SC 7/17 UKEEP Blood Pressure

The UCLA Kidney Education Program, known as UKEEP, will present a free afternoon discussion in Santa Monica for the kidney community on Blood Pressure.  Dr. Anjay Rastogi and his guest experts will discuss major causes, management, treatment, and prevention of high blood pressure, and the recent SPRINT Trial study.  RSVP to 800-516-5323, as seating is limited.  For details, see https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/nwrn.org/files/UKEEP0716.pdf .  For information on the SPRINT study, see http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/09/3-things-to-know-about-the-sprint-blood-pressure-trial/ .

10/31 Hospice/Palliative Care Intensives, FL

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization will present their annual conference, The Intensives , October 31-November 2, 2016 in Hollywood FL.  The agenda features Intensives on clinical practice, pediatric palliative care, regulatory and compliance, psychosocial and spiritual concerns, quality, community-based palliative care, bereavement, and volunteer management.  For details and registration see http://www.nhpco.org/conferences/intensives-registration-information .

8/19 Safety Communication Seminar

The Oregon Patient Safety Commission will present a one-day workshop August 19, 2016 in Portland OR on Speak Up for Patient Safety: Communicating Before, During and After an Adverse Event.  The OPSC Reporting Program shows that over half of adverse events have communication breakdown as a root cause.  

Before an adverse event occurs, healthcare providers that maintain a culture of safety identify patient safety risks and are prepared to respond when things don’t go as planned.  During adverse events providers need concrete strategies to ensure strong communication.  After an adverse event providers need communication skills to make clear, lasting improvements in patient safety.

Continuing Education credits will be available for nurses, nursing facility administrators, and pharmacists.  For full details and registration, see http://oregonpatientsafety.org/news-events/events/speak-up-for-patient-safety-communicating-before-during-and-after-an-advers/1911/ .

8/23 QIP PY2018-20 Comment Period

CMS has filed a Proposed Rule, to be published in the June 30, 2016 Federal Register.  The new Rule would modify terms of the ESRD QIP for PY2018-2020, provide payment for patients with acute kidney injury, and include many other changes.  Comments on the Proposed Rule must be submitted by August 23, 2016.

Proposed changes to the ESRD QIP include:

• Revised technical specifications for the Hypercalcemia clinical measure in PY2018
• A new Patient Safety Domain encompassing an NHSN reporting measure and BSI clinical measure, valued at 15% of facility TPS in PY2019 and 10% in PY2020
• An SHR Standardized Hospitalization Ratio clinical measure for PY2020
• A new Ultrafiltration Rate reporting measure for PY2020
• Replacing the Mineral Metabolism measure with a new Serum Phosphorus reporting measure in PY2020

The Proposed Rule is summarized at https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2016-Fact-sheets-items/2016-06-24.html .  The full Federal Register article, with instructions for commenting, can be found at https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/06/30/2016-15188/medicare-program-end-stage-renal-disease-prospective-payment-system-coverage-and-payment-for-renal .

6/30 CW5 & EIDM/QARM

CROWNWeb will present a Town Hall webinar June 30, 2016 on Connecting the Pieces: CROWNWeb 5.0 Sneak Peek.  CMS and CROWNWeb will provide an overview on the new look and features of version 5.0, and on how it will work with the new EIDM and QARM verification and validation systems.  For details and registration see https://cc.readytalk.com/registration/#/?meeting=3v4fgc0n0x9f&campaign=jstthya7bsp7 .

Sepsis: Patients+Staff

We’ve published Sepsis information for both Patients and Facility Staff.

Our June Patient Bulletin answers questions about what Sepsis is, its causes, who gets it, how to recognize symptoms, and what to do about it, and includes a link to an NIH website with more information in both English and Spanish.  Find the June edition at https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/nwrn.org/files/ptbulletin/NW16PtBulletion0616.pdf , and find all of our Patient Flyers/Posters at https://nwrn.org/patients-a-family/ptedres/mon.html .

Meanwhile, the June edition of Network 16 News is busy:

• Answering the same questions from the point of view of what Facility Staff need to know about Sepsis
• Introducing two new Network QI-and-Education Coordinators Derek Taylor, RN, and Jewel Peterman, RN, BSN
• Including a Q&A about professionalism
• Reminding us about the August 28, 2016 PKG/NKF Kidney Wellness Fair & Picnic in Portland, and the September 23-25 AAKP National Patient Meeting in Nashville.  

Find all of our Network 16 News issues at https://nwrn.org/providers-and-professional-staff/nw16n.html .  For more imformation about the picnic and meetings (and other events), refer to the Facility Calendar and Patient Calendar links at the top of this page.

ICH-CAHPS Foreign-Language Materials

ICH-CAHPS specifications, manuals, questionnaires, sample letters and scripts, and disclosure notices in Spanish, Samoan, and Chinese, in addition to English, can be found at https://ichcahps.org/SurveyandProtocols/SurveyMaterials.aspx .

7/19 Patient Employment Webinar

The American Kidney Fund will present a webinar on Staying Employed with Kidney Disease on July 19, 2016.  Mary Beth Callahan, ACSW, LCSW, will preside.  For details – and for a list of other patient-oriented recorded AKF webinars, see http://www.kidneyfund.org/training/webinars/ .

Organ Donation Campaign

The UNOS website summarizes the efforts recently coordinated and announced by the White House to increase organ donation, at https://www.unos.org/unos-announces-efforts-to-increase-the-number-of-transplants/ .  Regional institutions involved include UCLA, University of Washington, OHSU, NKC, and DCI.  Their contributions are listed along with the many others in the White House Fact Sheet, a full 16-page list of campaign actions, at http://go.wh.gov/Zrasw2 .  Find summary press releases from NKC at http://www.nwkidney.org/news/northwest-kidney-centers-to-participate-in-white-house-organ-summit and DCI at http://www.dciinc.org/dialysis-clinic-inc-announced-commitment-to-increase-organ-donation/ .

In a related action, some health insurers are now covering donor travel costs when the recipient is insured by them; see http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/10/unitedhealthcare-to-pay-for-kidney-donors-travel-expenses-to-encourage-donation.html for details.

6/28 Patient-Family Advisors

Patient & Family Centered Care Partners (known as PFCCpartners) will host a Patient Family Advisors (PFA) Skills Exchange on June 28, 2016 at Pomona Valley Medical Center in Pomona, CA.   The PFA Skills Exchange is a 4-hr preparatory course for patients and families working with healthcare organizations in an advisory capacity.  All PFAs are welcome to join.  For more information and registration, see  https://pfccpartners.com/services/patient-family-advisor-skills-exchange/ .

The PFA Skills Exchange is intended for Patient Family Advisors.  Healthcare Professionals are encouraged to contact Stephen@pfccpartners.com to learn about other programs more applicable to your needs.