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Back to: WALA Home > Industry Insider > News Index > WALA News for May 14, 2004
Well...actually it's free cocktails and hors d'oeuvres but it's still free! Direct Supply is hosting a celebration exclusively for WALA Members and special invitations. You're invited! All you have to do is RSVP by emailing Sarah Bates at sbates@directs.com or call her at 414/358-7263. The event is Wednesday, May 19 from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the Direct Supply Eldercare Interiors Showroom in Milwaukee. You are invited to tour this new 8,000 sq. ft. showroom filled with the latest developments in eldercare design. If we know Direct Supply like we think we do...it'll be a classy and fun event. Come schmooze with other leaders in assisted living and enjoy that free beer! 2) ALFA 2004 CONFERENCE WRAP-UP - More than 1,600 people attended the ALFA Conference in Chicago this year, May 5-7. Nearly 200 exhibitors showed their stuff and, as usual, the sessions were led by national leaders in the assisted living industry. Some of them will be speaking at the WALA conference March 22 - 25, 2005 in the Dells. One of the highlights at ALFA for Wisconsin was the presentation of the ALFA Hero Award to Sue Finch Brown of Hilltop Manor in Ripon. On Wednesday evening, Wisconsin attendees went to eat at the Parthenon in Greek Town where our rosy-cheeked Irishman, Jim Murphy, made many a toast with ouzo - and of course didn't pay a penny for it. Next year it's Atlanta, Georgia! Lookout. 3) ACTION NEEDED: COMMENTS ON TWO DRAFT BQA MEMOS - At the AL Forum on May 11, BQA released two draft memos for review and comment. Please email comments to Jim Murphy at info@ewala.org by Wednesday, May 19, 2004. The first, "Safe Storage, Handling, and Use of Oxygen" (Draft BQA Memo 04-015) relies on information from the Compressed Gas Association that needs to be customized for assisted living environments. Many comments were made at the A L Forum about the inadequacy of the language, but your insight would be valuable to finalize the document. The second draft memo affects architects of A L and may affect your facility as well - especially if you are building a new building fewer than 20 beds. The DRAFT memo is entitled "Construction Requirements for New 'Class-C' CBRF Structures". 4) PROVIDER PROFILES WILL BE AVAILABLE ON BQA WEBSITE IN SEPTEMBER - BQA
memo 04-013, released May 7 announces the intent of BQA to post
assisted
living provider profiles on the DHFS website beginning in September of
this year. It is their intent to do so for nursing homes, all of AL,
hospice, etc. This is a national trend and will move forward. Kevin Coughlin
explained that the consumer can access all AL providers by county and
by provider group (RCAC, CBRF, AFH or Adult Day Care), and receive the
contact information currently on the BQA webpages (name, company, address,
phone, etc). WALA is preparing comments to send to BQA about how these pages will be handled so the consumer understands that many citations are appealed and the final result is often different than the raw data. In addition, we will encourage statements to be posted when an accepted Plan of Correction is instituted. If information like this is posted, it is important the consumer have a complete picture. More detail in the July WALA Watch newsletter. If you are interested in this issue, please send your comments to the WALA office at info@ewala.org or call the WALA office. Other BQA memos available:
The process continues on the HFS 83 rewrite. If you would like to be part of the WALA member group who reviews ongoing drafts, we are happy to send them to you as we receive them. You can then email your comments to WALA and we will compile them for review by the WALA Rewrite Committee. Our recommendations will then go to BQA. The next set we should receive in June is on physical plant requirements. BQA has also announced a timeline for review. At the earliest, the effective date will be mid 2006, and probably much later. More detail in the July newsletter. 7) PROVIDER ORGANIZATION SUMMIT OF WISCONSIN TAKES ACTION -The recently formed Provider Organization Summit, a coalition of several LTC associations including WALA, RSA, RFW, WPSA, and CAPOW, took action on two issues facing the LTC industry in general, including assisted living. The first was a discussion of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR). The bill would have made constitutional amendments to solve the state's deficit problems by limiting state spending in certain areas. A similar bill was passed in Colorado that had devastating consequences on the state budget, thereby effecting funding of LTC programs and services. Contact WALA for the latest on TABOR as it is changing rapidly. Also proposed in the State Legislature is an increase to the minimum wage. The Provider Coalition is concerned specifically with the possibility that wages be increased for direct care provider's sleep time. Representatives from the coalition plan to attend future hearings on the issue. In addition a joint letter was sent to the Legislature to support the Medicare increase.
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