Nursing Homes Look For State Money For Generators
November 14, 2017
Florida’s largest nursing-home association has one question as the 2018 legislative session approaches: Will the state help foot the costs of generators at nursing homes?
But getting an answer is proving elusive.
Florida Health Care Association chief lobbyist Bob Asztalos on Monday asked a top Medicaid official whether nursing homes would be authorized to include generators on the cost reports facilities are required to submit to the state.
The answer from Tom Wallace, who is the interim assistant deputy secretary for Medicaid finance and analytics at the Agency for Health Care Administration, did not give a clear picture.
“The agency’s response right now would be, we are looking at that. We are looking into that and what is the best approach to doing this,” Wallace said.
Asztalos asked the question at the third and final meeting of the Nursing Home Prospective Payment Working Group, which met Monday at the agency’s Tallahassee headquarters.
The question was posed as the group started discussing Hurricane Irma and the state’s response to the storm.
The Legislature during the 2017 session directed AHCA to assemble the group and have it examine the myriad issues involved in switching the state’s Medicaid reimbursement for nursing homes away from a cost-based system and toward a “prospective payment” system.
Under a cost-based system, nursing homes annually submit unaudited cost reports that are used as the basis for payment. After the reports are audited, providers can go back and demand higher reimbursements.
Under the prospective payment system, nursing homes will be reimbursed predetermined, fixed amounts.
Nursing homes became a high-profile issue after residents of a sweltering Broward County nursing home died following Hurricane Irma. Eight residents of The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills died Sept. 13, three days after the storm knocked out the facility’s air-conditioning system. Six others died after evacuation.
The deaths prompted Gov. Rick Scott’s administration to issue emergency rules requiring nursing homes and assisted-living facilities to have generators and enough fuel to cool buildings for 96 hours.
The rules were challenged by three long-term care associations that argued the Scott administration violated state law because there was no emergency and that the rules overstepped legislative authority. Though an administrative law judge sided with the groups, the Scott administration took the issue to the 1st District Court of Appeal. The administration maintains the rules stay in effect during the appeal.
The Florida Health Care Association estimates that it would cost about $230 million for more than 650 nursing homes to get generators. The association would like Medicaid — which pays for about 60 percent of nursing-homes days on average — to help offset a corresponding amount of the costs. If that were the case, it would cost Florida taxpayers about $53.8 million. Another $84.1 million would be absorbed by federal matching dollars.
Asztalos, whose association did not challenge the rules, said nursing homes are precluded from transferring residents to special needs shelters. Generally, nursing homes ink agreements with other nursing homes that allow them to transfer patients in case of hurricanes or storms.
During Hurricane Irma, Asztalos said, many East Coast nursing homes transferred patients to facilities on the state’s West Coast. But when Hurricane Irma changed course and started barreling toward the West Coast, that put some nursing homes who agreed to take residents from East Coast facilities in the awkward position of evacuating not only their residents but the residents they agreed to take from sister facilities.
“We agree with the governor we’ve got to get these generators,” he said.
Asztalos said that hardening nursing homes would not only allow the facilities to keep residents in place but enable the facilities to serve as special-needs shelters and take in people who need shelter from storms.
“I think this does have a public policy point for the state,” he said, adding that generators could also help abate what could be a growing problem in that nursing homes are beginning to “pull back on evacuation agreements (with other facilities).”
Working group member, Scott Hopes said Manatee County opened 25 shelters that had capacity to serve about 25,000 people. But only one of the shelters, he said, was a dedicated special needs shelter. It was able to accommodate about 500 people.
“We had special needs residents in every one of the (shelters),” Hopes said adding that people with oxygen and oxygen generators, “just were everywhere.”
Jennifer Langer Jacobs, an administrator with Sunshine Health, told the panel that care coordinators who work at the HMO were worried about their clients and where they could be evacuated.
“Ultimately, everybody got where they needed to get to, but I think the stress level in the system was much higher than what it needed to be,” she said.
by Christine Sexton, The News Service of Florida
Basketball: T.R. Miller Topples Ernest Ward (With Gallery)
November 14, 2017
T.R. Miller defeated Ernest Ward Middle School in middle school basketball action Monday evening.
Girls
T.R. Miller 26, Ernest Ward 24
Boys
T.R. Miller 56, Ernest Ward 51
Ernest Ward will travel to Jay on Tuesday before hosting Perdido on Thursday beginning at 5:00.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Update: Stolen Cantonment Boat Recovered
November 13, 2017
UPDATE: This stolen boat was recovered Monday afternoon after a tip from a NorthEscambia.com reader.
A Cantonment family is offering a reward after their boat was stolen from their home last week.
A boat, motor, trolling motor and trailer were stolen Thursday night, Nov. 9, from a residence down a long driveway on Pinetop Lane between Neal Road and Well Line Road, near the Cantonment Athletic Center.
The boat was a white, 20-foot center console Caroline Skiff with blue T-top and poling platform above the transom, a 100 HP, 4-strike Yamaha and a single axle galvanized trailer. The registration number on the front of the hull is FL0958MD.
A $500 reward is be offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the theft.
Call (850) 565-0376 the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 with information about the boat.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
‘Small Businesss Saturday’ Gets Boost In Senate
November 13, 2017
Small businesses would be able to sell items costing less than $1,000 without charging sales taxes on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2018, under a measure approved by a Senate committee.
The Commerce and Tourism Committee voted unanimously in favor of the measure (SB 76), which would create a tax holiday dubbed “Small Business Saturday.”
It would come a day after “Black Friday” sales that traditionally mark the start of the holiday shopping season. A Senate staff analysis estimates the Small Business Saturday proposal would save shoppers $41.2 million.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, is akin to the state’s familiar back-to-school sales tax “holiday.” He backed similar measures in 2015 and 2016 that drew committee support but failed to get into final tax-cut packages. Rep. Kamia Brown, D-Ocoee, has filed identical legislation (HB 519) in the House.
by The News Service of Florida
Escambia Florida EMS Begins Coverage Today In Walnut Hill, Bratt
November 13, 2017
Today, Escambia County begins providing ambulance service to the Walnut and Bratt areas, ending a nearly 40-year old agreement with Atmore Ambulance.
Escambia County EMS is assuming primary medical coverage for the entire north end of Escambia County. Atmore Ambulance has provided ambulance service for the Walnut Hill, Bratt, Davisville and surrounding communities in the 327 telephone exchange since 1978. The county contract with Atmore Ambulance will expire at midnight on November 16.
Public Safety Director Mike Weaver said an additional Escambia County EMS unit will be stationed at the Walnut Hill Fire Station on Highway 97. An Escambia County EMS unit is currently stationed at EMS Post 50 on Industrial Boulevard in Century. The units will respond to the entirety of northern Escambia County and also provide response to the Molino area along with units stationed further south.
Weaver requested that the Escambia County Commission include 12 new EMT’s in his budget for next fiscal year, including four crews of two to staff the new Walnut Hill unit.
Escambia County decided to assume the Walnut and Bratt area coverage after service level concerns with Atmore Ambulance.
County officials have discussed ending a contract under which Escambia County EMS provides primary response to Flomaton. For now, that response will continue, Weaver said, as Alabama authorities work on a replacement ambulance arrangement for Flomaton.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Teen Movie Night Tuesday At The Molino Library
November 13, 2017
This Tuesday, November 14, teens age 12-17 are invited to the Molino Branch Library to watch “Thor – the Dark World” at Teen Movie Night at 5:30 p.m. Teens are asked to bring a blanket or a beanbag chair to stretch out and get comfortable.
Blue Angels Welcome New Commanding Officer
November 13, 2017
U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, held the squadron’s change of command ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum on Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Nov. 12.
Cmdr. Eric Doyle relieved Capt. Ryan Bernacchi as Blue Angels commanding officer/flight leader and spoke of his optimism for the future and pride in taking command of the prestigious squadron.
“It is an absolute honor to have the opportunity to lead the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron,” said Doyle. “I am humbled to join such a talented group of dedicated professionals as we head into the team’s 72nd air show season.”
Doyle joined the Blue Angels in September. Prior to his selection as the Blue Angels’ commanding officer, he was the commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 113, the “Stingers,” at NAS Lemoore, California. Doyle’s previous assignments include: Strike Fighter Squadron 115 (VFA-115), the “Eagles,” NAS Lemoore; U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN), NAS Fallon, Nevada; Strike Fighter Squadron 37 (VFA-37), the “Ragin’ Bulls,” at NAS Oceana, Virginia; Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 15, the “Valions,” at NAS Oceana, Virginia; 422nd Test & Evaluation Squadron, the “Green Bats,” at Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada..
Bernacchi joined the Blue Angels in September 2015. He led the team through two different, three-month long training work-ups, where pilots completed 240 practice flights between 2016-2017. He also led the team in performing more than 110 air shows and flyovers in more than 60 locations throughout the U.S. Bernacchi is awaiting orders to his next duty station.
“I am immensely honored to have served as the commanding officer and flight leader of the Blue Angels, and I will be forever thankful for the experiences I shared with the team and with the people I have been fortunate to meet, all around our county in the past two years,” said Bernacchi. “I am extremely proud of the men and women – Sailors and Marines, of the Blue Angels, and the dedication, skill, and teamwork with which they represent the Navy and Marine Corps.”
The mission of the Blue Angels is to showcase the pride and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps by inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country through flight demonstrations and community outreach. In 2016, the Blue Angels celebrated their 70th anniversary. Since 1946, the Blue Angels have performed for more than 496 million fans.
Century Appoints Boutwell To Community Action Program Committee
November 13, 2017
The Town of Century has appointed council member Ben Boutwell to the Community Action Program Committee (CAPC) board.
CAPC has been serving Northwest Florida residents since April 1965.
The agency started as a small summer program for children, and has developed into a multi-faceted agency targeting poverty in the community. CAPC is an anti-poverty agency working cohesively as the organization focuses on its vision to change people’s lives, to embody the spirit of hope and to make the community a better place to live.
The CAPC works with Community Services Block Grants, Head Start/Early Start, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) and the Weatherization Assistance Proram
Proposal Targets Class Size, Higher Teacher Pay
November 13, 2017
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission will consider a proposal that would make it easier for schools to comply with class-size limits, with any financial savings required to go toward higher teacher pay.
Commission member Patricia Levesque, CEO of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, filed the proposal before a deadline last week. If approved by the commission in the coming months, it would go on the November 2018 ballot.
Voters in 2002 approved a constitutional amendment that placed strict limits on public-school class sizes. But the requirements have long been controversial, with many Republicans questioning whether the limits improve student achievement and pointing to the costs. Under Levesque’s proposed constitutional amendment (Proposal 90), schools could comply with class-size limits based on average numbers of students.
For example, the 2002 constitutional amendment set a maximum of 18 students for each teacher in prekindergarten through third grade. Levesque’s proposal would allow schools to have an average of 18 students in those grade levels — an easier standard to meet than a maximum of 18.
The proposal also would require that money “not spent by districts to maintain the school-level average class size maximums must be spent towards raising teacher pay to the national average.” Levesque is a former education staff director in the House who later became a top aide to former Gov. Jeb Bush. The Foundation for Excellence in Education was founded by Bush.
Levesque also is executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future, another organization founded by Bush.
by The News Service of Florida
UWF Makes Division II History With First Ever NCAA Playoff Bid
November 13, 2017
The UWF football team earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA Division II Football Playoff as announced by the selection committee on Sunday.
UWF was slotted as the No. 6 seed in the Super Region 2 bracket and will travel to play at No. 3 seed Wingate on Saturday, Nov. 18. Kickoff at Irwin Belk Stadium Stadium and John R. Martin Field in Wingate, N.C. is set for 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Tickets will go on sale Monday, Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. ET. Ticket prices will be announced on Monday morning. Both general admission and reserved seating will be available for purchase from the Wingate Ticket Office at wingatebulldogs.com.
The Argonauts finished the regular-season at 7-3 and in a 5-way tie for second place in the Gulf South Conference with a 5-3 record. UWF was ranked No. 10 in the most recent NCAA Super Region 2 Rankings and pulled off the biggest win in its 2-year history with a 34-29 upset at No. 18/24 West Georgia on Saturday.
Under second-year head coach Pete Shinnick, UWF has now become the fastest team ever to qualify for the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs. The previous mark was three seasons held by UNC Pembroke, who did so in 2009 when Shinnick built the Braves’ program from scratch in 2007.
Wingate went 9-1 and 6-1 in the South Atlantic Conference, dropping its regular-season finale at Tusculum, 25-17.
The UWF-Wingate winner will face the winner of the No. 2 Virginia State-No. 7 West Georgia game.
The Gulf South Conference had four teams receive bids to the playoffs, led by No. 1 seed West Alabama who will have a first round bye before hosting the winner of the No. 5 Delta State-No. 4 Bowie State contest.
Pictured top and inset: Northview High graduate Blake McCall. Photos courtesy Robin L Pooling for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
