2019 Training & Conference Calls/Webinars

NORS Technical Assistance Open Dialogue Webinars

The revised NORS data collection has been effective for a few weeks (as of October 1, 2019). Do you have any questions as you enter your work under the revised NORS data collection? If so, this webinar is an informal question and answer session. During this three-part webinar series presenters will provide a brief overview of key points for the relevant NORS topics and then attendees are free to ask questions regarding that topic.

Part I (Wednesday, October 30, 2019)

View the slides as a PDF and PowerPoint with presenter notes.

Part II (Wednesday, November 20, 2019)

View the slides as a PDF and PowerPoint with presenter notes.

Part III & IV (Tuesday, December 17, 2019)

View the slides as a PDF and PowerPoint with presenter notes.

The Effects of the Opioid Crisis on Long-Term Care Residents - Points of Advocacy

Opioid misuse and abuse has become a national epidemic. Yet opioid use in long-term care settings hasn't gotten the same attention as in other settings. To gain more information about the impact of this epidemic on long-term care facility residents, Consumer Voice obtained feedback from residents and ombudsmen through in-person discussions and online questionnaires about the resident experience. This webinar presents the findings and information gathered, and shares select strategies and recommendations for effective advocacy in addressing resident issues related to opioid use and misuse.

Presenters: Lori Smetanka, Executive Director, Consumer Voice; Jamie Freschi, Consultant, National LTC Ombudsman Resource Center

• Slides (PDF, PPT)

Additional Resources

• Administration for Community Living (ACL)
• Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (AMDA)
• National Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC)

Additional Resources from NCEA

• Opioid Pain Medicine! What You Should Know About (English, Spanish)
• National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)
• USC Center on Elder Mistreatment (USC CEM)
• Supports and Tools for Elder Abuse Prevention (STEAP)
• Reframing Elder Abuse (Frameworks)
• Training Resources on Elder Abuse (TREA)
• Elder Abuse Guide for Law Enforcement (EAGLE)

Advocacy Tools and Successful Practices to Protect Residents from Nursing Facility-Initiated Discharges

View the slides as a PDF and PowerPoint with presenter notes.

Handouts

• State Operations Manual Appendix PP – Guidance to Survey (do not print!)
• State Operations Manual Appendix PP – Guidance to Surveyors for Long-Term Care Facilities §483.15 Admission, Transfer, and Discharge Rights
• Hospitalization Critical Element Pathway
• Dementia Care Critical Element Pathway
• Behavioral and Emotional Status Critical Element Pathway

For the last seven years, complaints regarding nursing facility discharges have been the top complaint received by Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs. Presenters provided an overview of the Ombudsman Learning Collaborative to Protect Residents Against Nursing Facility-Initiated Discharges project; showed how to use federal nursing home regulations and surveyor guidance to address three common complaints about discharge; shared examples of legal services and Ombudsman program collaboration; and highlighted available resources.

Presenters: Robyn Grant, Director, Public Policy and Advocacy, National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care; Eric Carlson, Directing Attorney, Justice in Aging; Jamie Freschi, NORC Consultant

Enhancing Your Advocacy Tool Box: Protecting Residents from Nursing Facility-Initiated Discharges

View the slides as a PDF.

Handouts

• State Operations Manual Appendix PP - Guidance to Survey
• State Operations Manual Appendix PP – Guidance to Surveyors for Long-Term Care Facilities §483.15 Admission, Transfer, and Discharge Rights
• Hospitalization Critical Element Pathway
• Dementia Care Critical Element Pathway
• Behavioral and Emotional Status Critical Element Pathway

Complaints regarding nursing facility-initiated discharges have been the top complaint received by Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs (LTCOPs) for the last seven years. This webinar discussed new ways to apply the federal nursing home regulations and surveyor guidance in advocacy to address common complaints involving nursing facility-initiated discharges. Additionally, presenters highlighted successful practices identified during the Ombudsman Learning Collaborative to Protect Residents Against Nursing Facility-Initiated Discharges project and share available consumer education resources.

Speakers: Robyn Grant, Director, Public Policy and Advocacy, Consumer Voice and Jamie Freschi, NORC Consultant

NOTE: This webinar was part of the Ombudsman Learning Collaborative to Protect Residents Against Nursing Facility-Initiated Discharges project and was open to State Ombudsmen, representatives of the Office, and legal assistance providers in the seven project states (DC, OH, OK, LA, MS, NV, and PA).

Using Technology to Recruit, Train, and Keep Volunteers in the Loop

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This webinar is for Ombudsman programs that work with volunteers. Participants heard successful practices in using technology for recruiting, “on-boarding”, training, and retaining volunteers (e.g., an informative program website, social media, video conferencing, on-demand training, etc.). For example, the speakers talked about strategies for utilizing social media to tell consumer's stories and other appealing content, to attract potential volunteers. Whether you are looking for new ways to recruit or retain volunteers, listen as speakers share how to incorporate technology into many aspects of volunteer management. Speakers include Mitzi E. McFatrich, Executive Director of Kansas Advocates for Better Care; Gregory K. Shelley, Managing Local Ombudsman of the Harris County LTCOP in Houston, Texas; Betsy McAllister, Florida LTCOP State Training Administrator; and Kerri Tanner and Kathryn Curry, Alaska LTCOP State Office.

Trauma-Informed Care: Nursing Home Responsibilities and Ombudsman Program Advocacy

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Ensuring that residents who are trauma survivors receive culturally competent, trauma-informed care is one of several new federal requirements which will go into effect when Phase 3 of the revised federal nursing home regulations are implemented November 28, 2019. Attendees learned about trauma-informed care, the new federal requirement, how trauma-informed care relates to resident-centered care, and what this means for Ombudsman program advocacy and communication. Presenters included Nancy Kusmaul, Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Patricia Hunter, Washington State LTC Ombudsman. 

Navigating the National Ombudsman Resource Center Website

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The National Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) website is filled with information, resources, and news from Ombudsman programs to support and inform programs across the country. This presentation walks through the NORC website and new On-Demand Training Center. The presentation shows how resources and information is organized on the website and where to go if you need help. Watch this short video as an introduction to the NORC website and read the March NORC Notes to learn more about the NORC website and recent updates. 

Revised NORS Five-Part Webinar Series

This is a five-part webinar series on the revised National Ombudsman Reporting System (NORS) training materials created by NORC.

State Ombudsman programs submit data regarding program activities to the Administration for Community Living (ACL)/Administration on Aging (AoA), using the codes, definitions, and activities outlined in the instructions for the National Ombudsman Reporting Systems (NORS). The data has been collected since 1996 and this is the first comprehensive revision. The revised NORS data collection is effective October 1, 2019.

NORC has updated the four-part NORS training materials to reflect the updated codes, definitions, and activities and instruct programs on how to record the work they do. States are to continue to use the current approved NORS codes and instructions and training materials to ensure consistent reporting until the updated data collection is effective on October 1, 2019.

The purpose of this webinar series is to introduce the new training materials to help programs prepare for the transition to new codes, definitions, and activities on October 1, 2019. The first webinar will introduce the revised new NORS data collection and the following four webinars will cover each part of the revised four-part training.

Introduction to the revised National Ombudsman Reporting System (NORS) (February 5, 2019)

View the slides as a PDF and as a PowerPoint with presenter notes. 

• Table 1: Case Data Components
• Table 2: Complaint codes and definitions
• Table 3: State Program Information
• NORS webpage

Part I: Case, Complaint, Complainant, and Information and Assistance (February 27, 2019)

View the slides as a PDF and as a PowerPoint with presenter notes. 

Part I Revised NORS Training Materials

• Revised NORS Training Part I: Basic Principles (black and white version)
• Revised NORS Training Part I: Quiz (black and white version)
• Revised NORS Training Part I: Quiz Answer Sheet (black and white version)
• Table 1: NORS Parts A, B and C - Case and complaint codes, values, and definitions

Part II: Complaint Coding (March 19, 2019)

View the slides as a PDF and as a PowerPoint with presenter notes. 

Part II  Revised NORS Training Materials

• Revised NORS Training Part II: Complaint Coding Basic Principles (black and white version)
• Revised NORS Training Part II: Complaint Coding Quiz (black and white version)
• Revised NORS Training Part II: Complaint Coding Quiz Answer Sheet (black and white version)
• Revised NORS Training Part II: Complaint Coding Beyond the Basics Quiz (black and white version)
• Revised NORS Training Part II: Complaint Coding Beyond the Basics Quiz Answer Sheet (black and white version)
• NORS Table 2: Complaint codes and definitions

Part III: Verification, Disposition, Referral, and Closing Cases (April 30, 2019)

View the slides as a PDF and as a PowerPoint with presenter notes.

Part III  Revised NORS Training Materials

• Revised NORS Training Part III: Verification, Disposition, Referral, and Closing Cases Basic Principles (black and white version)
• Revised NORS Training Part III: Verification, Disposition, Referral, and Closing Cases - Closing the Case (black and white version)
• Revised NORS Training Part III: Verification, Disposition, Referral, and Closing Cases Quiz (black and white version)
• Revised NORS Training Part III: Verification, Disposition, Referral, and Closing Cases Quiz Answer Sheet (black and white version)
• Table 1: NORS Parts A, B and C - Case and complaint codes, values, and definitions
• Table 2: Complaint codes and definitions

Part IV: Ombudsman Program Activities (Wednesday, May 29, 2019)

View the slides as a PDF and as a PowerPoint with presenter notes.

Part IV Revised NORS Training Materials

• Revised NORS Training Part IV: Ombudsman Program Activities Basic Principles (black and white version)
• Revised NORS Training Part IV: Ombudsman Program Activities Quiz (black and white version)
• Revised NORS Training Part IV: Ombudsman Program Activities Quiz Answer Sheet (black and white version)
• NORS Table 3: State Program Information

Asked and Answered: Frequently Asked Questions about the Revised NORS (Tuesday, September 24, 2019)

View the slides as a PDF and as a PowerPoint with presenter notes.