00pm - 2:30pm CST

• Part 1 – Eligibility Requirements & Notice of Election

• Part 2 – Details of Medicare Claims Processing
• Part 3 – Face-to-Face, Hospice Cap, HIS & Top 5 Denial Reasons

Hospice billing staff are extremely valuable in the assurance that you are maximizing reimbursement in the most timely manner.  Medicare billing regulations can be overwhelming and clarifications are continuous.  Hospice Reimbursement is driven by excellent care and documentation and a billing staff that can bring it home.  

This three-part series will establish and/or cement the foundation for hospice staff that need to have a full understanding of Medicare regulations. Medicare eligibility verifications, field-by-field detail on Notice of Election and claim forms, and changes to the billing requirements will be covered. This series will review regulations for billing all hospice services, face-to-face encounters, and home health providing care while a patient is on service with hospice. Hospice information including the aggregate cap self-report, palliative care billing basics, and the latest on HIS updates and transmission requirements will be emphasized. If you are part of hospice revenue-cycle team, this webinar series is a must!

Part 1 – Eligibility Requirements & Notice of Election

The 2020 Hospice Rule brought some significant changes in reimbursement as well as the content of the actual Election Statement and future Addendum.  New and experienced hospice billers periodically need a review of eligibility requirements.  Eligibility and requirements for Notice of Election will be detailed during this webinar.  The updates to being able to correct a Notice of Election that was not filed, within the allowable time, will be reviewed.  This session will walk through the Late Notice of Election and the exceptions process of appeal.  A comprehensive review of all eligibility requirements, all aspects of dealing with Election statement changes and all things related to the Notice of Election will be included.

Part 2 – Details of Medicare Claims Processing

Accurate monthly claims and understanding of the navigation surrounding the edits and errors is key to getting paid correctly and timely.  This session will take billers through the step by step process of monthly Hospice billing and providing examples of how hospices have successfully dealt with recent changes.  The most recent of reimbursement changes will be addressed including proposed changes to the base rates for Hospice levels of care through rebasing.  This session will also provide a step by step through the content of the final claims and frequent billing issues.  Physician billing will be covered in this session.

Part 3 – Face-to-Face, Hospice Cap, HIS & Top 5 Denial Reasons

All of the nuts and bolts that hold Hospice reimbursement together will be covered in this webinar.  Face-to-Face requirements, physician billing, and the aggregate cap self-reporting requirement are a few among many of the daily reimbursement related challenges.  A review of specific HIS reporting requirements will be addressed to expand your agency's knowledge of Hospice reimbursement related components. Lastly, the top 5 denials reasons for denied claims under medical review will take agencies a step beyond the basics of just getting a claim processed for payment.

About the Presenter

Melinda Gaboury, is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Healthcare Provider Solutions, Inc., an organization out of Nashville, TN that provides financial, reimbursement, clinical and operation services to the home health and hospice industries.  With more than 27 years of experience in Medicare Home Health, she is a presenter at both the state and national levels, and is interviewed frequently for national home health publications.  Ms. Gaboury is also the author of "Home Health Guide to OASIS D: A Reference for Field Staff."  Ms. Gaboury has no conflict of interest in regard to this program.

Cost

$120/member and non-member

Continuing Education

The Ohio Council for Home Care & Hospice is an approved provider of continuing education by the Ohio Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. (OBN-001-91))

RNs and LPNs must participate in the entire program in order for contact hours to be awarded. To apply for nursing contact hours, please return a completed evaluation form and a $10 processing fee for each individual requesting hours.

August 31 - 1:00pm - 2:30pm

Hospice Election Statement Changes Effective October 2020….Are you ready?  This webinar will review the detail changes to the Hospice Election Statement that will go into effect October 2020. In addition to the Election Statement itself, there will also be an addendum requirement that will include many clinicians needing to fully understand what is allowed and not allowed under the Medicare Benefit and the regulations to support that decision. This webinar will assist in full preparation for implementation of these new requirements.  In addition there will be sample Election Statements and Addendums provided.

About the Presenter 

Melinda Gaboury, is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Healthcare Provider Solutions, Inc., an organization out of Nashville, TN that provides financial, reimbursement, clinical and operation services to the home health and hospice industries.  With more than 27 years of experience in Medicare Home Health, she is a presenter at both the state and national levels, and is interviewed frequently for national home health publications.  Ms. Gaboury is also the author of "Home Health Guide to OASIS D: A Reference for Field Staff."  Ms. Gaboury has no conflict of interest in regard to this program.

Cost

$60/member and non-member

Continuing Education

The Ohio Council for Home Care & Hospice is an approved provider of continuing education by the Ohio Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. (OBN-001-91))

RNs and LPNs must participate in the entire program in order for contact hours to be awarded. To apply for nursing contact hours, please return a completed evaluation form and a $10 processing fee for each individual requesting hours.

Thank you to McKesson Medical-Surgical for exhibiting in the WiAHC Virtual Exhibit Hall.  You can visit their booth here.  Please join them for a 30 minute session where you can ask them anything.  It will be approximately 15 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of Q&A.

At McKesson Medical-Surgical, our goal is to help you manage the challenges of running your agency in an everchanging industry. During this session, Steve Wanty will discuss the tools and resources McKesson can provide to help you achieve your goals of growth and increased productivity while enjoying the highest level of patient care. 

Join Heros for Healthcare for this conversation about creating a pathway that ensures the military training and hands-on experience of every Wisconsin Veteran is translated smoothly into their civilian healthcare career. We’ll hear about the development and implementation of Virginia’s Military Medics and Corpsmen Program. Representatives from the Virginia Department of Veterans Affairs will present on the logistics and challenges of creating their program. Following their presentation, a panel of experts will discuss the need in Wisconsin for a similar program and how it could be implemented here to address the growing healthcare workforce shortage. 

The Community Conversations series is an annual free event open to the public, our Veterans, active military, and our partners - to educate on and discuss issues relevant to our mission.

Learn more.