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March 2, 2015
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Volume 4, Issue 9
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SERVICE EXCELLENCE
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 SERVICE STANDARD OF THE WEEK
Service Standard #8: Workplace Safety
We assess and maintain a safe work environment.
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AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES
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CLINICAL SERVICES
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Clinical Services Announcements and Updates
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Please Don't Forget!! VNAB Supply Order Classes - March 5 at 8:30AM in Charlestown
- March 5 at 2:30PM in Charlestown
- Weekend Team - to be scheduled
VNAB will be making changes in how we order patient supplies. Byram Medical's Customer Service Excellence Center in Worcester, MA is now prepared to handle all of our supply calls. VNAB nurses will be able to order supplies for all patients, regardless of insurance plan, using the Byram Medical Supply Phone Order System. This process will be similar in many ways to using the VNAB Supply Line, except that you will be speaking live with a customer service representative. Byram has assembled a dedicated five person customer service group who will be working to take our supply orders. They are product experts, and will be able to answer your product questions efficiently. They will also be able to alert you promptly if there are any "special approval" needs for off Formulary items, and they will be able to give you voice-to-voice or email confirmation that your supply order has been shipped to your patient. The training sessions will be conducted by Stacie Craig, our Byram Account Manager, and will take approximately 30-40 minutes.
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Infectious Disease Conference See below for an invitation to the Infectious Disease Conference to be held on Tuesday, March 31, 2015. While this free event is not offering CEU credits, it promises to be a great presentation on infectious disease preparedness. Please see the bios of the confirmed speakers to date. - Colin Basler, DVM, MPH, who is an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer with the CDC. Dr. Basler was a part of the CDC's response team for Ebola and can speak to both national and international infectious disease response.
- Alfred DeMaria, Jr., M.D., who you may know as our State Epidemiologist. In addition, Dr. DeMaria serves as the President of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and will be speaking to the work done by that organization, as well.
- Alexander Isakov, MD, MPH, who serves as the Director, Section of Prehospital and Disaster Medicine and Executive Director, Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response at Emory University.
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FACILITIES
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New Contact Information for Quincy and Weymouth Staff Click here for a phone directory of staff impacted by the Braintree office move. Quincy - Quincy main number: 617-657-5400 (rings at the Charlestown reception desk)
- External Access to Quincy VM: 617-657-5405
- Quincy fax: 617-657-5401
Weymouth
- External Access to Weymouth VM: 508-751-6818
- There is no receptionist in the Weymouth office. You need to know the extension or spelling of the person's last name to reach them.
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FUND DEVELOPMENT
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Boston Globe Grant Program
By Jane Woodbury, Vice President of Fund Development
The Boston Globe is again offering grant dollars for non-profit organizations that can be put toward advertising that we would use for our special events for awareness of our organization.
If you subscribe to the Boston Globe, please look for their mailing to you on this. Please fill out the voucher with that mailing and return in the postage-paid envelope that was supplied. Indicate the name of the non-profit as either VNA Care Network with location Danvers/Needham or VNA Hospice Care with Woburn or VNA Boston, Charlestown. Note the Boston Globe calls this their 2015 Grant Program. The more vouchers collected, the larger ad space provided.
Thank you for your attention to this.
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HUMAN RESOURCES
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EAP Newsletter: March 2015
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Be an "Active Listener" to Improve Relationships
Active listening" is a critical skill for professional counselors. It's used to help clients feel they are being truly heard. The term "active listening" actually originated in business literature to help managers communicate more effectively. You can benefit from these skills too. Here's how: 1) When listening to another person, show your interest by changing your emotions appropriately to react to the speaker's point, concern, or idea. Emotionally participate in the story. 2) React to any good news like it is part of your own life. 3) When a story gets lengthy or complicated, pause to paraphrase what you've heard in your own words to show interest. Retention is the highest form of flattery in conversation, so demonstrating recall rather than mindless listening always makes a huge impact.
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Library on the Dangers of Using Marijuana
If you're a concerned parent looking for information on the dangers of marijuana, you'll find a list of 150 studies at www.populartechnology.net (search "marijuana"). 2014 was a banner year in terms of awareness about some of the hazards of using marijuana, such as hospitalizations from ingesting pot-laced brownies to suicides, and there were even some murder investigations focused on people who had smoked pot (ABC News, April 25, 2014). Pot is getting stronger. In February, a new form of super-pot called "skunk" hit the news. UK authorities say that its users have a dramatic increase in the likelihood of psychosis after using it.
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Nutrition Awareness Information
In honor of Nutrition Awareness Month, download a library of nutrition tip sheets at www.eatrightPRO.org (search "nutrition tips and handouts"). Discover 25 healthy snacks for kids, how to eat healthy on the run, how to create healthful nutrition habits in your child, "eating right" tips for older adults, how to examine food labels on the foods you buy, how to create a healthy "power breakfast," how to eat nutritionally on a budget, 20 ways to enjoy more fruits and vegetables, and more.
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The Mindfulness Movement
Have you seen the term "mindfulness" online, off-line, and in the health news? Mindfulness is an approach to well-being and health that entails learning how to pay attention in the moment and gain improved self-awareness using techniques like slow breathing, focused concentration, and meditation to relax, gain control over anxiety and depression, deal with fears, reduce stress and pain, and improve concentration. Mindfulness helps you feel centered, helps you slow down, makes you less reactive to the stresses of life, and helps you be more productive. Mindfulness is gaining mainstream acceptance in medical school training to help professionals understand its use in supporting the treatment of many medical conditions. For more information, check out the just-released book Mindfulness for Dummies.
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Improving Your Creativity
Do you think creative people are "born that way"? Creative people may have natural abilities, but they have something even more important-habits and beliefs that support creative thought. If you adopt a few of these habits, you will boost your creativity too. Creative people usually do or believe the following: 1) Challenge accepted ways of doing things. 2) Have self-awareness for their preconceptions (biases and ways of viewing problems) and challenge them. 3) When faced with a problem, see it as a challenge, not a roadblock. 4) Are not ashamed, embarrassed, or hesitant about offering up a wild idea or solution to the group. 5) Believe in their ability to be unconventional and think "outside the box." 6) Are always willing to listen to someone else's wild idea while suspending disbelief. 7) Set aside time to think creatively and ponder solutions. 8) Believe that if people want something bad enough, they will find the solution. 9) Are not afraid to try new things. Experimenting with and adopting these habits will lead you to more frequent and creative ideas. You will wake up with new solutins or having sudden insights out of blue. You will find more excitement in the average or ordinary day, and don't be surprised if it's you who imagines the magnificent solution to a big problem that stumps others.
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Vitamin D Health Awareness
Ask your doctor about vitamin D, and whether you need more of it. Most people think of vitamin D as the "bone vitamin," but there's a lot more to it. Some medical experts believe vitamin D is more like a hormone than a vitamin. Only recently has the big news emerged: Vitamin D has a role in helping prevent many serious diseases and illnesses. The discovery of vitamin D's benefits was a top-ten medical breakthrough in 2007. Sunlight is our primary source of vitamin D; however, the risk of skin cancer from too much sun has given sunlight an overly bad rap. Over one billion people have inadequate amounts of vitamin D, and 64 percent of North Americans are believed to be at risk for numerous diseases from having too little vitamin D. Learn more "at" the University of San Diego by visiting www.ucsd.tv (search "sunlight and your health").
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Stress in America Survey 2015 Results
Every year since 2007, the American Psychological Association has commissioned a "Stress in America Survey." And, just like each of the previous years, money stress tops the list in 2015. Seventy-two percent of Americans say they worry about money at least some of the time, and 22% say they worry about money much of the time. Emotional support is what most people report as helping them cope best with money stress-specifically, having someone they can turn to, such as family members and friends. If you're stressed about money, support is crucial because it has positive ripple effects. For example, those who had emotional support were likely to worry less, participate in fewer sedentary and unhealthy coping behaviors, make more life changes, and be less likely to have their stress levels become worse. Get guidance and help from a counselor for how to find emotional support if you are suffering from money stress problems-even if there appear to be no immediate answers to increasing your income.
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When a Nap Comes Knocking
New research suggests a 30-minute nap is all it takes to reverse the hormonal impact of a night of poor sleep. This is the first study that found napping could "restore biomarkers of neuroendocrine and immune health to normal levels." Lack of sleep is recognized as a public health problem. Insufficient sleep can contribute to reduced productivity as well as increased vehicle and industrial accidents, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who sleep too little are more likely to develop chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression. The findings support the development of practical strategies for addressing chronically sleep-deprived employees. Source: www.endocrine.org (search "napping").
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Rehab Management Openings See below for two exciting clinical management opportunities currently open. Internal applicants are always encouraged, so please contact Debbie Brown at dbrown@vnab.org if you are interested or for more information. Manager of Rehabilitative Services - Charlestown Office Manages all activities and resources pertaining to an operations service team cost center that provides clinical care to patients. Maintains operations processes, and practices that ensure compliance with federal and state law and regulations. Manages all operations functions directly and indirectly related to billing for service to patients. Manages staff to ensure functional operations. Director of Rehabilitative Services The primary role of the Director of Rehabilitative Services is to work with Senior Management Team to advance organization's strategic plans and key indicators as well as to advance rehab clinical practice through oversight of rehab management and staff. The Director of Rehabilitative Services will oversee activities related to rehab staff development, performance improvement, and patient and staff satisfaction. The Director will possess the leadership skills to advance best practice guidelines for rehabilitation services and to facilitate accreditation and survey success. Education-Master's or Doctoral Degree in PT, OT or SLP preferred. Experience- Minimum 5 years clinical experience. Minimum 2 year in a progressive leadership role. Home care experience preferred. Possess required knowledge, skills and abilities; proven oral and written. Ability to select, motivate, retain managers and staff. Ability to effectively manage and direct others. Ability to analyze practices for efficiencies and effectiveness. Ability to promote and lead team and agency strategic efforts.
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Job Postings - VNA Care Network and VNA Hospice Care
To learn more about career opportunities, contact a human resources representative:
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Job Postings - VNA of Boston and VNA Hospice Care
To learn more about career opportunities listed in the links above, contact Debbie Brown, Human Resources Manager at dbrown@vnab.org. |
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QUALITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
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HEAR YE! HEAR YE!
CALLING ALL OASIS C TOOLS
 All OASIS C tools will be removed from the McKesson system on 3/15/15. If you discharged or transferred a patient before 1/1/15 then you need to submit the proper tool immediately.
Please review your current caseloads to insure that you do not have any outstanding tools. If tools are required after 3/15/15 they will need to be submitted on paper.
Thank you,
The Quality Department
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Influenza Vaccine: M1041
By Marilyn Bowden, Patient Care Manager
One of January's articles discussed the new OASIS items related to Influenza Vaccine M1041 Influenza Vaccine Data Collection Period: Does this episode of care include any dates on or between October 1st and March 31st and M1046 Influenza Vaccine Received: Did the patient receive the influenza vaccine for this year's flu season?
Test your knowledge by scoring those questions based on the following scenario:
Mrs. Slade is being discharged on May 1st, 2015. Upon review of the medical record, the assessing clinician determines the SOC was October 15, 2014 followed by 3 Recertifications and no Transfers. Clinical documentation states the patient received her influenza vaccine from her neighborhood pharmacist on October 7, 2014.
How would M1041 and M1046 be answered? For M1041, only go back to the most recent SOC or ROC to determine if the patient was receiving home health agency services on or between October 1 through March 31.
If you answered M1041 (1) Yes and M1046 (3) Yes, you are correct.
THANK YOU for your hard work and your dedication to excellent patient care and Oasis accuracy. Questions? Contact the Patient Care Manager in your office.
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OASIS & Coding Education Sessions Calling all Clinical Staff: During the month of March, we are conducting the first of four quarterly and required OASIS & Coding Education Sessions to be held this year (March, June, September, and November). Please plan to attend one of the sessions each quarter if you are a clinician or clinical manager. This quarter's focus is OASIS C-1 Updates, Risk Identification, Risk Adjustment, and the Heart Failure Patient. Each week the schedule will be updated in The Connecter. We are requesting attendance by not only those in the field who complete OASIS tools/forms, but also the Clinical Managers, LPNs, PTAs, and COTAs, as the OASIS is an assessment influencing the plan of care and the outcomes of our work. Thank you. 
Patient Care Managers
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Office
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Name
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Office
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Cell/Direct
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Position
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Braintree
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Carol Morris
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781-535-5380
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617-913-3006
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Patient Care Manager
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Charlestown
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Elaine Gardner
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617-886-6464
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617-680-1105
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Patient Care Manager
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Danvers
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Marilyn Bowden
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888-663-3688 X1271
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774-502-7478
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Patient Care Manager
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Gloucester
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Marilyn Bowden
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888-663-3688 X1271
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774-502-7478
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Patient Care Manager
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Leominster
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Terry Dancewicz
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888-663-3688 X1341
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774-502-7481
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Patient Care Manager
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Needham
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Maura Vitello
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888-663-3688 X4536
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774-502-7475
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Patient Care Manager
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Southborough
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Maria Dunn
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888-663-3688 X1317
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508-688-2449
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Patient Care Program Manager
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Worcester
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Susan McGeary
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6824
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774-232-1628
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Patient Care Manager
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