A. NASPAC stands for the National Association of Subacute and Post-Acute Care. NASPAC is the leading national organization representing the subacute and post-acute healthcare industry. NASPAC’s Membership includes large and small subacute and post acute providers, individual healthcare professionals and therapists, consultants, payors, and healthcare manufacturers and vendors to the subacute and post-acute industry. NASPAC’s Membership includes both hospital-based and free-standing subacute and post-acute organizations and individuals. (Back to top ^)

A. Subacute care is a comprehensive, cost-effective inpatient level of care for patients who:

• Have had an acute event resulting from injury, illness or exacerbation of a disease process;
  
• Have a determined course of treatment;
  
• Though stable, require diagnostics or invasive procedures, but not intensive procedures requiring an acute level of care.
  

The severity of the patient’s condition requires:

• Active physician direction with frequent on-site visits;
  
• Professional nursing care;
  
• Significant ancillary services;
  
• An outcomes-focused interdisciplinary approach utilizing a professional team;
  
• Complex medical and/or rehabilitative care.
  
• Typically, short-term subacute care is designed to return patients to the community or transition them to a lower level of care. (Back to top ^)

A. Post-Acute Care (PAC) is a program introduced to improve the transition from hospital to the community. Post-Acute Care facilities provide services to patients needing additional support to assist them to recuperatefollowing discharge from an acute hospital. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, there are 18 funded PAC Services operating in both metropolitan and rural areas, and the Program has statewide coverage. These services include home nursing, personal care, childcare, allied health services and home health care. During 2000-2001, the PAC Program was expanded to include emergency department patients, to prevent their admission to hospital, and patients discharged from sub- acute services. The Program acts to augment the current service system, not substitute for existing services.

The objectives of the Program are:

• To provide additional post-acute care services for individuals who require them;
  
• To improve care planning for patients discharged from hospital;
  
• To improve the links between hospitals and other health and community-care providers.
  
• To receive additional post-acute care services through the PAC Program, clients must:
  
• Be a patient of a public hospital or a subacute or post-acute service. This includes patients who have presented to the Emergency Department;
  
• Be assessed as requiring additional services to assist with recuperation or transition to continuing care following a hospital episode (it does not include patients discharged from a psychiatric episode of care, but does include patients discharged from a "same day" episode of care);
  
• Consent to receive additional post-acute care services under the PAC Program;
  
• Agree to the forwarding of individual de-identified client level data to the Department for the purposes of program monitoring and evaluation.
  The National Association of Subacute and Post-Acute Care is dedicated to advancing subacute and post-acute care as a viable part of the healthcare continuum and to providing information and education to encourage industry growth and enable its Members to better serve persons with subacute and post-acute needs. (Back to top ^)

• In the short term, the BBA refinements that Congress made effective April 1, 2001, must
  continue beyond the October 2002 "cliff". This "stop gap" measure must stay in place until an appropriate reimbursement system is developed and implemented.
  
  
• We support at a minimum, the President’s proposed 4% cost/rate increase to be effective
  October 1, 2001. Intense cost pressures are impacting this industry, including in these critical
  areas: severe labor shortages, particularly with licensed nurses and Certified Nursing Assistants; professional liability costs becoming prohibitive; and the many cost and other ramifications of responding to the rapidly changing and punitive regulatory environment.
  
  
• The punitive and adversary regulatory environment is impeding our ability to provide and improve the quality of care. There are a number of specific changes that HCFA could implement immediately, that would have absolutely no impact on quality, and would reduce unnecessary and irrational regulatory burdens. NASPAC requests that the Secretary assign a senior staff member to collect these recommendations and supporting data, so these governmental improvements can be made quickly.
  
  
• The current Medicare SNF Prospective Payment System is fundamentally flawed. As
  documented by MedPAC, it does not accurately measure SNF costs, it provides the wrong incentives, it threatens access to care, and is an unnecessary administrative burden. We support the conclusions of MedPAC with regard to SNF PPS. We are profoundly concerned that "HCFA" will not seriously consider MedPAC’s recommendations with regard to developing an entirely newsystem. NASPAC requests the Secretary assign a senior staff member to collect recommendations and data from NASPAC and other industry sources, for the development of a plan to create and implement a prospective system that meets the goals as outlined by MedPAC.
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• NSCA changed its name to NASPAC to respond to the changes that the healthcare industry is experiencing in the legislative and regulatory arenas on the Federal and State levels.
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• The Education Committee
  
• The Reimbursement Committee
  Members desiring to join NASPAC committees should submit their CV/Resume to NASPAC Headquarters for consideration and placement.
  

• The Education Committee will provide professional and business education to the NASPAC Membership and the broader healthcare community and other related or interested entities, by:
  
• Developing educational programs for the Annual Convention;
  
• Identifying and developing needed workshops and other educational offerings;
  
• Developing a reference and resource center through printed and electronic media;
  
• Ensuring timely distribution of information through Info-Fax, newsletter, and magazine;
  
• Creating a mechanism for publishing articles, providing speakers and coordinating educational programming with other industry associations;
  
• Developing and maintaining an evolving profile;
  
• Targeted audiences are:
  
• Management Teams
  
• Care Teams
  
• Physicians
  
• Payors
  
• Plans
  
• Investment Community
  
• Reference/Resource Center:
  
• Develop a business plan for an information resource center to be initially "hard copy", but with the goal for an "electronic bulletin board/E-mail" – an Information Resources Network that will provide "Core" and "Premium" services.
  

Content could be:

• Subacute Care Bibliography
  
• Post-Acute Care Bibliography
  
• Journals/Newsletters
  
• Speakers Bureau
  
• Medicare Regulations
  
• Association Updates
  
• Access to Internet
  
• "Core" versus "Premium" services to be determined. Members only – Members access "Premium" services for a fee.
  
• Funding: The business plan will include a budget for funding sources.
  

• The Reimbursement Committee has been created to examine, comment, and make recommendations about reimbursement issues confronting the Membership.
  
• The Committee will meet periodically to review a variety of payment issues and make recommendations to the Board of Directors, including the proposed PPS rates.
  
• If you have any questions regarding the Committee, please call Joe Abraham of the Reimbursement Committee at (202) 481-7501. (Back to top ^)

A. By completing an on-line Membership Application and sending in your dues for your appropriate NASPAC Membership category, you will immediately become an active NASPAC Member. Dues are renewable after one year. You may contact the NASPAC office at (202) 429-2700, Fax (202) 429-2701, e-mail naspac@naspac.net, or write The National Association of Subacute and Post-Acute Care, P.O. Box 65085, Washington, DC 20035. (Back to top ^)

A. NASPAC is governed by a Board of Directors and By-Laws that have been incorporated under Section 501©6 of the U.S. Tax Code.

• NASPAC’s Board of Directors is authorized not to exceed 19 seats, to be occupied by healthcare providers, with two seats reserved for non-providers.
  
• The Board of Directors designates an Executive Committee to coordinate and implement Board policies and decisions. Board Members also serve as active liaisons to NASPAC Committees.
  
  
• NASPAC Professional Staff Members are:
  • The Honorable Lyle Williams, Executive Director
  • Grant Weimer - Financial Advisor
  • Candy Bangor - MDS Program Manager
  • Joe Abraham – Legislative Director
  

NASPAC Staff Members perform numerous duties in communications, marketing, membership, development and retention, training, program management, and other program and member services as requested and required.

All NASPAC Staff Members can be reached at the National Association of Subacute and Post-Acute Care, PO Box 65085, Washington, DC 20035 Phone (202) 429-2700, Fax (202) 429-2701, e-mail naspac@naspac.net. (Back to top ^)

• In addition, Members serving on NASPAC’s policy-making committees, make important contacts with other NASPAC Members, who represent hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities and other providers, as well as manufacturers, distributors, payors and others involved in the healthcare industry. Clinical and administrative information is also available, as well as updates on industry trends.
  
  
• NASPAC Members are entitled to discounts and cost-saving opportunities at NASPAC seminars, meetings and the Annual Convention.
  
  
• Finally, NASPAC offers an opportunity for its Members to be part of the growing subacute and post-acute healthcare industry and to enjoy the advantages and prospects for long-term financial stability NASPAC obtains for its Members by fulfilling our goals and objectives. (Back to top ^)

A. NASPAC has organized the subacute and post-acute industry nationwide to achieve goals and objectives that are vital to subacute and post-acute providers, administrators, clinicians, healthcare professionals, payors, and industry vendors. Subacute and post-acute patients also benefit from NASPAC’s representation by having their medical needs more clearly defined and understood by policy-makers.

• NASPAC’s accomplishments for subacute and post-acute patients and healthcare professionals alike include:
  
• A nationwide, scientific study of subacute and post-acute patient profiles and medical costs to treat them has resulted in valuable data for the development of a prospective payment system (PPS), now being implemented in the Medicare Program.
  
• NASPAC’s PPS research projects and active government relations program will ultimately result in a payment and reimbursement system for subacute and post-acute care that will be based on episodes of care and actual medical condition(s) of the patient.
  
• NASPAC’s Education Committee has successfully designed and conducted the "NASPAC Institute", a series of seminars conducted throughout the nation for administrators, directors of nursing, financial managers, and other facility and healthcare personnel. To date, the NASPAC Institute has presented informative and practical seminars on such topics as:
  
• New PPS Reimbursement Regulations;
  
• Use of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) in PPS Reimbursement;
  
• Pre-Certification (MDS) Courses; and
  
• Line-By-Line and Swing Bed Seminars
  
• Additional seminars and workshops on other topics of concern and interest to healthcare personnel are continually being planned and conducted by the NASPAC Institute.
  
• NASPAC’s Annual Convention and technology exhibits draw larger attendance every year, paralleling the growth of NASPAC's leadership in the subacute and post-acute market. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are approved for NASPAC-sponsored courses at the Annual Convention. NASPAC’s next Annual Convention will be held September 8-10, 2004 in Washington, D.C., and will be a major healthcare event, attracting thousands of attendees from the healthcare industry and related professions, as well as academicians, consultants, media, and government policy planners and regulators.
  
• NASPAC provides for its Members a valuable and unique network into the subacute and post-acute professional community, augmented by specialized publications and informational bulletins and presentations that keep our Membership highly informed on developments of direct interest to them.
  

For additional information on NASPAC’s advantages and benefits for its Membership, please contact us at (202) 429-2700 or visit the NASPAC website, www.naspac.net.  (Back to top ^)

A. List of NASPAC approved publications:

• Friday Report
  
• Clinical Guidelines
  
• Nursing Homes Long-Term Care Management (Back to top ^)

A. All NASPAC Members receive the Nursing Home Magazine publication and the Friday Report. Clinical Guidelines can be ordered via mail or fax. (Back to top ^)

A. NASPAC’s next Annual Convention "NASPAC 2006", will be held September 13-15, 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will be the major healthcare event of the year for subacute and post-acute industry providers, clinicians, therapists, payors, consultants, and vendors in the long-term care and skilled nursing facility marketplace.

At NASPAC 2006, healthcare decision-makers, clinical and provider professionals and hundreds of equipment manufacturers, distributors, and consultants to the subacute and post-acute industry will gather, as they have for the past few years, to obtain many outstanding advantages and benefits including:

Educational training, seminars, and workshops that offer CEU credits in many current specialized subacute and post-acute areas;

Healthcare exhibits and technology demonstrations of the latest, state-of-the-art subacute and post-acute care products and services;

Practical, take-home information to improve our facility’s performance in reimbursement, finance, management, clinical operations, and compliance with certification, licensing, and regulatory policies; and

Networking and meeting with professional peers, healthcare administrators, and individuals from academia, industry, government, and healthcare settings, as well as social and recreational activities.

Register now for NASPAC 2006. (Back to top ^)

A. Click above for a registration form! (Back to top ^)

A. Yes. Throughout the year, the NASPAC Institute offers a series of regional seminars on
reimbursement and other topics of immediate concern to subacute and post-acute professionals. NASPAC offes multiple educational offerings across the United States.  For further information, you may register online or call the NASPAC office at (202) 429-2700.

• MDS Certification
  
• MDS Pre-Certification Line-by-Line
  
• Schedules to be announced. (Back to top ^)