9/28+ CMS NTP Open Enrollment Bootcamp

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The CMS National Training Program has announced webinar topics and registation details for their September 28-29, 2022 Open Enrollment Period Bootcamp, which will be held from 10am to noon PDT each day. The Bootcamp introduces Medicare Program updates and resources and is intended for those who help Medicare recipients make informed decisions about their 2023 health care coverage.

September 28: Medicare Plan Finder basics, updates, and user tips, information about The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, including details about new costs for insulin and vaccines in 2023, and Q&A. Registration at CMSnationaltrainingprogram.cms.gov/moodle/course/view.php?id=227.

September 29: Medicare OEP overview, general program and cost updates, OEP Media outreach campaigns, Call Center overview and activities, vaccination campaigns, State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) overview and OEP resources, and fraud awareness and prevention. Registration at CMSnationaltrainingprogram.cms.gov/moodle/course/view.php?id=228.

9/19+ Fungal Disease Awareness Week

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September 19-23, 2022 is Fungal Disease Awareness Week. CDC has published a list of ten questions that discuss the circumstances and symptoms of common fungal infections, titled Fungal Infections: Protect Your Health, also available in Spanish. For full details on Fungal Disease Awareness Week see https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/awareness-week.html.

9/17+ Patient Safety Day, Conference

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The theme of the UN World Health Organization’s September 17, 2022 World Patient Day this year is Medication Safety. Find details at https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2022/09/17/default-calendar/world-patient-safety-day-2022. Closer to home, the Oregon Patient Safety Commission is also highly involved – see https://oregonpatientsafety.org/tools-and-best-practices/world-patient-safety-day-2022-medication-safety for information on their program.

OPSC is also collaborating with the Foundation for Healthcare Quality, the Washington Patient Safety Coalition and the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council to present the 19th Annual Northwest Patient Safety Conference on “Advancing Patient Safety in Today’s World,” online October 18-19, 2022. For information and registration see https://www.qualityhealth.org/wpsc/wpsc-events/patient-safety-conference/.

9/15+ WA CoN Listening Sessions

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The Washington State Department of Health will hold Listening Sessions to collect information about any changes that stakeholders want to Certificate of Need rules, to be held on September 15, October 12, and November 7, 2022, and January 10, 2023. For more information, click on “Kidney Dialysis Need Forecasting Methodology and Standards” at https://doh.wa.gov/licenses-permits-and-certificates/facilities-z/certificate-need/rule-making-activities. Register for the September 15 session at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PoX97gk4Rr-aRphWgWzEtg. Links to future sessions will be posted at the doh website above.

9/10+ September Events

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September 2022: Sepsis Awareness Month, https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/education/index.html.

Before September 10, 2022: Donate Life Northwest seeks volunteers to implement a donor registration table at the Vancouver WA Peace and Justice Fair, https://www.donatelifenw.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=9699&id=9699.

Before September 18, 2022: Donate Life Northwest seeks volunteers to implement a table at the Portland OR Strut Your Kidney Fundraiser (q.v. below), https://www.donatelifenw.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=9734&id=9734.

September 14, 2022: Donate Life Northwest New Ambassador Orientation 101, https://www.donatelifenw.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=9738&id=9738.

September 15, 2022

September 18, 2022: Northwest Kidney Kids Strut Your Kidney Fundraiser, Portland OR (see below), https://runsignup.com/Race/OR/Portland/StrutYourKidney.

September 21-23, 2022

September 24, 2022: Donate Life Northwest School Educator Training 301, https://www.donatelifenw.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=9736&id=9736.

September 28, 2022: CMS NTP on Medicare Open Enrollment Period Bootcamp, Part 1, https://cmsnationaltrainingprogram.cms.gov/.

September 29, 2022

October 6, 2022: Center for Patient Safety workshop on Caring for Our Own, Part 2, https://4632409.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4632409/Caring%20for%20Our%20Own/Caring%20for%20Our%20Own%20Flyer.pdf.

October 20, 2022: Donate Life Northwest School Educator Training 301, https://www.donatelifenw.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=9737&id=9737.

9/8+ EQRS Town Hall, New User Training, Newsletter

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EQRS will hold a September 8, 2022 Town Hall webinar featuring EQRS Data Submission Deadlines, New EQRS Features including Vaccination Module, Admission in Support of Transplant feature, Parathyroid Hormone Reporting Fields, and EQRS FAQs. Register at https://mycrownweb.org/pcw_community_events/september-2022-town-hall-2/.

The September EQRS New User Training will be held on September 20, 2022. For more information and registration see https://mycrownweb.org/2022/09/nut-september-2022-announce/.

The September issue of the EQRS Quarterly Newsletter is also available, at https://mycrownweb.org/2022/09/september-2022-newsletter/. It includes notes on the CY2023 ESRD QIP, and all of the usual news on EQRS operations.

9/2+ CMS Email Down

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CMS email is transitioning from HHS to CMS itself over the holiday weekend, and the process will take several days. All CMS email accounts will close down late on Friday September 2, 2022, until early on Tuesday, September 6. Any email sent to CMS accounts will receive a notice saying that the address does not exist. Please hold all emails for CMS until Tuesday. There is a notice but no details at https://www.medicaid.gov/.

8/28+ WA Only: FAQ re End of COVID CofN Waivers

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Certificates of Need and Construction Reviews for ESRD facilities in Washington State were waived to allow a faster response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 1, 2022, Washington DOH announced that those waivers would end, and provided a timeline for that process, as described at https://nwrnbulletins.wordpress.com/2022/08/03/8-4-wa-only-covid-cofn-waivers-to-end/. Washington DOH has added a web page of Frequently Asked Questions about the process, at https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-08/FAQ-COVID-19WaiverOffboarding.pdf. The timeline includes August 28 deadlines.

8/23+ Late August Events

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  • August 23-September 1, 2022: CMS National Training Program Webinars. Details and Registration at https://cmsnationaltrainingprogram.cms.gov/moodle/login/index.php:
    • August 23 – Medicare Scenarios (Casework Session)
    • August 24 – CMS and SAMHSA: Federal Partners addressing Behavioral Health
    • August 25 – Medicare Plan Finder
    • August 30 – Medicare Current Topics
    • August 31 – The Public Health Emergency (PHE) and CMS Programs
    • September 1 – Marketplace to Medicare: What You Can Expect

Class 1 Recall: Covidien HD Catheters

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The FDA has announced the Class 1 recall of specific lots of Covidien (Medtronic) Palindrome and Mahurkar HD Catheters because of hub defects which can cause leakage and other problems leading to inadequate dialysis or more serious safety issues. Class 1 recalls imply risk of serious injury or death. For details see https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/medical-device-recalls/covidien-llc-medtronic-recalls-palindrome-and-mahurkar-hemodialysis-catheters-due-catheter-hub.