brought to you by the Home Health Quality Improvement (HHQI) National Campagin
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Sandwich Generation Month is an annual commemoration and celebration of the dedication, patience and caring of adults who are part of the sandwich generation - those caring for their own children as well as their aging parents.
The annual recognition of Sandwich Generation Month is every July, with organizations and communities throughout the United States holding events to raise awareness of and provide support for members of the sandwich generation.
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Congratulations to the new HHQI Agency of the Month
"Citizens Baptist Home Health is thrilled to be recognized as the 'Agency of the Month' for HHQI. This recognition is a testament to the hard work our team displays every day and our commitment to bringing patients the highest quality home health care available."
Beth Gray
Director
Citizens Home Health & Hospice
Would you like the chance to show the nation how committed to quality improvement your home health agency is? Nominate your agency today.
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Get a Head-Start on CE Requirements
Summer time is here and you are trying to get some relaxation time in. What about taking a couple of free continuing education (CE) courses through HHQI University? Get a few under your belt now rather than waiting until your renewal is due. There are now 7 free courses available - all of which include free nursing CEs from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Available CE Courses:
- NEW! Master the Maze of Blood Pressure Medications
- Fundamentals of Medication Management
- Cardiovascular Health for At-Risk Populations
- Lifestyle Management for Cardiovascular Health
- Tobacco Effects & Cessation Medications
- Blood Pressure Control & Smoking Cessation
- The State of Cardiovascular Health
Click here to download the flyer with brief descriptions and number of CE credits (page 2).
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Have You Watched HHQI's New Educational Videos?

Because new information is often more likely to be understood and retained when presented in a multimedia format, HHQI's new videos are great tools that clinicians can use to reinforce patient education. Click here for a list of available videos for patients and clinicians.
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HHQI Data Reports: Free to all CMS-certified HHAs
Have you registered on the HHQI Data Access System to access your agency's custom data reports? HHQI uses OASIS data to generate custom data reports on Acute Care Hospitalizations, Oral Medications Management, Influenza & Pneumococcal
Immunizations, and Cardiovascular Risk for all CMS-reporting home health agencies. June
 2015 reports were recently uploaded. These reports require no additional work on your behalf. They're waiting for you now in the HHQI Data Access System. Register or log in now to see how your agency ranks among the nation's other CMS-reporting home health agencies.
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Downers Grove, Illinois | July 17, 2015 | 10am-3pm CT
Discover Buried Treasure in Your HHQI Data Reports
As a home health professional, you are inundated with day-to-day demands such as regulatory and compliance issues, budget cuts, denials, etc. leaving little time or resources to interpret data reports, research evidence-based practices, and develop patient and clinician tools. HHQI can help. During a free, hands-on workshop on July 17 in Downers Grove, Illinois, the Home Health Quality Improvement (HHQI) National Campaign team will provide personalized interactive guidance on data interpretation and the next steps toward developing and sustaining a strong quality improvement plan.
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Members Only | July 23, 2015 | 2-3pm ET
July CardioLAN Webinar Registration Now Open
On July 23, HHQI will present a free webinar for Progressive Cardiovascular Learning & Action Network (CardioLAN) members. This webinar is the second half of a 2-part webinar series that reviews Next Steps in Progressive Cardiovascular Care after the Home Health Cardiovascular Data Registry report is in your hand. The first half of this webinar series (presented in June) discussed the Aspirin and Blood Pressure topic areas; the July webinar will discuss Cholesterol and Smoking Cessation. Click here to access the June recording or to register for the July webinar.
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Medicare & Medicaid: Keeping Us Healthy for 50 Years
On July 30, 1965, the landscape of health care in America changed forever when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the landmark amendment to the Social Security Act, giving life to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Read more. 
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 Are You Ready for ICD-10?
October 1st is coming quickly for the start of ICD-10. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has a Quick Start Guide to assist you in your preparation. CMS also has many tools and resources to prepare and train your staff.
Check out the Road to 10 website for a wealth of information.
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Star Ratings: New Rating, Name Change & Report Updates
Many stakeholders have proposed that the patient experience of care measures, based on the HHCAHPS survey data, be reflected in the star ratings. CMS has been developing "Patient Survey Star Ratings" that are based on the patient experience of care measures, and these are now scheduled for publication on Home Health Compare in January 2016. In order to distinguish the star rating based on OASIS assessments and claims data from the new Patient Survey Star Ratings, CMS has changed its name from "HHC Star Rating" to "Quality of Patient Care Star Rating." This should allow Home Health Compare (HHC) users to more easily understand the data source for each star rating. Report Updates:
- The first Star Report will be available to the public on HHC on July 13, 2015.
- Available in CASPER for 120 days for HHAs
- The next Star Preview Reports were made available for HHA review on June 30 and will be available to the public on October 8, 2015.
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CMS proposes major initiative for hip & knee replacements
CMS has announced a new proposed model for hip and knee replacements. This model's focus is related to reducing complications including infections. An increase in payment is proposed for improvement rates for hospitals. CMS encourages hospitals to collaborate with home health, skilled nursing facilities, and Inpatient Rehab Units to improve care coordination.
See pages 58 and 59 of the Federal Register for a list of geographic locations proposed for this model.
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Supreme Court Upholds Health Law Subsidies
The Affordable Care Act survived its second Supreme Court test in three years, raising odds for its survival but by no means ending the legal and political assaults on it five years after it became law. Read more.
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HHS launches GIS-based tool for health disaster readiness
The HHS emPOWER Map is an interactive online tool recently launched to aid community health agencies and emergency management officials in disaster preparedness as they plan ahead to meet the emergency needs of community residents who rely on electrically powered medical and assistive equipment to live independently at home. Read more.
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Million Hearts CVD Risk Reduction Model overview, application overview & questions & answers
The Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model team hosted a webinar briefing on the model test and application process on Wednesday, July 1 at 2:00 PM EDT. Click here to view the presentation slides.
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HIS Chronic Care Webinars include free CEs
The Health Sciences Institute has an extensive library of recorded webinars and videos that have each been pre-approved for 1.0 hour toward CE recertification for Chronic Care Professional (CCP) and Registered Health Coach (RHC) certification and may meet other recertification or licensure CE requirements.
Click here to browse the complete library.
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Home Care resources from The Joint Commission
Click here to view and listen to previously presented webinars by the Joint Commission Home Care team and guest panelists on a variety of topics, including:
- I'm Accredited; Now What? A Guide to The Supportive Resources Available for Newly Accredited Home Care Providers
- Strategies to Address the 10 Most Commonly Cited Home Care Standards
- Leading Practices to Improve Staff Compliance in Home Care
- Preparing for Your First Home Care Resurvey; What to Expect and Lessons Learned from Other Providers
Additional home care resources from the Joint Commission for accredited organizations are available here.
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Resources from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement
The IHI Open School offers a collection of free resources including improvement stories, videos, publications, tools, audio clips, activities, and links to recommended websites. Resources are designed for individual and group use.
Check out IHI Open School's newly updated activities, which now include learning objectives, discussion questions, and facilitator guides.
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Geriatric Home Health Resources from CHAMP
The Collaboration for Homecare Advances in Management and Practice (CHAMP) Program was the first national initiative to advance geriatric home care excellence. CHAMP's valuable resources and e-presentations are still available online.
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This material was prepared by Quality Insights, the Medicare Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization supporting the Home Health Quality Improvement National Campaign, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The views presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.
Publication number 11SOW-WV-HH-MMD-071315
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