Nursing home that took in dozens after local closure now fears for its own health
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 26, 2024
The high cost of caring for skilled nursing patients is squeezing finances at Upstate New York’s Heritage Ministries after it took in a majority of residents from the closing Lutheran Home and Rehabilitation...
Gripped by uncertainty, skilled nursing providers just keep breathing
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 10, 2024
Uncertainty may very well be the defining outlook for skilled nursing providers in 2024. At the very least, it was the theme that dominated our annual survey attempting to capture your attitudes heading...
Shift work tied to anxiety, depression
By
Kristen Fischer
Aug 15, 2023
A large study finds that shift workers have a higher risk for depression and anxiety. How they live, or lifestyle factors, is largely tied to their risk.
Knitting a team
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 18, 2024
I can still remember the clicking of needles and the feeling of chunky strands of cotton passing silently between my fingers. It was early in my elementary school epoch, and we tiny people sat cross-legged...
Staff shortages — what’s the opportunity?
By
Susie Mix
Oct 18, 2023
Amid some good news in healthcare hiring as we recover from the pandemic, staff shortages involve a range of difficult challenges that will persist for years. Among other factors, it’s difficult to find...
The art of the pandemic
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Mar 26, 2024
Anyone who was working in healthcare in 2020 knows it was a rough year. When the lockdown happened, my staff with young children didn’t have daycare anymore. They didn’t have school anymore. The grandparents...
CMS provides first look at shorter, Risk-Based Survey process
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 04, 2024
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday revealed initial information about a potential “Risk-Based Survey” option that could be available to some of the nation’s best performing...
Coverage for Medicare’s e-visits still available, though few patients use service
By
Kristen Fischer
Apr 15, 2024
Once the pandemic was in full swing, Medicare started paying doctors and other healthcare providers for e-visits (those that required at least five minutes of medical decision-making). The e-visits are...
The underappreciated bartenders of long-term care
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 21, 2024
Before you think poorly of me, let me explain. I was in the bar that afternoon only because I had heard such great things about the nachos. Not buying it? How about this: I was conducting an in-person...
SNRIs or NSAIDs with short-term opioids don’t seem to up delirium risk
By
Kristen Fischer
Aug 04, 2023
Adding serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) to short-acting opioids for nonmalignant pain in nursing home residents doesn’t seem to boost their risk for delirium compared with giving...