CMS Awards Grants for Alternatives to Institutional Care

       Seventeen states will receive more than $23 million in grants for fiscal year 2007 and up to $900 million over five years for demonstration programs that will help build Medicaid long-term care programs to keep persons in the community and out of institutions, announces Leslie Norwalk, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The grants are the first round of grants that will total $1.75 billion over five years (2007–2011) to help states shift Medicaid’s traditional emphasis on institutional care to a system offering greater choices for individuals and a full range of home- and community-based services.
       “There is more evidence than ever that people who need long-term care prefer to remain in their own homes and communities whenever possible,” says Norwalk. “States will also get more for their money by giving the elderly and people with disabilities more control over how and where they get the Medicaid services they need. With these grants, the states propose to transition over 20,000 individuals from institutions and into community settings.”
       Previously, in order to fund home and community-based services, states had to establish a “waiver program” apart from the approved state Medicaid plan; that is no longer the case. All states were eligible to apply for participation in the five-year demonstration that requires a commitment to participate in the demonstration services for at least two consecutive years. A second round of state grants may be announced later this year using 2007 grant money.
       For more information on the New Freedom Initiative, of which this CMS demonstration is part, visit www.cms.hhs.gov/newfreedom/.

CMS Approves Medela’s NPWT System

       Medela Medical Technology announces the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved its negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) healing system for reimbursement under the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes E2402, A7000, and A6550.
       The NPWT system consists of the Medela Vario 18 AC/DC C/I aspirator and a wound dressing kit containing individual components manufactured for Medela. This system can be used to promote the healing and aid in the development of granulation tissue for difficult-to-heal wounds, such as stage 3 and stage 4 pressure ulcers, neuropathic and venous insufficiency ulcers, dehisced wounds, partial-thickness burns, and skin flaps and grafts. The Medela system works by applying subatmospheric pressure to the wound site to remove infectious materials and draw the outer edges of the wound together. This system can be used in hospital, long-term, or home care settings.
       For more information, call 877-735-1626.

E-Newsletter Aims to Reduce Caregiver Injury

       Liko, Inc., a leading global supplier of patient lift and transfer solutions, introduces a pro bono online newsletter designed to assist hospitals and nursing homes in their efforts to eliminate caregiver injuries caused during the lifting and repositioning of patients.
       “Safe Lifting News” is a free, bi-monthly e-newsletter that provides a variety of brief news items and links to injury prevention stories and related websites. It provides an efficient way for nurses and risk management personnel to keep informed about events in the field of safe lifting, ranging from legislative initiatives to questions and answers submitted by readers.
       “Safe Lifting News” is part of Liko’s “Safe Lifting Environment” campaign, which is being provided free of charge to healthcare facilities worldwide. Readers can get more information about the campaign, including estimated return on investment calculations for their facility, by visiting www.safeliftingportal.com. To subscribe to “Safe Lifting News,” visit www.safeliftingnews.com.
       For more information, call 888-545-6671.