I encourage providers to pause and pat themselves on the back. That’s because 30-day hospital readmission rates have dropped in all states except one over the past five years.
New opioid guidelines arrive not a moment too soon
By
Elizabeth Newman
Dec 07, 2018
Following my C-section earlier this year, I was fortunate to be able to access heavy-duty pain medication. Until we discovered my pain pump wasn’t working. That was unfortunate, but luckily I was young(ish),...
Ability to read emotions is an undervalued skill in long-term care, elsewhere
By
Elizabeth Newman
Nov 20, 2014
According to a psychologist at the University of Bonn, recognizing people’s emotions positively affects income, namely because these people in a business environment are able to care and deal with...
Expanding telemedicine definitions
By
Elizabeth Newman
Nov 13, 2014
The quickest, and most dangerous, way to dismiss the concept of telemedicine in long-term care is to envision it as a physician or nurse sitting in front of a computer with an elderly resident on the other...
Spray on the PAM to reduce readmissions
By
Elizabeth Newman
Oct 24, 2013
In life, as Donald Rumsfeld once said, there are known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns. This may sound like gobbledygook, but it’s actually relevant to business and long-term care.
A Baptist Home blast from the past
By
Elizabeth Newman
Aug 30, 2017
Coming from a long line of folks who hate to throw anything away, culling more than 250 books this summer from our house has been physically painful. But the cleaning also has resulted in some unexpected...
The ballad of the MDS coordinator
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jun 08, 2015
A NADONA presentation focused on preparing documentation and audits spent time diving into the way MDS managers are treated — and it doesn’t look great.
The need for semi-skilled workers in LTC
By
Elizabeth Newman
Apr 29, 2016
What do the meat and poultry industry and long-term care have in common, other than often dealing with turkeys? It turns out both have challenges in hiring semi-skilled workers, which is addressed in a...
Religious freedom: Not just an issue for Hobby Lobby
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jul 10, 2014
It’s tough for nursing homes to attract good certified nursing assistants or aides. It’s even harder when rumors abound about the mistreatment of those on the lower end of the power and pay...
Bingo, mean girls and being inclusive
By
Elizabeth Newman
Feb 06, 2015
Two incidents featured recently in the New York Times have provoked thought about inclusion in long-term care settings. Both are seriously depressing when we consider how much our industry promotes the...