COVID-19/Novel Coronavirus Update 6-15-2020

LEADINGAGE KANSAS UPDATES

Important for Advocacy – Do Any of Your Board Members Have Good Connections with SPARK Task Force Members?
We need your help to identify individuals to connect with members of the Governor’s “SPARK” task force.  We’re talking people that know a SPARK member well – individual board members, individual family members or residents, leadership staff or other staff members.  

SPARK will provide the recommendations to the Governor and State Finance Council on how to spend the $1B coming to the state from the federal government for COVID-19 relief. We need multiple avenues to get our LTC priorities considered. The Task Force is moving quickly, so we need the names of contacts right away. Once we get contact names, we will follow up with them so they have talking points to convey.

1. Tom Bell, President and CEO, Kansas Hospital Association, Topeka, Kansas
2. Lyle Butler, President and CEO, Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce (retired), Manhattan, Kansas   
3. Senator Jim Denning, Vice President, Discover Vision Centers, Overland Park, Kansas
4. Jill Docking, Senior Vice President, The Docking Group – Baird Financial, Wichita, Kansas  
5. Alise Martiny, Business Manager, Greater KC Building and Trades Council, Shawnee, Kansas 
6. Natalie Haag, Attorney, Capitol Federal Savings, Topeka, Kansas
7. David Harwood, Senior Vice President, Terracon Consultants & Chair, KANSAS Works State Board, Olathe, Kansas
8. Senator Tom Hawk, Ranking Minority Member, Senate Ways and Means Committee, Manhattan, Kansas
9. Representative Dan Hawkins, House Majority Leader, Wichita, Kansas  
10. Edward Honesty, Jr., President & Chief Operating Officer, Best Harvest Bakeries, Kansas City, Kansas      
11. Chuck Mageral, Proprietor, Free State Brewing Company, Lawrence, Kansas
12. David McCarty, Owner, McCarty Family Farms, Colby, Kansas
13. Senator Carolyn McGinn, Chair, Senate Ways and Means Committee, Sedgwick, Kansas
14. Shelia Nelson-Stout, President and CEO, OCCK, Inc., Salina, Kansas  
15. Neelima Parasker, President & CEO, SnapIT Solutions, Overland Park, Kansas
16. Jim Robinson, Partner, Hite Fanning & Honeyman, Wichita, Kansas
17. Secretary David Toland, Department of Commerce, Topeka, Kansas
18. Representative Troy Waymaster, Chair, House Appropriations Committee, Bunker Hill, Kansas
19. Representative Kathy Wolfe-Moore, Ranking Minority Member, House Appropriations Committee, Kansas City, Kansas

We Need to Brainstorm Together on SPARK Asks – Please Provide Your Thoughts by Wednesday
What ideas do you have for what the SPARK Task Force could provide grants for aging services COVID-related needs?   Here are some of the ideas we’ve heard from members:  regional LTC-designated mobile testing units, funding for staff and resident testing, funding for providers to establish permanent isolation units, state-funded regional alternate care sites, grants for regional alternate care multi-stakeholder planning, provide every NH  and AL with rapid-response test equipment when it becomes available, staff retention bonuses, grants to providers to offset the extra COVID-related expenses they have incurred. Please send your ideas to debra@leadingagekansas.org. The LeadingAge Kansas Board will be taking up this issue and your input will help them determine what are priority asks are the for SPARK Task Force.

Reopening Plan Finally Released from KDADS for Nursing Facilities Only
KDADS Released Reopening Plan for nursing facilities last Friday morning. Guidance for state-licensed facilities (assisted living, home plus, etc) has not yet been released.

LeadingAge Kansas, KHCA, and KACE will host live webinars on Monday and Tuesday at 3:30 with KDAD’s Deputy Secretary Scott Brunner and Deputy Secretary Janis DeBoer to review this plan and answer your questions.  Registration is required. Attendance is limited to 250 lines, and both sessions will be recorded and posted by all three Associations.  This information will apply to Nursing Facilities.  Assisted Living, Home Plus and Residential Health Care will be addressed at a later time once KDADs has guidance finalized for them.

• Registration for Monday, June 15^th at 3:30.
• Registration for Tuesday, June 16^th at 3:30.

KSBN Weekly Update
Here is the latest information and updates from the Kansas State Board of Nursing.

LEADINGAGE KANSAS UPDATES

Join us for Weekly COVID-19 Calls to Discuss the Latest Affecting Our Field
The next call is Friday, June 19^th | 10 AM.  Register today.  Please note, space is limited to 101 lines, so it will be first come, first served. There will be a recording in case you have to miss it.

Other COVID-19 Topics Brought to You by LeadingAge Kansas:

• June 18^th | 1 PM Webinar: Self-Care for the Caregiver: It’s Critical, NOT Selfish.
• June 23^rd | 1 PM Webinar: Dementia Communication ‘on Steroids’ during COVID.
• June 25^th | 1 PM Webinar: Engagement Technology – Now More Than Ever.

View all of our other upcoming webinars about COVID-19.

FEDERAL UPDATES

• Is CMS saying your Nursing Home didn’t report into NHSN?Here are the Top 4 Reasons CMS Thinks Your Nursing Home Did Not Report into NHSN.
• Article on Provider Relief Fund clarifications on Medicaid distribution. A Senior Advisor to HHS Secretary Alex Azar joined last Friday’s LeadingAge national call to answer questions about Provider Relief Fund Medicaid distributions and the Medicaid portal. He clarified that the deadline to apply was moved to July 20 to be consistent with other provider types.  He said they are still trying to resolve the issues around Medicaid providers who are part of the same tax ID number as a Medicare provider who received funds already. 
• Read this Article on CMS’s June 10 Hospice FAQs.
• Rules for Paycheck Protection Updated.
• June 16, 1-2 PM. – Applying COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Strategies in Nursing Homes – During this CDC call, presenters will use case-based scenarios to discuss how to apply infection prevention and control guidance for nursing homes and other long-term care facilities that are preparing for and responding to COVID-19. Advanced registration is not required.  To participate https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1615543668. Or via Phone call US: +1 669 254 5252 or +1 646 828 7666. If you are unable to attend the live COCA Call, the recording will be available for viewing on the COCA Call webpage a few hours after the live event ends. The slide set will be available under “Call Materials” on the COCA Call webpage.

LEADINGAGE NATIONAL UPDATES

• LeadingAge’s Daily Need to Know for 6-15-2020.
• Coronovirus Daily Member Update for 6-12-2020.
• Please register for daily live online updates here.Today they will feature our own Karen Sturchio from Kansas Christian Home. Make sure you tune in or listen to the archives.
• Miss a call? Check out the call archives.
• Go to www.leadingage.org/covid19 for all info, resources and connection opportunities.

RESOURCES

• COVID-19 affects dementia complications, survey finds.
• Mental Wellbeing: Regaining Confidence and Control – In this Virtual Session, Susan Wehry explores how to respond to the sadness, anxiety, fear, and stress that arise when survivors face the short and long-term consequences of a disaster.
• Conversation starter: Social distancing more damaging for some residents.
• Negative thinking linked to dementia in later life, but you can learn to be more positive.