Denver City Wire

The American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing (AAPACN) will host the annual conference this year April 19 – 21 in Las Vegas, NV. Long-term and post-acute care professionals from across the nation will gather to learn the latest updates, embark on new certifications or recertifications, develop new action plans for their facilities, and make lasting connections with peers. This blog will cover some of the many important reasons why skilled nursing facilities should have staff represented at this conference.

Keep up with major changes and best practices

Big changes are coming with the updated RAI User’s Manual, v.1.18.11. CMS recently announced on the latest SNF/LTC Open Door Forum that the draft RAI User’s Manual is anticipated to be released in April 2023. Several of AAPACN’s conference sessions will address these changes in as much detail as is currently available to help staff prepare for Oct. 1, 2023.

Other important topics that will also be addressed in sessions include:

• Understanding recent survey changes and potential revenue loses
• Avoiding immediate jeopardy citations
• Mitigating potential revenue losses
• Creating person-centered care plans
• Rethinking communication and documentation methods
• Improving medication therapy and delivery processes
• Monitoring PDPM performance
• Boosting Five-Star success
• Keeping up with ICD-10 updates
• Achieving the most positive infection prevention and control outcomes
• Interpreting CASPER report
• Prioritizing NAC duties in a staffing crisis
• Communicating and establishing goals and progress for quality
• Understanding nurse civility and its impact on staff retention
• Learning about the latest CMS national initiatives

By attending these sessions, staff members will gain invaluable information about best practices and actions from experts in the field that they can implement immediately to improve their facility’s success in multiple areas. By breaking down complex issues happening now in facilities, as well as the impending changes, staff will be better prepared to not only handle what’s coming, but also tackle current problems with creative solutions.

Prepare all staff

Administrators, directors of nursing services (DNSs), nurse assessment coordinators (NACs), and interdisciplinary team (IDT) members can all benefit from this firsthand knowledge from MDS experts to help successfully prepare and implement the upcoming MDS changes. The administrator and DNS will need to understand how the changes will impact documentation processes, policy changes, and changes to workflows. NACs must maintain their expertise in MDS knowledge by understanding any changes to the MDS/RAI process to ensure coding accuracy and to best coordinate with the IDT on changing needs. IDT members will need to understand changes to assessments, collaborate with other members of the team, and make changes to their processes based on the MDS updates.

Those who attend the AAPACN conference will be better prepared, not only for the tasks they are responsible for in preparation for upcoming changes, but also to train other staff and ensure the facility is ready.

Those who attend can also train other staff in important areas like those in the topics noted above, from survey readiness to preventing revenue losses.

The conference sessions are designed to address critical issues and best practices for a variety of roles within the facility. AAPACN has provided a helpful key in the digital brochure so attendees can choose sessions specific to their role. Catalyst sessions are great for everyone!

SNFs that decide to send more than one staff member, including staff members in different roles or across different departments, could improve collaboration within their facility. By sending multiple staff members, a facility can derive different perspectives from the sessions attended if they attend the same sessions. Or, they can gain extra knowledge by widening their scope and reach of learning by having staff attend different sessions. Either scenario allows for those staff members to come together to share their knowledge with each other and the rest of the team and explore a brighter future.

Also, staff with the shared experience of attending the same conference can strengthen bonds, create memories, and form an alliance that the facility needs. By making the conference a team building experience, a facility’s culture can grow stronger.

Bonus: Facilities who register multiple staff members receive a discounted price on registration!

Invest in staff to boost retention and job satisfaction

By investing in staff education provided at the AAPACN 2023 Conference, leadership can help show employees that they are valued and their professional development is important, thus improving staff retention and job satisfaction.

Attendees are eligible to earn up to 11.5 continuing education (CE) credits by attending conference sessions. Attendees can further their professional development journey by signing up for a pre-conference workshop to earn additional CEs and a certification!

Note: According to the INOVALON 2022 Report, “AAPACN certification has a statistically significant impact on the quantity and severity of health deficiencies reported, with certified sites reporting 15% fewer deficiencies per site and 16% fewer severe deficiencies per site.” Learn more.

Reinvigorate staff’s passion for long-term care

Do you have staff members who are struggling lately to maintain their passion for their job? The AAPACN 2023 Conference can help staff reconnect with others in long-term care and help them remember why they started their path in caring for the elderly. The catalyst speakers, networking events, and breakout sessions will reinvigorate staff’s passion for long-term care and provide them with the new perspectives they need to reawaken their drive to be the best at what they do every day.

Learn more about the AAPACN 2023 Conference and register your team today!

Original source can be found here.