Blogs, Guest Columns, Things I Think and Living Leadership
Playing it safe: The need for a comprehensive safety program
By
Betty Norman
Dec 27, 2017
Does your organizational safety program and committee focus solely on employee injuries and Workers’ Compensation issues? If so, you are not alone.
I heard the call bells on Christmas Day
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Dec 26, 2017
With Christmas songs still echoing in my head, I bring you original lyrics, with special thoughts of our hard-working long-term care nursing corps in mind.
Depression in dementia: How do you know?
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Dec 22, 2017
Most of us have used or at least aware of the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire) scale for depression. Through a series of questions that are directly related to the DSM-IV criteria, a patient or caregiver...
As demand increases for granny cams, what should LTC facilities do?
By
Nancy Reynolds
Dec 20, 2017
The post-Hurricane Irma disaster at a Florida nursing home, where multiple residents died from heat-related problems when the electricity went out, prompted a last-minute legislative add-on — allowing...
People in LTC who’ve inspired me in 2017
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Dec 19, 2017
From the 102-year-old Hulk Hogan fan to the doting, selfless caregivers doing behind-the-scenes work, there are numerous people who inspired me in long-term care this year.
Provider survival strategies in an at-risk environment
By
David Gruber, M.D.
Dec 18, 2017
National health expenditures will increase from $3.5 trillion in 2017 to $5.5 trillion in 2025, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. That’s two trillion dollars in only eight...
Loophole allows low volume Medicare providers exemption from auditing
By
Kristin Walter
Dec 15, 2017
The current implementation of Medicare’s sliding scale ADR limit policy is preventing the recovery of improper payments and has afforded a significant portion of providers with immunity from billing...
Elf solves LTC staffing crisis
By
Gary Tetz
Dec 14, 2017
November 28 is ruined for me now. Thanks, CMS. For years, I’ve been celebrating it as the fateful day in 1443 when Albanian George Kastriotis Skanderbeg and his forces liberated Kruja in Middle Albania...
Five-Star is anything but frozen
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 13, 2017
The day after Thanksgiving, CMS further defined its intensions with the Five-Star Quality Rating System; more specifically how the new survey process and derivative data will be used in its calculation...
When will we ever get good press?
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Dec 12, 2017
You know, a lot of great stuff happens in the long-term and post-acute care setting. But nooooooo, no one ever wants to talk about the good stuff. One bad apple and the mainstream press go wild and we...