Kurt Gerling Promoted to Strategic Account Manager

Congratulations are in order for Kurt Gerling, who has been named ProMed’s Strategic Account Manager. In his new role, Kurt will be scouting new leads, working to turn them into customers, ensure that they are treated well and help them maximize their ProMed experience.

“Kurt is a class act all the way,” said ProMed CEO Matt Barnes. “I can’t wait to continue to grow with him, both personally and professionally.”

“In Kurt’s year with the company, he has proven to be very successful in building relationships and respect within his territory,” said Keith Kennedy, ProMed’s National Accounts Manager. “Kurt’s personality allows him to command respect when he walks into a room, which is a key attribute that will assist him in his new role. His loyalty and extreme intelligence will also enable him to be successful within the National Accounts Division. I look forward to working with Kurt as we continue to grow throughout the country. “

Congratulations, Kurt!

Diana Nowicki Promoted to Strategic Account Development

Team ProMed congratulates Diana Nowicki on being promoted to Strategic Account Development! In her new role, Diana will be instrumental in ensuring that ProMed’s newly established National Account Division is running on all cylinders. Her responsibilities will include creating dossiers on potential customers, coordinating entertainment, organizing tours and more.

“In a relatively short period of time, Diana Nicole has taken ownership of her position and has been extremely well received by Team ProMed,” CEO Matt Barnes said. “I see great things to come for her.”

“When I was looking to fill an opening I had for an inside salesperson, I had a few items on my ‘wish list,’” said Dave Eisley, ProMed’s Director of Inside Sales and Recruiting. “I wanted someone who had interesting life experiences and was ambitious and eager to learn. Diana is all three of those things.

“During her first 60 days on the job she has proven to be a leader with great communication skills,” Eisley continued. “People who spend time with Diana tend to follow her. She dove right into training classes, role-playing scenarios and understanding all that is relevant to selling into the long-term care market. I know she will do well in her new, expanded role.”

Keith Kennedy, ProMed’s National Accounts Manager, had this to say about Diana: “In the short time I have worked with Diana, it is apparent she is extremely bright, very resourceful and efficient – all key elements that will help her succeed in her new role. Diana has been tapped to assist in taking Professional Medical to a new level. I am extremely excited to work with Diana and look forward to great success."

Congratulations, Diana!

ProMed Applauds AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Recipients

We were thrilled to learn that six of our customers have been named AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award recipients! These awards, which are part of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award program, recognize long-term care providers on their journey toward performance excellence.

There are three levels of National Quality Awards. The levels and the qualifications for each are:
Bronze: Commitment to Quality (formerly Step I): Applicants begin their quality journey by developing an organizational profile including vision and mission statements, an awareness of their environment and customers' expectations and a demonstration of their ability to improve a process.

Silver: Achievement in Quality (formerly Step II): Applicants demonstrate a level of achievement in their quality journey through good performance outcomes that have evolved from how they embrace the core values and concepts of visionary leadership, focus on the future, resident-focused excellence, management by innovation and focus on results and creating value.

Gold: Excellence in Quality (formerly Step III): Applicants must show superior performance over time that is based on their systematic approaches to leadership; strategic planning, focus on customers, measurement, analysis and knowledge management, workforce focus, process management and results. Gold applicants address the complete Baldridge Criteria for Performance Excellence in Health Care.

The ProMed customers who earned these awards are:

• Cerenity Senior Care of White Bear Lake, White Bear Lake, MN (Silver)
• Nazareth Home, Louisville, KY (Bronze)
• Hilltop Nursing and Rehabilitation, Owingsville, KY (Bronze)
• Superior Care Home, Paducah, KY (Bronze)
• Briody Health Care Facility, Lockport, NY (Bronze)
• Ridgewood Care Center, Racine, WI (Bronze)

Congratulations to these facilities! We're proud to be your partner in health care!

To learn more about the awards program, click here.

Survey Says: Seniors Confused about New Healthcare Law

Truthfully, this news isn't surprising, given that many Americans in general find the new healthcare bill confusing! A new survey from the National Council on Aging (NCOA) found that most seniors are either misinformed or simply unaware of how the new healthcare law will affect them.

The NCOA asked 636 seniors a series of 12 questions about Medicare, the budget deficit and other healthcare reform topics. Only 17% of the seniors knew the correct answers to more than half of the questions, and just 9% answered at least two-thirds of the questions correctly. None of the survey participants knew the correct answers to all of the questions.

For additional information, click here.

Seniors Warned about Medicare Part D Rebate Scammers

The new healthcare law will close the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage "donut hole" by 2020. The first step toward this goal is sending $250 checks to eligible seniors to help offset their costs. And, as is the case for so many recipients of good things, scammers are waiting in the wings to cheat seniors out of their checks.

Seniors on Medicare don't have to do anything to receive the $250 rebate checks - they're mailed out as soon as the recipients become eligible - but that isn't stopping scammers from posing as Health and Human Services personnel and calling seniors to request personal information that they say is required in order to process the checks. According to the Indiana Association of Area Agencies on Aging (IAAA), scammers have been asking for information such as a Social Security or Medicare number or a signature.

If seniors receive a call from a scammer, they should take down the caller's name and telephone number (using caller ID, if possible) and report the call to 1-800-MEDICARE.

Team ProMed Congratulates Sonny Barnes on Earning His Orange Belt in Karate!

Sonny Barnes, son of ProMed CEO Matt Barnes, recently earned his orange belt in karate! Congratulations, Sonny!

Team ProMed Congratulates Joe Weckler on His New Addition

Congratulations to Team ProMed member Joe Weckler, who welcomed a new addition on July 23! Louis James Joseph Weckler weighed in at 7 lbs., 9 oz.

Congratulations, Pat Lamorte!

Team ProMed congratulates our Marketing Production Specialist, Pat Lamorte, who proposed to his girlfriend, Ashley, over the weekend! Best wishes, you two!

Columbia Convalescent Center Achieves Five-Star Rating

Team ProMed congratulates Columbia Convalescent Center in Columbia, Illinois on receiving a five-star overall rating under CMS's Five Star Quality Rating System!

The overall rating is a combination of the health inspection rating, staffing rating and quality measures rating. A five-star rating indicates that a facility is "much above average."

Congratulations again! We're proud to be your partner in health care!

"Driving for Quality Care" Rolls through Louisville

On July 21, AHCA's "Driving for Quality Care" petition tour stopped at Parkway Rehabilitation and Medical Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The tour, sponsored by the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, is a grassroots initiative to urge President Obama, Congress and America's governors to take immediate steps to preserve and protect America's long-term and rehabilitative care services.

At each tour stop, patients, residents, family members and caregivers are encouraged to voice their concerns about Medicaid funding shortages and sign a 4' x 60' traveling petition.

ProMed's very own Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Compliance, Pam West, happened to be visiting Parkway with ProMed Territory Manager Dan Brooks when the tour came through. They shared these great pictures with us. Thanks, guys!

To learn more about Driving for Quality Care, click here.

Parkway's administrator, Joe Okruhlica, addresses the crowd

The petition language.

Kentucky State Senator Dan Seum was also in attendance.

Join Us at the Barnes Foundation Second Annual 5K Walk/Run for Life!

The Second Annual Barnes Foundation 5K Walk/Run for Life will be held on August 28, 2010. We hope you'll consider joining us for this community-wide event!

Last year, the inaugural Walk for Life raised more than $30,000 for the American Cancer Society's Illinois Patient Navigation Services. The donation helped to fund a program that provides transportation to patients who need assistance getting to cancer treatments.

The 5K walk/run will be followed by a family fun festival that is free and open to the community. The celebration will feature games, prizes, entertainment, face painting, food, DJ, a silent auction and more.

To learn more about the event and register, please click here.

Study: Five-Star System Doesn't Align with Resident Perceptions

Since its creation, CMS' Five-Star Quality Rating System has garnered criticism from caregivers and industry experts. In March, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius acknowledged that "This sort of bell curve seems to have some inherent flaws."



Now, a new study from Holleran, a senior-living research firm, has found a large disconnect between how the system ranks facilities and the way those facilities are viewed by residents and their families.



According to the five-star system, a one-star facility is of inferior quality when compared to a five-star facility. However, according to the study, residents at one-star facilities were actually more likely to say they would choose their facilities again when compared to higher-ranking facilities. Holleran suggested that modifying the current five-star formula to include satisfaction surveys could go a long toward improving the system.



To learn more, click here.

Nursing Homes Will Get a 1.7% Medicare Payment Boost

Late Friday, CMS posted payment updates for skilled nursing and inpatient rehabilition facilities' prospective patient systems for fiscal year 2011. According to the updates, nursing homes will see a 1.7% boost in their market basket rate. Inpatient rehabilition facilities will see a 2.5% increase.

The increase for nursing homes was actually set at 2.3%, but an automatic "click down" of 0.6% was enacted because overpayments were made at that rate in fiscal year 2009. The net nationwide gain in Medicare payments to SNFs in fiscal year will be $542 million.

To learn more, click here.

Republicans Demand Berwick Confirmation Hearing

Republican senators on the Finance Committee are furious that President Obama circumvented the Senate confirmation process by giving Dr. Don Berwick a recess appointment to the CMS administrator post. The White House had been concerned that Republicans would block Berwick's nomination.

The 10 Republicans on the committee drafted a letter to committee chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) insisting that Berwick appear at a confirmation hearing as soon as possible.

The letter explained that "The need for Dr. Berwick to be considered in a transparent and deliberative manner is all the more important because the agency will be responsible for numerous and significant changes to federal health programs including the largest Medicaid coverage expansion since the program's creation."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is also holding up two federal nominations to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals out of protest over Berwick's recess appointment.

To learn more, click here.

House Repeals RUG-IV Delay

The House has passed a bill that eliminates the one-year delay of the RUG-IV case-mix classification system. This means it would take effect on October 1, 2010, the same day as MDS 3.0. The Senate is expected to pass the bill.

The action earned applause from both the AHCA and Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care.

To learn more, click here.

Vast Majority of Residents, Families and Workers Would Recommend Their Nursing Homes

Here's a ray of sunshine for beleaguered facilities that feel like they just can't make anybody happy. According to a the 2009 National Survey of Consumer and Workforce Satisfaction in Nursing Homes, 85 percent of residents and families and 68 percent of staff members would recommend their facilities to someone else.

The survey noted that consumer and employee satisfaction began to rise in 2005 and has been stable since 2008.

Other key findings of the survey, performed by My InnerView:

• Consumers and staff in pay-for-performance states are more likely to recommend their facilities.
• The most consistent predictors of consumer recommendations are the care and services provided by the employee and the employee/resident relationship.
• Competent and caring staff is a consistent predictor of resident and family recommendation.

To download the survey results, click here.

Slashed Nursing Home Penalites? New Proposed Rule Could Make It Possible

A new proposed rule from CMS would dramatically slash some nursing home civil monetary penalties (CMPs) by up to 50 percent.

In order to receive a reduced CMP, facilities would need to report a deficiency before it is discovered by CMS or a state agency and correct the deficiency within 10 days. The reduced penalties wouldn't apply to cases of immediate jeopardy or to cases that are part of a recurring pattern of harm.

Current CMP fines range from $50 to $10,000 per day of noncompliance.

CMS is seeking feedback on the rule, which was published Monday in the Federal Register, by August 11. To read the proposed rule, click here.

Congratulations, Nazareth Home!

Team ProMed congratulates Nazareth Home in Louisville, Kentucky on being named a Bronze Award winner in the American Health Care Association's National Quality Awards program!

The awards, part of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award program, recognize business and healthcare organizations for performance excellence.

Nazareth Home was established in 1976 as a healthcare ministry sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. It is a 168-bed long-term care and rehab center with specialty programs in short-term rehab, memory care and long-term care.

Robot Nurses: Wave of the Future?

Nobody wants to think about a robot doing their job, but what if they could help out with some of the more strenuous duties around your nursing home?

The RIBA (it stands for Robot for Interactive Body Assistance) was created by Japanese engineers to help nurses lift residents from their beds into wheelchairs and vice versa. It can also help residents with mobility problems move to and from the toilet. It can lift residents who weigh up to 134 pounds (61 kg).

RIBA looks like a cross between a polar bear and a snowman and has a cute, friendly face to help put residents at ease.

To learn more about RIBA, click here.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Gerontologist Robert Butler Passes Away

Dr. Robert Butler, a Pulitzer prize-winning gerontologist, has passed away at the age of 83. He worked steadily until just three days before dying of acute leukemia.

Dr. Butler coined the term "ageism," which is used to describe discrimination against the elderly. He was the founding director of the National Institute on Aging and also helped launch and lead the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, the Alzheimer's Disease Association and the International Longevity Center.

According to Dan Perry, the leader of the Alliance for Aging Research, "Bob was certainly the person, more than any other single individual, who helped create the modern notion that aging is a time of choice, of opportunity, of growth. He was the father of modern gerontology."

Dr. Butler's book Why Survive? Being Old In America was awarded the Pulitzer prize for general nonfiction in 1976.

To read a collection of media tributes to Dr. Butler, click here.

WSJ: Obama Using Recess Appointment to Install Berwick as CMS Leader

According to the Wall Street Journal, President Obama is planning to use a recess appointment to install Donald Berwick as the head of CMS.

This would sidestep confirmation hearings that were expected to be contentious and heated. Republicans had already taken aim at Berwick over his emphasis on cost controls and preference for the pay-for-performance healthcare model. Under this model, providers are paid according to the quality of care that their patients receive rather than for each procedure or office visit.

When Obama officially nominated Berwick in April, he described him as someone who "dedicated his career to improving outcomes for patients and providing better care at lower cost."

Some media outlets have speculated that the GOP's uproar over Berwick might not actually all be directly related to the nominee. Instead, his confirmation hearings would give Republican senators a forum for continuing debate over the new healthcare law in the hopes of helping them secure more seats during the fall midterm elections.

Berwick would become CMS's first permanent leader since 2006. To learn more about Berwick, click here.

Pat Lamorte Honored as July ProMed Employee Spotlight Award Recipient

Congratulations to Pat Lamorte, the recipient of ProMed's July Employee Spotlight Award! Pat is a Marketing Production Specialist and has been with the company since May of 2009.

"Pat works really hard and has taken on a lot of responsibility," said Kristin Simanis, Director of Marketing and Pat's manager. "He single-handedly runs the marketing printer in addition to keeping the product images on our website continuously up to date. He's dependable, shows a great deal of initiative and is a very happy person. He's willing to take on any projects that are thrown his way and always completes them in record time."

According to Pat, his coworkers are his favorite part of being a member of Team ProMed. "There is no way I could work at a place where I couldn't share a few laughs with those around me throughout the day," he said. "The marketing team definitely knows how to have fun will still being productive."

As the Employee Spotlight Award winner, Pat will be able to proudly display the Torch of Excellence trophy at his desk for the month of July. He was also give a $100 cash award.

Congratulations, Ted Walsh!

Team ProMed congratulates Territory Manager Ted Walsh on his recent engagement! Ted and his fiancee, Christy, will tie the knot on July 2, 2011.

Happy Fourth of July!

Team ProMed wishes you and yours a safe and happy holiday weekend!

The New Issue of Embrace is Heading Your Way!

We're thrilled to announce that the second issue of Embrace magazine is complete and ready to begin making its way to your facility! The goal of this issue is to help keep you survey ready year-round. Here's a taste of the articles you can find inside its pages:

• "Making Sense of F-441"
• "How Will the New Healthcare Law Affect Long-Term Care?"
• "Incontinence Issues and the Long-Term Care Survey Process"
• "Are You Ready to Embrace MDS 3.0?"
• "ProMed: Your Partner for the Perfect Survey"

If you're not an Embrace subscriber yet, head over to embracethemagazine.com to sign up! Subscriptions are free to ProMed customers.

(Pictured are Lead Designer Jennifer Forrest, Editor in Chief Laura Kuhn and Clinical Editor Pam West.)

AAHSA Board Approves Name Change

Bye-bye, AAHSA. Hello, LeadingAge.

The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging's board has chosen a new name because they felt is better reflected the organization's role and internal vibrancy.

The board has sent the new name out to AAHSA's 5,400 members for them to accept or reject by July 30, but the vote is likely little more than a formality.

AAHSA's mission statement has also been changed to "Expanding the world of possibilities for aging." A video explaining the change can be viewed at www.youtube.com/aahsa.

To learn more, click here.