Facilities Must Provide Flu Vaccine to Receive Benefits

       Long-term care facilities must provide flu vaccines to residents in order to continue receiving Medicare and Medicaid benefits, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
       In a final rule published in the October 7, 2005 Federal Register, CMS calls for annual influenza and lifetime pneumococcal disease vaccination, effective immediately. The rule states, “This final rule is intended to increase the number of elderly [persons] receiving influenza and pnuemococcal immunization and decrease the morbidity and mortality rate from influenza and pnuemococcal disease.”
       Patients or their families can refuse the vaccinations, and patients who cannot receive the vaccines for medical reasons will be exempt from the rule.
       The agency is also encouraging nursing homes to provide vaccines for employees, as this practice has been shown to reduce mortality rates among residents. In January, CMS increased the average Medicare payment rate for administering each shot from $8 to $18, in addition to a payment for the cost of the vaccine.
       The rule offers the caveat that, in the case of a CDC-declared vaccine shortage, state survey agencies would have the discretion to not cite facilities for being out of compliance with this requirement.
       Source: The Pink Sheet (FDC Reports)

Public Health Initiative Leads Battle Against MRSA Burden

       In response to the increasing clinical and economic burdens of the potentially deadly bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an interdisciplinary group of public health, industry, and infectious disease experts has united to form the MRSA Leadership Initiative. The initiative will focus on global prevention and management of the MRSA burden through development of public and professional awareness and education programs; clinical, epidemiological, and outcomes research; and projects targeted toward prevention among high-risk patient populations. Pfizer, Inc. (New York, NY), is supporting the collaborative effort.
       The MRSA Leadership Initiative includes experts in a variety of fields, including infectious diseases, nursing, long-term care, pharmacy, epidemiology, medical ethics, healthcare purchasers, payors, healthcare administration, public health, and health policy. Government, physician, and patient groups also will be involved in developing and implementing programs.
       Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is resistant to many classes of commonly used antibiotics and can cause several types of infections—the most common are skin, bloodstream, and pneumonia infections. These infections can be severe or even fatal if not identified early and treated appropriately. Until recently, MRSA infections were mostly confined to hospitals, where patient risk factors included old age, a compromised immune system, recent surgery, or an intensive care unit stay. The estimated cost associated with the treatment of hospitalized patients with MRSA infections is between $3.2 and $4.2 billion annually in the United States.
       Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is now increasing, not only in the hospital setting but also in communities around the world. In fact:
• MRSA incidence rates as a percentage of Staphylococcus aureus infections in many intensive care units have increased from 2% to approximately 60% over the past 30 years.
• A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study showed MRSA infections are now common outside the hospital setting and occur in otherwise healthy people. Specifically, 8% to 20% of all MRSA patient samples examined in the study were community strains.
• Community outbreaks have been documented in sports teams and prisons and are associated with close skin-to-skin contact, open cuts or wounds, crowded living conditions, and poor hygiene. The emergence of MRSA infections within the community among young and otherwise healthy people makes these infections unexpected and sometimes difficult to diagnose.
       The mission of the MRSA Leadership Initiative will be to address the growing burden of MRSA infections and prioritize programs to halt the spread of MRSA.
       Call 212-733-0127 for more information.

GE Commercial Finance Healthcare Financial Services Closes Financing Deal with Royal Senior Care

       GE Commercial Finance Healthcare Financial Services (Stamford, Conn) has provided $29.2 million in fixed-rate financing to Royal Senior Care (Miami Beach, Fla), which owns and operates 7 senior housing communities throughout the southeastern United States under the name Royal Gardens Senior Living.
       Royal Senior Care will use the fixed rate financing to grow its expanding portfolio of senior housing facilities in the south. The company tapped GE as a lender because of its ability to close the deal quickly and at the needed funding level—factors that are critical in the competitive senior housing acquisition market.
       Visit http://www.gehealthcarefinance.com for more information.

Move Toward Technology Sparks Establishment of New Division at Achieve Healthcare

       Achieve Healthcare Technologies^TM (Eden Prairie, Minn) announces the establishment of a new division: LTC Technology Services.
       LTC Technology Services aims to complement a long-term care organization’s current technology infrastructure with several customizable options, including:
• Technology audits and strategic planning
• Technology consulting and project management
• Business continuity and disaster recovery
• Managed hosting
• Communication management
• Desktop management
• Virus control and network security.
       This offering will help long-term care facilities by providing fail-safe systems, 24/7 network access, Electronic Health Record preparedness, and corporate management reports and dashboards. Achieve unveiled it at the American Health Care Association (AHCA)’s annual convention in Las Vegas, Nev, Oct. 17–19.
       With more than 10 years experience in providing technology products and services to more than 2,500 long-term care facilities nationwide, Achieve effectively manages the technology infrastructure for long-term care organizations.
       For more information, contact Jodie Daubert at 952-995-9083 or Jodie.Daubert@AchieveHealthcare.com.

Zassi Medical Evolutions and ConvaTec Conclude License Transaction

       Zassi Medical Evolutions, Inc. (Fernandina Beach, Fla), and ConvaTec (a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Skillman, NJ), concluded a series of transactions resulting in ConvaTec acquiring a nonexclusive license from Zassi to make, use, and sell products utilizing intellectual property regarding Zassi’s Continent Ostomy Port (COP) technology. ConvaTec provided Zassi with a nonexclusive license to make, use, and sell products utilizing intellectual property regarding ConvaTec’s Controlled Evacuation Ostomy Device with Internal Seal technology. These transactions serve to terminate all previous agreements between the parties.
       Both organizations possess technologies that offer hope to individuals with an ostomy. These transactions provide both organizations the opportunity to independently pursue advanced ostomy systems.
       Visit http://www.zassimedical.com for more information.