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For internal use only. Please do not distribute.
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Weekly Newsletter for Employees of VNA Care Network Foundation
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To ensure you're seeing the Connecter in its entirety:
- PC Users: right-click on the download images button at the top of this email.
- iPad Users: hold stylus down on images button until menu appears. Select download pictures.
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CONNECTER
ARCHIVES
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Below is this week's issue of the Connecter newsletter, which is required reading for all employees. The next edition will be published on Monday, December 14, with articles due to connecter@vnacarenetwork.org by Friday, December 11. |
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KEY DATES TO REMEMBER:
- Tuesday, December 15: Town Hall Meeting > Worcester
- Tuesday, December 8 - Encore Maintenance
- Tuesday, December 15 - Town Hall Meeting > Southborough
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IN THIS ISSUE:
SERVICE EXCELLENCE
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES
CLINICAL APPLICATIONS
HUMAN RESOURCES
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
QUALITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
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December 7, 2015
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Volume 4, Issue 49
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Service Standard of the Week:
Communication Etiquette
We follow communication standards and expectations when engaging in electronic and telephone communications; ensuring to always use a warm and friendly tone. Attributes of Communication Etiquette: - Use VNA communication etiquette standards, answering all calls within 4-rings and with a smile; thanking the caller, giving them your name, using hold carefully, and keeping them updated if they are on hold.
- Leave clear and detailed voicemail messages, including your name and your call back phone number.
- Never use voicemail to avoid calls.
- When necessary ask the caller, "May I place you on a brief hold?" Eliminating call transfers whenever possible.
- Adhere to communication messaging standards.
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Service Excellence Champion Group
The Service Excellence Champion group meets monthly to discuss ways to further our organization's commitment to exceptional service excellence.
Key Initiatives Being Worked On:
- Streamlining communication methods and tools
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- Town Hall Meetings
- Service Excellence training for new employees
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- Improving the patient experience
- Huddle strategies
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Please contact the Champions listed below if you would like to have an initiative or issue reviewed at the next meeting. Thank you!
- Ann Bohac
- Debbie Brown
- Katie Callahan
- Jen Casper
- Simone Charpentier
- Lori DeRosa
- Wendy Drake
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- Jill Enwright
- Kelly Frew
- Dave Hanley
- Brielle MacDonald
- Cheryl Milas
- Mary Ann O'Connor
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- Adele Pike
- Lorraine Potter
- Dave Rose
- Kathy Souleotis
- Geri Spina
- Charlvic Williams
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Submitted by Geri Spina, Clinical Services Manager in Needham, on behalf of patient M. Smith
She says: "I just had to call and thank you for such wonderful staff. They are very compassionate and Esther and the others are so wonderful. Make sure you let them know!
What a great thing that a patient makes that effort!! That says they must have stood out. Kudos to Esther, Diana and Laurie!!
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 Scenes from the Street
Share your pictures from the office or the field with us by sending them to connecter@vnacarenetwork.org!
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Submitted by Michele Mercuri
Our PT Kristin was recently greeted at the door by this handsome couple...a pair of goats!
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| | Big thank you to Suzie Blacker, RN covering the Arlington area, for hosting State Senator Kenneth Donnelly on a recent home visit. See certainly did the VNA proud! |
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| ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES |
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Past Due Notice: Medicare Advantage: Fraud Waste and Abuse Competency
If you have not completed the Medicare Advantage Fraud Waste and Abuse module, the deadline for completion has past. We are offering a grace period through December 12...so you need to act NOW.
The module can be accessed through the Ed portal and will be listed on your home page after you sign into the portal. It is a set of powerpoint slides that you need to review and a 1 item quiz at the end that you need to complete. Short, sweet and mandatory for ALL VNA Care Network, VNA Hospice Care, and VNA of Boston employees.
The easiest ways to get to the ed portal are: Only 5 more days to get it done.....JUST DO IT!
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Town Hall Meeting Dates
See below for Town Hall Meeting dates, times, and locations. A location is still being worked on for the Needham office/Tippett home. All meetings will run from 8:30-10am. Please note that these meetings are an important communication vehicle and provides an opportunity to hear about important agency initiatives and updates, and as such, they are mandatory for all staff to attend. - Tuesday, December 8: Worcester/Rose Monahan > Worcester office
- Tuesday, December 15: Southborough/New Horizon > Southborough office
- Tuesday, January 5: Needham/Tippett > location TBD
- Thursday, January 7: Leominster > Leominster office
- Thursday, January 14: Woburn > Woburn office
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Fall Prevention Program Thank You!
By Claire Jameson RN and Judy Manning, RN, BSN
We would like to thank Nancy Ryan, PT and Catherine Frasco, PT for the awesome job that they did in instructing the Seniors in the towns of Holden, Hudson and Maynard during their 6 week Fall Prevention Program sponsored by Tufts Health Plan. The seniors were certainly inspired to do their daily exercises. They did not realize that you do not need to run the Boston Marathon to" get up and move." Thank you again for supporting us in this endeavor.
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Important McKesson Reminders for Clinicians
By Kathy Schuft, Clinical Application Specialist
I have been asked to remind clinicians of a few key items that will help everything run smoothly.
- Do not cancel Admission or Resumption of Care visits. If the patient is not seen for any reason please call the scheduling department and they will take care of the visit. If you need to write an OM Note in this circumstance you may write it in the Notes section of Clinical Explorer as you will not be able to write it in Interactive Scheduler.
- Do not use any visit that is scheduled for another day until it has been moved to today. It causes many problems in the background. If you need a visit that was scheduled for another day that week you will need to go to Interactive Scheduler and move the visit to today first and then you may use it.
- Do not use a visit assigned to someone else. If you are asked to make a visit and it has been assigned to another clinician please call the scheduling department for correction.
Your assistance here is appreciated. If you have any questions you may contact me at 617-886-6968 or kschuft@vnab.org. You may also call the Clinical Application Help Line at 617-886-6730.
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McKesson Update for VNAB Home Care and Hospice Monday Night December 28
By Kathy Schuft, Clinical Application Specialist
A McKesson update has been scheduled for the night of Monday, December 28. It will contain necessary regulatory changes for year end as well as some enhancements. Information about the changes will be communicated to staff at a later time. These are the details regarding the upgrade:
The night of the upgrade:
- The system will be shutdown at 9pm sharp on Monday, December 28
- During the shutdown the following systems will be unavailable:
- Horizon Homecare for VNAB & Hospice
- TeleHealth Interface
- WebChart
- Web Referrals
- Laptop Users:
- An ESD transfer will be necessary on or after Tuesday, December 29
- Full detail and instructions regarding the ESD transfer will be communicated in an email.
- Please be aware that the ESD transfer will need to be performed in the office via network cable. Further detail to follow.
- iPad Users and Office Staff:
- You must be signed out of the system by 8:45pm to avoid losing any documentation
- Please do not log on again before 6am the next morning
If you have any questions please contact Kathy Schuft at 617-886-6968 or kschuft@vnab.org.
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Worcester Driveway/Entrance Construction Extended
The work being performed to the Worcester roundabout is now expected to take longer than planned. Please be aware that the roundabout driveway at the Worcester office will be unavailable this Thursday and Friday (Dec. 10-11) and then again Monday and Tuesday of next week (Dec. 14-15) . Repairs will be happening between the hours of 8a-4p, but the area will be inaccessible throughout the duration of the project. Questions? Contact Lorraine Potter, Director of Facilities, at lpotter@vnab.org or 508-751-6826.
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Carpet Cleaning
The Facilities Department will begin cleaning carpets this week. This will mostly take place on weekends or after hours to minimize the inconveniences involved. The schedule for the carpet cleanings as follows: - December 8 - Charlestown 8:00pm-10:00pm
- December 11 - Danvers 4:30pm-8:00pm
These dates are weather permitting. If we need to, we will reschedule as soon as possible. We will let you know when we schedule the other locations as well. If you have any questions, please contact Tim Anderson at 508-756-7176 X6961.
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Open Enrollment
We are in the final stages of determining health insurance benefit information for 2016. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more information in the Connecter as well as in-person sessions that will be scheduled in our office locations.
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Employee Referral Bonus Program Expanded to Include LPN, PTA, and COTA!
The referral bonus program has been expanded to include employee referrals for RNs, LPNs, PTs, PTAs, OTs, COTAs, and SLPs. If you would like to refer a friend, family member, or colleague, please inform the appropriate Human Resources Representative at your location prior to the applicant coming in for an interview. Please note, when two or more employees refer the same applicant, the referral bonus will be split equally amongst the employees. Referral bonuses are paid out after the referred employee's three and six month anniversary, as long as they are in a paid status at those intervals. Please contact Cheryl Milas at cmilas@vnacarenetwork.org or Debbie Brown at dbrown@vnab.org for more information.
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Job Postings - VNAB and VNAHC
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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Job Postings - VNACN and VNAHC
To learn more about career opportunities, contact a human resources representative:
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Employee Advisory Team Suggestions
To suggest an area of focus to the Employee Advisory Team (EAT), please email your suggestion to EATSuggestionbox@vnab.org. Suggestions can include ideas to improve current processes and procedures, remove redundancies, or even to provide feedback on something you think is/is not working. Please feel free to discuss any issues that you would like brought to EAT with the following members of the committee:
- Liz Bourne
- Ray Brackett
- Linda Britt
- Kim Dio
- Kelly Frew
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- Mary Helen Mahoney
- Susan Marlin Procter
- Mary McCarthy
- Ilona O'Connor
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- Mary Ann O'Connor
- Mae Powers
- David Rose
- Danny Yang
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EAT is also on the lookout for new members. If you're interested in participating, or for more information on what EAT is all about, please reach out to any of the members listed above. Meetings are held monthly in the Charlestown office.
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Encore Maintenance Tuesday Night
Tuesday night, December 8, there will be Encore Database Maintenance starting at 8PM that may last up to 2 hours, hopefully shorter. An email will go out when complete. There will be no access to the system or communication allowed during this time. Please see your local MIS support with any questions.
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MIS Department On-Call Staff for this Week
For Encore issues including communications, Encore laptops, WebVPN and general technology
- Through Friday, December 11, 11:59 PM - Gary Weller: (774) 239-6064
- Beginning Saturday, December 12, 12:00 AM - Eric Bromberg: (774) 463-7320
For McKesson issues including iPads and laptops and general technology (support is provided weekdays 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, weekends and holidays 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM)
- Through Tuesday, December 8, 10:00 PM - Cathy Langone (617) 913-3003
- Beginning Wednesday, December 9, 6:00 PM - John Williams (617) 913-3003
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| QUALITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT |
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AHH CHOO!!!! Here Comes The Flu!
By Carol Morris, Patient Care Program Manager and Marilyn Bowden, Patient Care Manager
For the purpose of OASIS, CMS defines the influenza season as 10/01 through 3/31 of the following year. Per the CMS guidelines this date range is the time period utilized in the computation of the process measure. So, how does this affect the vaccine questions on the transfer & discharge OASIS tool?
(M1041) Influenza Vaccine Date Collection Period: Does this episode of care (SOC/ROC) to Transfer/Discharge include any dates on or between October 1 and March 31?
□ 0-No [Go to M1051]
□ 1-Yes
When answering this question, look carefully at the SOC or most recent ROC date. If the date is after March 31 & before 10/01 and the last visit occurred before 10/01 then the answer will be NO as the entire episode is outside the designated period.
If any part of the episode, from SOC or most recent ROC falls within the designated dates the answer will be YES. ALERT-the question is not asking you if the vaccine was given during the designated time. The question is asking if the patient was receiving services during the calculation period of 10/1 to 3/31. Please review dates carefully. If No (0) is picked incorrectly, the Agency does not get the opportunity to show that the patient received the influenza vaccine for the current flu season and get credit for it in one of the YES responses in M1046.
(M1046) Influenza Vaccine Received: Did the patient receive the influenza vaccine for this year's flu season?
□1 - Yes; received from your agency during this episode of care (SOC/ROC to Transfer/Discharge)
□ 2 - Yes; received from your agency during a prior episode of care (SOC/ROC to Transfer/Discharge)
□ 3 - Yes; received from another health care provider (for example: physician, pharmacist)
OUTCOME ALERT- THIS IS ONE OF THE STAR RATING OUTCOMES
Example: the patient receives the flu vaccine from the Agency on Sept. 22 when the vaccine became available. The most recent ROC was Sept. 9 and the discharge date is Oct. 17. In this scenario, the answer will be yes (1) for M1041 and yes(1)-received from agency during this episode of care (ROC to Discharge) for M1046.
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PATIENT CARE MANAGERS
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Name
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Email
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Cell
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Position
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Covering Office
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Bowden, Marilyn
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774-502-7478
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Patient Care Manager
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Danvers and
Gloucester
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Dunn, Maria
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508-688-2449
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Patient Care Program Manager
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Leominster and Southborough
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Gardner, Elaine
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617-680-1105
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Patient Care Manager
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Charlestown
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Gill, Christine
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774-502-5725
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Patient Care Manager
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Worcester
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Mihalick, Kyra
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617-913-6823
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Patient Care Manager
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VNAB Therapy
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Morris, Carol
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617-913-3006
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Patient Care Program Manager
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Quincy
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Saxena, Surabhi
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774-463-7336
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Patient Care Manager
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Leominster and Southborough
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Vitello, Maura
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774-502-7475
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Patient Care Manager
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Needham
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QI SUPPORT
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Covering Office
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Name
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Email
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Office Phone
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Position
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All VNAB
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Hughes, Kim
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617-886-6501 x5419
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QI Support Coordinator
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All VNACN
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Schultz, Chris
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617-886-6501 x6527
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QI Support Coordinator
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All VNACN
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Rao, Shamala
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508-756-7176 x6876
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QI Nurse
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| December 7, 2015 |
The Connecter
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Volume 4, Issue 49
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FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
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Confidentiality Notice: The Connecter newsletter is an internal communication intended only for employees of VNA Care Network Foundation and Atrius Health. Information contained within this newsletter includes confidential, proprietary, and privileged content. Unauthorized forwarding, printing, copying, distribution, and/or negligent handling is strictly prohibited and could result in disciplinary action.
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