Blogs, Guest Columns, Things I Think and Living Leadership
Five-Star insights: Will those stars ever illuminate your path?
By
Steven Littlehale
May 16, 2012
I recently asked a hospital discharge planner how she chooses which nursing home to discharge to. “Five-Star” was the reply. Was I surprised? Not at all. Once again, it demonstrates just how...
Electronic health records: Clearing up confusion about federal implementation deadline
By
Majd Alwan
May 11, 2012
There is no federal mandate for nursing homes, home health programs or residential living facilities to implement electronic health records (EHR). Hence, the upcoming federal deadline for EHR implementation...
You’re fired! Welcome to the team
By
Gary Tetz
May 09, 2012
The holy grail of long-term care hiring would have to be the ability to divine in advance who will end up becoming a personnel liability and workplace nightmare. Most providers try to do that with a combination...
Out with the drab: Time to add personality to healthcare equipment
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
May 07, 2012
A few years ago, I broke my leg. Ouch! I was stuck in a long-leg cast for 14 weeks. Luckily, no surgery was required. It was around the holidays, so I asked to have my cast done in red and green stripes.
New initiatives needed to build skilled caregiver workforce
By
Alice Vestergaard, Ed.D
May 05, 2012
The aging of the American population and the healthcare issues that go with it are creating a demographic earthquake that will shake our current system of healthcare to the core. We are on our way to becoming...
CMS ‘overpayment’ rule may come at a greater cost
By
Glenn P. Hendrix
May 02, 2012
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently issued a proposed rule addressing how it will implement the 60-day deadline for returning overpayments made to federal health programs. If fully adopted,...
You know you’re a nurse when …
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Apr 30, 2012
OK, I can’t help myself. I’m in an incredibly silly mood as I sit to write my blog today. And I was thinking about how we as nurses see the world differently from “normal” folks....
The ‘single’ boom: problems and solutions for long-term care
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Apr 27, 2012
Demographic trends suggest we need to prepare for increasing numbers of residents without close relatives. Here are four ways we can expect this shift to impact our residents, and suggestions for how we...
There will be blood
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 25, 2012
I knew I was a hopelessly timid Canadian when the armed phlebotomist approached with his hands trembling and needle drawn — and I didn’t think to protest. No hand raised in the international symbol...
Make a Difference!
By
McKnight's Staff
Allen F. Yearick, MHA, NHA
Apr 24, 2012
How many times have we heard the expression “Please don’t put me in that God-forsaken place to die” and then discount the reality of its meaning as something from our industry’s...