PharMerica to pay $200,000 settlement over federal charges of unsafe dispensing practices
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 17, 2014
Long-term care pharmacy company PharMerica has agreed to pay about $213,000 to settle charges that it dispensed medications without prescriptions and committed other breaches of the Controlled Substances...
Shortchanging the Older Americans Act has led to unnecessary nursing home placements, senators say
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 17, 2014
Chronic underfunding of the Older Americans Act is leading to unnecessary long-term care facility admissions, Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) and 26 of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate said in a recent...
Hospitals slap the government with lawsuits over ‘two-midnight’ policy to reduce observation...
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 16, 2014
The American Hospital Association and other hospital groups have sued the federal government over the so-called “two-midnight rule,” which was designed in part to ease access to skilled nursing...
Government would pay seniors to create advanced directives under Senate bill
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 16, 2014
Medicare beneficiaries would be paid to create advance directives and store them in an easy-access system if a recently proposed Senate bill were to become law.
MS patients less tense and pessimistic in nursing homes than at home, study finds
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 16, 2014
Nursing home residents with severe multiple sclerosis report being less tense and pessimistic than similar individuals receiving care at home, according to recently published research findings.
What Chipotle can teach long-term care
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 15, 2014
I love Chipotle. What makes the burrito purveyor so great? The real secret might be how it grooms and retains its managers — it’s an approach long-term care leaders might do well to study.
Long-term care providers achieved 15% antipsychotic reduction goal, CMS announces
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 15, 2014
Long-term care facilities have reduced antipsychotic medication use by more than 15% through a large-scale initiative, according to a new report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. That...
Proposed Life Safety Code updates encourage more homelike environments
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 15, 2014
Updated fire safety regulations could encourage more home-like healthcare environments while increasing security to safeguard against wandering, according to a proposed rule announced Monday.
Visitor shot and killed on the grounds of an assisted living community in Kansas
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 15, 2014
A woman visiting her mother at an assisted living facility in Kansas was gunned down in the parking lot Sunday, in what authorities are describing as a hate crime.
Bill would create ‘advanced aide’ positions in nursing homes to improve transitions, dementia...
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 14, 2014
Advanced certified nursing assistants — with specialized skills in care transitions, dementia and other areas — could become important staff leaders in long-term care facilities through newly proposed...