INDUSTRY NEWS
Fall Conference
Over 315 Aging Services professionals joined us and our partners at LeadingAge IN and HOPE for a great two-day event at the Indianapolis Marriott East. A huge thank you to all the attendees and sponsors who made the fall conference possible. We were proud! to honor colleagues at the INALA awards ceremony held during the conference.
Reported Hepatitis A Death
ISDH has reported the first death from Indiana’s Hepatitis A outbreak. The outbreak has caused nearly 4,000 illnesses in 10 states and resulted in multiple fatalities nationwide. Since November 2017, ISDH has confirmed 214 outbreak-related cases of hepatitis A. Indiana typically sees about 20 cases in a 12-month period.
Most Nursing Communities Overstated Staffing for Years, Analysis Finds
A federal data analysis by Kaiser Health News found that most U.S. nursing communities had fewer nurses and caregivers than they had reported to the government for years, according to the New York Times.
New Medicare Card Mailing Update
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services started mailing new Medicare cards to people with Medicare who live in Wave 3 states: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin. They continue to mail new cards to people who live in Wave 2 states and territories (Alaska, American Samoa, California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon), as well as nationwide to people who are new to Medicare.
More information can be found in the following CMS article.
Those Pesky Geese!
It only takes a few years for a pair of Canadian geese to become 50 to 100 birds. Some people enjoy watching geese, others find geese and their dropping a nuisance. Geese readily establish nesting areas in places where people congregate and during the nesting season (March-June), they lose their fear of humans and will attack adults, children and pets. Geese will defend their goslings for 10-12 weeks after the eggs hatch.
An encounter with a nesting goose is not soon forgotten and their aggressive displays can keep people from venturing out or entering homes or businesses.
Canadian geese, goslings, their nests and eggs are protected by law but there are some things you can do to rid an area of geese. Utilizing only one strategy is rarely successful. The highest likelihood of success is generally realized by using several strategies simultaneously and rotating the use of a variety of strategies. You will need to be persistent and committed and recognize there is no easy short term solution.
Helpful advice is available from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources or Purdue University Extension.
CMS Increases Payments for Durable Medical Equipment
CMS has issued an interim final rule raising Medicare payments for durable medical equipment (DME) to ensure beneficiaries have access to critical medical devices, reports HealthPayerIntelligence.