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Last Modified 07/22/04
Winter 2009 NWKAAA CARE Newsletter
Same Information, Different Look
The CARE newsletter is getting a new look! We will be posting the newsletter to the NWKAAA website beginning in April.
The newsletter will continue to serve the same purpose – to inform our assessors of community-based services and provide additional clarifications and tips for completing accurate, helpful CARE assessments.
If you would prefer to receive your newsletter in the mail, please call the Area Agency on Aging at 1-800-432-7422 or send an email to tgerhardt@nwkaaa.org.
If you would like to receive an
email when new content has been added please email your request to tgerhardt@nwkaaa.org
so we have your current email address.
By making this transition we will be
able to reduce paper clutter and save postage while continuing to provide
quality, up-to-date information for our assessors.
If you are aware of community events
that would interest seniors in our area, please let us know!
Visit our website at
www.nwkaaa.com
Send Clients with Comments / Concerns to NWKAAA
Eventually you will come in contact
with a client who has comments or concerns that are “bigger” than the
assessor. Please refer all of
these comments and concerns to the Area Agency on Aging.
Positive changes within the CARE program cannot occur if we are
unaware that a problem exists. Some
of the concerns that will be presented to the assessor may have a larger
impact than just the single assessment.
In addition, it is much easier to tackle a problem while it is small
rather than after people have additional time to get upset.
Spanish Brochures Available
As our population diversifies it is
important for the CARE program to adapt to these changes.
We now have copies of the CARE program brochure translated in
Spanish. If you find a need for
another translation, please let us know.
To request copies of the Spanish
brochure, please call the Northwest Kansas Area Agency on Aging at
1-800-432-7422.
Consent to Release Information Reminders
Please remember to completely fill
out the Consent to Release Information form.
It is important to indicate who provided the information in the left
column. If it was the client,
please indicate that. Many
times a hospital or nursing facility will provide information too.
If the assessment triggers a Level
II assessment, please remember to release the information to The Consortium
for mental health centers and possibly Community Mental Health Center, State
Psychiatric Hospital, or Community Developmental Disability Organization.
Medicaid applicants may wish to
check Social & Rehabilitation Services.
Many times a health care provider /
hospital / nursing facility will be the recipient of the information.
The client should be able to
understand what he/she is signing before signing the Release of Information.
Please do not delay faxing the
assessment because you are waiting on signatures.
We appreciate your efforts tracking down appropriate decision-makers,
but we must receive the assessment in a timely manner.
You can fax the Release of Information again after obtaining
signatures.
If you have any questions, please
contact the Area Agency on Aging at 1-800-432-7422.
Please remember to mark the
appropriate agencies on the Consent to Release Information.
The information is released somewhere (NWKAAA, CARE, NFs, etc.) and
came from someone (client, family, clinical record, nursing staff, etc.).
Please be sure all sources are listed.
Spring Trainings Scheduled
Did your facility find it difficult
to complete CARE assessments in a timely manner throughout the holiday
season? This is the first
opportunity of 2009 to train additional staff members!
New CARE training will be held
Thursday, April 9 at the Plainville Fire Station Meeting Room, 416 W Mill in
Plainville. Six free
CEUs are available.
Update trainings will be held in
Plainville, Hill City, St. Francis, Colby, Hays and Downs.
The enclosed flyer will provide details regarding times and
locations. As always, 3 free
CEUs are available.
Assessors who have not completed an
assessment for a few years, but have been trained in the past may attend an
update training to make their assessor status current.
These are all of the updates
scheduled for 2009.
If you have a conflict, please let
us know – we are happy to work with you!
The topics covered at each update
training will be posted to the website as soon as arrangements have been
made; please call with any suggestions.
Reserve your space by calling the
Area Agency on Aging at 1-800-432-7422.
Improving Communication
You can’t assume somebody else
understands you. Every word in
our language has several definitions in the dictionary, so the chances of
the other person picking the same definition for each word in your
conversation is about “nil.” It’s
not going to happen.
To avoid lots of communication
misunderstanding, if you’re the speaker, ask the other person to tell you
what he heard you say…in his own words.
You’ll be able to spot almost instantly whether or not you’re on
the same page. That’s what one overweight patient should have done.
His doctor said, “I want you to
eat regularly for 2 days, and then skip a day.
Repeat this procedure for 2 weeks, and the next time I see you, you
should have lost at least 5 pounds.”
When the patient returned, he
shocked the doctor by having lost nearly 30 pounds!
“Why, that’s amazing!”
the doctor said, “Did you follow my instructions?”
Weakly, the patient nodded,
“I’ll tell you though, by the end of each 3rd day, I thought
I was going to drop dead.”
“From hunger, you mean?”
“No,” responded the patient,
“from skipping all day!”
Communication is more than just
listening to what people say – it is “reading” what is in their heart
and understanding their intentions.
Billing Issues Explained
You may wonder why the CARE program
is concerned about where you work, where the CARE assessment is completed,
assigns it from Hays or why you don’t complete very many.
In short, it all comes back to money.
Your workplace is important because hospital assessments are
reimbursed at a different rate than contracted assessments.
Thus, with all of the state’s budget woes, it is important to save
taxpayer money by completing the CARE assessment, as required, in the
hospital. This also helps
clients make a smooth transition through the long term care system.
Contracted assessments occurring in the community result in increased
costs due to assessor reimbursement, mileage (if applicable) and increased
client stress.
All assessments completed outside of
the hospital must be assigned by the office in Hays.
Please do not call any assessors yourself.
It seems as though most of our
contracted assessments are taking place in the eastern part of our service
area. Our large area shows the multitude of ways nursing facility
care becomes the desired option – the availability of services directly
relates to the hospital discharge planner’s options to consider when
planning for the customer’s future.
We appreciate the excellent job all
of our assessors do – and their willingness to travel to some very out of
the way locations!
Be sure to let the Area Agency on
Aging know if you change jobs. Location
is important!
2009 CARE Training Schedule
-
Thursday, April 9 - 8:30 am - 4:30 pm - New Training in Plainville at the Fire Station Meeting Room (entrance at rear of fire station) - 416 West Mill St.
-
Tuesday, April 21 - 8:15 am - 11:45 am - Update Training in Plainville at Rooks County Health Center - 1210 N Washington
-
Tuesday, April 21 - 1:30 pm - 5 pm - Update Training in Hill City at the Graham County Home Health Conference Room - 204 W Main
-
Wednesday, April 22 - 8:30 am - 12 pm - Update Training in St. Francis at Cheyenne County Clinic Conference Room - 211 W 1st
-
Wednesday, April 22 - 2 pm - 5:30 pm - Update training in Colby at the Colby Public Library - 375 W 4th
-
Tuesday, April 28 - 12:30 pm - 4 pm - Update Training in Hays at Highway Patrol Meeting Room - 1821 Frontier Road
-
Thursday, April 30 - 1 pm - 4:30 pm - Update Training in Downs at Golden Living Center of Downs - 1218 Kansas St.
3 FREE CEUs are available at all update trainings. Tentative topics to discuss include "Exploring" the Explore Your Options book, form review, and Elder Sensitivity. Be ready to participate in a very interactive update training!!