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?...
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.
Every breath you take
By
Gary Tetz
May 05, 2022
As pandemic testing becomes more sophisticated, a creepy song from the ’80s takes on new and ominous relevance. “Every breath you take I’ll be watching you,” warned The Police, and now that an...
Honoring our fallen
By
Sara Bender
May 04, 2022
“What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.” — Helen Keller. These past two years of the pandemic have presented clinical challenges...
Tough conversations on gender equity, from dinner tables to boardrooms
By
Steven Littlehale
Apr 29, 2022
To solve our staffing shortage, we must address the issue of gender parity in leadership. And to do that, we must embrace our fear, speak up, and act; we must start the tough conversations.
Living in a Hot Pocket world
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Apr 26, 2022
You ever wonder about the fascination about Hot Pockets? To me, I suppose the allure is that it promises immediate satisfaction.
Experiencing life on ‘The Happiness Curve’
By
Donna Stuart
Apr 25, 2022
Are you short-staffed? Isn’t everyone? CNAs quitting. Nurses walking away from careers. Something has changed in how willing people are to stick with frustrating working conditions.
Keep your head up: Your pay rule comments are due by June 10!
By
Neville M. Bilimoria
Apr 25, 2022
Perhaps the proposed rule will allow providers to tell their story to CMS, and this time make the agency’s key personnel understand that a reimbursement cut right now is unreasonable.
Ambiguous terms lead to risk: The importance of IDDSI implementation
By
Faerella Boczko
Apr 18, 2022
The IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative) was recently founded with the goal of developing globally standardized terminology and definitions for texture-modified foods and liquids...