Am I Ready to Take the Resident Assessment Coordinator – Certified (RAC-CT™) Certification?

If you’ve been a nurse assessment coordinator for some time now, you may be asking yourself, “Am I ready to take the RAC-CT certification?” To help answer that question, the experts at the American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing (AAPACN) put together a list of questions for you to evaluate …

AAPACN Responds to CMS’s Comment Request for FY 2023 SNF PPS Proposed Rule

Jessie McGill, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA and Alexis Roam, MSN, RN-BC, DNS-CT, QCP The annual rulemaking process enables stakeholders to comment on proposals that will affect skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) throughout the next year. In early April, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its fiscal year (FY) 2023 …

Baseline Care Plan: Connecting the Dots to the Comprehensive

Unlike the baseline care plan, the comprehensive care plan is largely MDS-based and analysis-driven, points out Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP, a long-term care and senior living clinical consultant for Briggs Healthcare in Clive, IA. “It goes beyond the minimal requirements for the baseline. As a result of these differences, some …

Which Do I Follow? Federal vs. State Regulations for the MDS

In this podcast, Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, vice president of education and certification strategy for AAPACN, and Jennifer LaBay, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, QCP, CRC, curriculum development specialist for AAPACN, discuss some of the differences between federal and state-specific regulations for MDS completion.

Q&A: Does an inpatient rehab stay count toward a qualifying hospital stay for Medicare coverage?

Question: We have a referral for a resident with Medicare Part A who has been in an inpatient rehab facility (IRF) for six weeks. Is the IRF still considered acute and can qualify for the 3-day qualifying hospital stay (QHS)? Answered by Janine Cortesa RN, BSN: Acute inpatient rehab facilities …

Resident Cognitive Level Determination: For the SLP and Nursing Components Under PDPM

If the BIMS interview is not completed, the PDPM Cognitive Level will be used to determine cognitive impairment under the SLP and Nursing components of PDPM. AAPACN has updated its Resident Cognitive Level Determination Tool to help nurse assessment coordinators better understand the differences between SLP and Nursing PDPM Cognitive Level scoring.  For permission to …

Social Determinants of Health and the Impact on Discharge Planning

Using social determinants of health (SDOH) when developing a resident’s discharge plan can help identify and address potential risks that could adversely affect the resident’s ability to safely discharge back to the community. AAPACN’s Social Determinants of Health and the Impact on Discharge Planning tool provides insight into how assessing …

ICD-10 Diagnosis Coding for Skilled Nursing Facilities with Carol Maher

In this podcast, Amy Stewart, vice president of education and certification strategy for AAPACN, and Carol Maher, director of education for Hansen, Hunter & Co., discuss ICD-10 diagnosis coding for skilled nursing facilities.