Are glowing acquisition reports a cause for optimism, or concern?
By
John O'Connor
Mar 13, 2015
Taken collectively, two recent reports show that last year was a great time to sell a property in this field — and this year may be even better. That may be good news for the movers and shakers. But...
Helping lawyers sue facilities? He’s shocked, shocked you’d say that
By
John O'Connor
Feb 27, 2015
Whatever you do, don’t call Brian Lee a shill for trial lawyers. The former head of Florida’s long-term-care ombudsman program is simply trying to improve nursing homes. That’s his story...
Dangerous work with low pay, and we wonder why they leave?
By
John O'Connor
Jan 23, 2015
Researchers have concluded that workers are leaving the field in droves. The two main culprits: poor wages and dangerous work conditions.
7 New Year’s resolutions every long-term care operator should consider
By
John O'Connor
Dec 22, 2014
Come next week, you’ll be getting lots of advice on how to make good resolutions for 2015. In the spirit of beating the herd, here’s my shameless list.
Stars aligned for shift
By
John O'Connor
Oct 01, 2014
The Five Star rating system is about to get retooled, thanks to a scathing report in The New York Times. The only real question is how extensive the changes will be.
Verify payroll totals for rankings: letter
By
John O'Connor
Oct 01, 2014
Federal regulators need to collect nursing home staffing data directly from payroll systems rather than from providers themselves, members of the Congressional Seniors Task Force said in a recent letter...
Finally, some coverage that puts ‘nursing home’ and ‘great’ in the same headline
By
John O'Connor
Sep 08, 2014
By any standard, much of what’s being reported about nursing homes these days could hardly be considered good news. I could point out many examples, but the point is clear: There’s a lot of...
Why the survey system may never be fixed
By
John O'Connor
Sep 05, 2014
Given certain realities about skilled-nursing facility inspections, we should not be wondering why cheating has occurred. Rather, we should be amazed it hasn’t been more rampant.
They’re not all ingrates
By
John O'Connor
Sep 01, 2014
It’s no surprise that staff turnover remains alarmingly high at many long-term care communities.
The nursing home survey system is about to get a much closer look
By
John O'Connor
Aug 29, 2014
You had to know this was coming. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that many nursing homes are submitting massaged staffing and quality indicator data to the feds. The alleged reason? So facilities...