- Register for Upcoming Events
- Leadership Lesson: Advice from the Frontlines
- Resources and Information on:
- Health Equity
- COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness
- Opioid Utilization and Misuse
- Patient Safety
- Training
- Chronic Disease
- Care Coordination and Partnerships for Community Health
- Immunization
- BFAC
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Events
Nursing Home Affinity Group: Creating Your Roadmap for 2024 QAPI Success
*NAB credits awarded* *CE for physicians and nurses available*
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. ET/12:20 p.m. CT
In this four-part QAPI series, providers will learn how to build upon their current QAPI structure and expand and sustain a culture of quality that engages leaders, frontline staff, patients, residents, care partners and the community. Watch your email for more details. Pre-Register Here
Were You Able to "Use Tomorrow" What You Heard During the LAN Events?
If Yes, Click Below.
Nursing Homes LAN Attendees: Click here
Partnership for Community Health LAN Attendees:Click here
Thursday, December 21 at 2 p.m. ET | 1 p.m. CT (60 min.)
**ANCC and NAB credit awarded**
Join the monthly Shop Talk sessions hosted by the Alliant patient safety team. Attendees will receive updates on the NHSN database and CMS requirements. This month, we will discuss annual influenza vaccination reporting, NHSN reporting and updates. There will also be a live question-and-answer session to help with your immediate needs. Submitting data accurately into NHSN will help you more confidently plan your risk assessments and quality improvement initiatives.
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Join the Alliant Health Solutions-LTC NHSN Group!
Joining the group and conferring rights to Alliant Health Solutions-LTC to view NHSN data allows for seamless support and technical assistance.
View Step-By-Step Guide
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Leadership
Words of advice from leaders on the front lines.
This month’s leadership lesson is from Leighann Sauls, RN, CDN, Alliant Health Solutions' deputy director/program director of Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Surviving the Holiday Season: Tips To Combat Stress
The holiday season is upon us, bringing with it a mix of emotions – joy, cheer, and stress. For many people, the holiday season can be a stressful time. It's important to refocus and re-energize instead of adding more stress to our lives. Below are some tips to help you fend off holiday stress:
- Set Your Priorities: Don't feel obligated to participate in every holiday event. Pick your favorite activities, be present for them, and skip the rest to avoid getting overwhelmed.
- Scale Down: Think about the tasks that make you feel overwhelmed during the season and scale them back a bit.
- Set Realistic Expectations: Review your financial and emotional expectations for the holidays. Make sure they are realistic and in line with those closest to you.
- Take Care of Yourself: Eat well, exercise, and nap often to ensure you're taking care of your physical and mental health.
Fill your time with joy, gratitude, love, and meaningful moments with friends and family. Try to really connect with the people around you this holiday season.
Alliant Health Solutions' health equity lead, Rosa Abraha, curated the following health trainings, events and resources related to health equity. Check out the resources listed below.
AHRQ Stats: COVID-19 Visits and Age-Related Disparities in 2020
In 2020, 3.8% of civilian, noninstitutionalized Americans had a COVID-19-related medical visit or prescribed medicine purchase. Adults between the ages of 18 and 64 were more likely to receive treatment for COVID-19 (over 4.5%) than children ages 5–17 (1.5%). Learn More
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Podcast AHSCAST - Making Health Care Better
 | Everyone deserves quality health care. Tune into the Alliant Health Solutions Making Health Care Better podcast every other Thursday as they interview guests committed to making health care better. If you are a health care consumer, provider, insurer, system or consultant, this is the podcast for you. View All Podcast Episodes |
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Resources
COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness
View All COVID-19 News & Resources
The CDC recommends everyone six months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID-19 illness this fall and winter. Updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna will be available later this week. Learn More
Emergency Preparedness: Winter Weather Safety
Winter storms increase the risk of car accidents, hypothermia, frostbite, carbon monoxide poisoning, and heart attacks from overexertion. Winter storms can bring extreme cold, freezing rain, snow, ice and high winds. Visit Ready.gov to learn more about winter weather and how to stay safe.
Opioid Utliziation and Misuse
New Resources To Help Clinicians Treat Pain and Manage Opioid Use Disorder
The CDC developed trainings to educate clinicians about the 2022 CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain and assist them and other health care personnel in providing patient care. View Trainings
Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs
Prescribing opioids should be a carefully thought-out process by providers. Before prescribing, the CDC recommends that providers review a patient’s opioid prescription history to avoid the risk of overdose. This can be checked with state Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) that are used to track opioid prescriptions. The CDC offers a variety of information regarding all aspects of PDMPs before and during the prescribing stage. Visit Website
Prevent Opioid Overdose Deaths With Naloxone
Clinicians play an important role in raising awareness about naloxone, a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose when given in time. Visit the CDC’s naloxone website to learn how to talk with patients about naloxone and reduce their risk of opioid overdose. You can also earn free continuing education credits. Visit Website
Opioid Resources:
Medication Reconciliation Tips for Providers & Staff – Use this resource as a guide to completing med rec. Download Resource
Medication Review Tip Sheet for Patients – Email or print this resource to give to your patients. Download Resource
Medicine Disposal - Use this resource to dispose of unused, unwanted and expired medications safely. Download Resource
Do’s & Don’ts of Pain Medicine - Use this resource to learn how to use pain medicine safely. Download Resource
My Med Bags:
Patient Safety
Training
Guide To Implement an Infection Prevention Training Plan
Alliant’s goal, under the direction of CMS, is to improve nursing home care and provide opportunities to expand training for infection prevention for all frontline and clinical staff.
Follow the links below to access available tools to guide your facility through infection prevention training plan implementation for frontline staff:
- A step-by-step guide to training implementation: NHIP Training Implementation Guide
- Assess your nursing home's training rate: NHIP Training Assessment
- Book an appointment with a quality advisor
Chronic Disease
National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) is December 4-8. As the colder months approach, the triple threat of COVID-19, flu and RSV looms over us, which makes it crucial that patients receive vaccinations. Whether hosting vaccine clinics, providing educational materials, or simply having conversations about the importance of vaccinations, we can all contribute to increasing access and uptake of vaccines in our communities.
Alliant Health Solutions has you covered with the Immunization Services and Processes Self-Assessment for Practice/Clinic Settings to evaluate where they may need support in increasing vaccine uptake. For patients and their families, the Immunization Self-Assessment will help them determine the vaccinations they need.
Let’s prioritize encouraging our friends, family, and patients to get vaccinated against the flu. By taking action now, we can help prevent the spread of these serious illnesses and protect ourselves and those around us.
Care Coordination & Partnerships for Community Health
The importance of effective communication with patients and care partners during and after an older adult's emergency department visit can't be over-emphasized. An article published by Sage Journals provides strategies to improve communication throughout the transition process such as working within the context of patient-defined goals. Read Article
Immunization
Resource: The Importance of Vaccines for Older Adults
The Resident and Family Council Vaccinations for Wellness presentation has been updated to include influenza, pneumococcal, RSV and COVID-19. View Presentation
Seasonal Immunization Campaign Calendar – READY SET GO
Are you ready to plan and schedule activities for the National Influenza Vaccination campaign in the first week of December (4-8)? According to the CDC, up to 1.6 million people were affected by the flu between October 1 and November 11. In recent years, it’s estimated that between 70% and 85% of seasonal flu-related deaths occurred in people aged 65 and over, and between 50% and 70% of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations occurred in the same age group. As a result, this is a critical opportunity to remind everyone to protect themselves from the flu by getting their annual flu vaccine.
As facilities plan and schedule activities, they should celebrate their successes, re-invigorate their campaign, and consider a new slogan, such as “Start the New Year Protected!” So, let’s go! The Seasonal Immunization Campaign Calendar has resource links for planning and easy reference to meet your goals. In addition, the comprehensive Toolkit for Increasing Influenza Vaccination Rates in Nursing Homes is a great resource.
Beneficiary & Family Advisory Council (BFAC)
Browse resources our council has worked on below:
Sometimes the holidays no longer seem very jolly, and we don’t feel like celebrating much anymore. What used to be a joyous occasion can take on new meanings as life throws us curve balls. An article from Aging Care provides insights into how to overcome holiday depression. Read Article
Thriving Through the Holidays
Maintaining a focus on personal health and safety is especially important at this time of year. These six tips can help you have a more enjoyable, healthy, and injury-free holiday season.
- Nourish your body
- Stay hydrated
- Stay active
- Relax and recharge
- Mind your medications
- Protect yourself from illnesses
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