Blogs, Guest Columns, Things I Think and Living Leadership
Trail banter, long-term care style
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 02, 2022
For lots of good reasons, a long-term care facility hallway should not be the same as a hiking trail. Protruding rocks and exposed tree roots would create a fall hazard, and make med cart navigation...
Practical guidance for providers to empower TNAs to become CNAs
By
John Reinhart
Jun 01, 2022
On April 7, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that the waiver option that created clinical caregiving roles known as Temporary Nurse Aides (TNAs) and Personal Care Aides (PCAs)...
Correcting the misperception of palliative care
By
Andrew Esch
Jun 01, 2022
Palliative care is an often-misunderstood term, even for patients and providers who believe they understand what it is.
Mom-and-pop survival
By
Jean Wendland Porter
May 31, 2022
The chain and franchise SNFs will mostly survive. But in the face of rising costs, federal cuts and vast numbers of employees leaving the workforce, how can the small operators survive?
Which matters most: Social media or Five-Star?
By
Steven Littlehale
May 27, 2022
Recently my colleague Ken Kelley, MS, OTR/L, RAC-CT, a clinical consultant/reimbursement specialist, posited something about Five-Star ratings that I hadn’t considered. He suggested that, in general,...
PEPPER Report: Target areas for rehab
By
Renee Kinder
May 26, 2022
It’s been a little over a month since the Q4FY21 release of the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER). Have you downloaded your reports yet?...
Emotional Teflon
By
Julie Thorson
May 25, 2022
Energy exchange is a real thing. Feeding off other people’s energies can be great, but other times, somebody’s toxic energy can stick to you and ruin your day. I am no scientist, I’m not even a...
Honey is sweeter
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
May 24, 2022
We all have heard the expression about getting more flies with honey than vinegar. Personally, I have absolutely zero desire to attract these annoying insects anywhere near me; bleh! But I get it. I...
Notable nursing home case headed to SCOTUS
By
Norris Cunningham
Angela Rinehart
May 23, 2022
Talevski v. Health and Hospital Corporation, et al., has potentially far-reaching implications and could significantly increase the number of claims against nursing homes and the cost of such claims.
The killer hiding on the porch
By
Gary Tetz
May 19, 2022
I’m not easily surprised these days, because…everything. But I just stumbled across an astonishing bit of data.