In the late 2010s, the long-term care industry began to take action that would reflect the growing importance of incorporating robust infection prevention practices. Facilities were required to develop...
Supreme Court levels the playing field for SNFs
By
Alan C. Horowitz, Esq., RN
May 01, 2023
As part of its survey process, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is authorized to take several enforcement actions, including but not limited to imposing civil money penalties (CMP), denials...
New SNF Value-Based Purchasing program: Act now!
By
Steven Littlehale
Apr 28, 2023
When I read my first SNF PPS final rule about 25 years ago, I thought that the start dates for some of its initiatives were so far in the future that they were of no concern. As a young person, my long-range...
Compassion in leadership
By
Julie Thorson
Apr 26, 2023
Everyone has something. Do you know what that “something” is for your team members? Recently, I was reminded that our teams, many times, are fighting a battle we may know nothing about. They...
Closures, consolidations and downsizings: Using crisis communications principles to share bad news
By
Nora Jacobs
Apr 21, 2023
Although many industries continue to struggle with the after-effects of COVID-19, perhaps no segment of the economy has suffered as extensively as the long-term care industry. According to the American...
Relaxed enforcement for telehealth is over
By
Neville M. Bilimoria
Apr 19, 2023
Well, we knew it might happen sometime. We saw the silver lining of COVID-19 these past few years in the form of relaxed rules by the government to allow for the easier implementation and proliferation...
The MDS is the ‘bee’s knees’
By
Joel VanEaton
Apr 18, 2023
Last summer, we all got a taste of where the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is heading regarding a unified payment system for Medicare-covered post-acute care
Minimum staffing requirement: Thank you?
By
Joe Xanthopoulos
Apr 14, 2023
“The only way to assure there is enough staff in a skilled nursing facility is to implement a minimum staffing requirement.” When you hear or read statements like this from a member of Congress, a...
Staff retention today, staff retention tomorrow
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Apr 04, 2023
A recent Washington Post article caught me where I live. It wasn’t about the impact of inflation, the current geopolitical climate in Europe, or the role of microplastics in our food. This article...
Will you pass CMS’s new schizophrenia MDS audits?
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 31, 2023
In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services started focused on-site surveys to address the issue of erroneous coding of schizophrenia in nursing homes. More recently, the agency began conducting...