February 25, 2020

In this Issue:

1. Advocate for the Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act
   
2. CMS Proposes Changes to Preadmission Screening Regulations
   
3. Webinar Materials Available for the Successful Practices in Volunteer Recruitment, Training, and Retention Part I Webinar: Developing a Work Plan to Recruit Volunteers

Advocate for Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act

A bipartisan, bicameral bill - HR 4334 - has been introduced to reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA).  Passing this legislation is critical because the OAA authorizes programs and funding to benefit individuals aged 60 years or older in each state, including services such as the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, home and community-based services, legal services, nutrition and transportation services, and more. H.R. 4334 would reauthorize the OAA for five years. It would also strengthen the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program by increasing funding authorizations for the program,  updating the maintenance of effort provisions, and ensuring that ombudsman programs are able to use resources to support the work of their volunteer representatives.
 
Please call your Senators right away!  We anticipate that the Senate may act as early as next week. Learn more about taking action »

CMS Proposes Changes to Preadmission Screening Regulations

The Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) has proposed changes to preadmission screening regulations that would require that all nursing home applicants and residents of Medicaid-certified facilities be screened for mental illness and intellectual disability.  If needed, those services would be provided to them.  This would be the first major revision to CMS' Preadmission Screening and Resident Review regulations since the early 1990s.  The proposed changes would include updates to the definitions of mental illness and intellectual disability, streamlining of the screening process; allowing the use of telehealth technology; and a greater emphasis on resident's preference for where they would like to receive long-term services.  Comments are due on these proposed changes by April 20. Read more in the article from McKnight's »

Webinar Materials Available for the Successful Practices in Volunteer Recruitment, Training, and Retention Part I Webinar: Developing a Work Plan to Recruit Volunteers

The recording and Powerpoint slides are available from the first webinar in the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC)'s three-part webinar series Successful Practices in Volunteer Recruitment, Training, and Retention.  The first webinar in the series focused on Developing a Work Plan to Recruit Volunteers.

Join NORC for the remaining two webinars in the series.  These 75-minute webinars will include examples from programs across the country and plenty of time for brainstorming and sharing from all participants. If you registered for the first webinar, you are already registered for the next two webinars.

The dates for the remaining two webinars in the series are:

• Mentoring and Monitoring Volunteers. March 11th at 3pm ET. Speakers include representatives from the Pennsylvania, California, and Washington, DC Ombudsman programs.
• Retaining Volunteers. April 22nd at 3pm ET. Speakers include representatives from the Washington and Tennessee Ombudsman programs.