Community connections and quarters: How one nursing home responded to a 45-day water crisis
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 08, 2014
In its forthcoming emergency preparedness guidelines for long-term care facilities, maybe the government should include this directive: The facility is to cultivate strong relationships with area businesses...
Nurses who don’t pay taxes or student loans could trigger penalties for SNFs, expert says
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 07, 2014
Registered nurses who default on a student loan or fail to pay taxes could put a skilled nursing facility in the crosshairs of federal fraud investigators, a compliance expert told an audience Sunday at...
Senators press for SNF survey changes in light of adverse events report
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 07, 2014
The skilled nursing facility survey process is failing to ensure resident safety and needs to be improved, two prominent senators said in a recent letter to the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
Theft from Michigan long-term care ombudsman jeopardizes HIPAA-protected information of 2,500 people
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 07, 2014
Thousands of people receiving long-term care in Michigan have had their personal information compromised due to a laptop and flash drive theft, the state’s Department of Community Health (MDCH) has...
Tornado shelters should be installed in nursing homes, government agency recommends in report on Joplin...
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 04, 2014
The deadly tornado that destroyed a Missouri nursing home three years ago showed that long-term care facilities need to have specially designed shelter areas, says a recently released government report....
HCR ManorCare worker negligence led to hepatitis C outbreak, residents charge in federal lawsuit
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 04, 2014
Negligent care resulted in a dramatic outbreak of hepatitis C at an HCR ManorCare nursing home in North Dakota last year, residents allege in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday.
Same-sex married couples now have expanded Medicare enrollment options, HHS announces
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 04, 2014
Seniors now are eligible to receive premium-free Medicare Part A coverage if they are married to someone of the same sex, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday.
Median cost of a private nursing home room now exceeds $87,000 a year, Genworth survey finds
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 03, 2014
The median annual cost of a private nursing home room in the United States has increased to $87,600, according to the latest annual survey from insurance company Genworth. This represents a 4.4% increase...
CA nursing home withheld overtime pay, forced workers to alter time cards, federal lawsuit charges
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 03, 2014
A California nursing home is facing a federal lawsuit over charges that it did not pay workers overtime and fired an employee for cooperating with investigators, according to local news reports.
Advance directives reach record levels, but this does not lead to more hospice use, researchers find
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 03, 2014
Seniors are completing advance directives in record numbers, but this is not having the expected effect of shifting people from hospitals to hospices in their last days, say researchers from the University...