My encounters with the red bird had been limited until a week after my mother died. I was sitting on the couch, consumed with grief when it first arrived. The red bird flew to the transom and peered...
Armed intruder and active shooter preparedness in LTC facilities
By
Stan Szpytek
Steve Wilder
Oct 09, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires skilled nursing facilities to plan for emergencies and disasters to protect the vulnerable population they serve. The regulations cited in Appendix...
Minimum standards or wishful thinking?
By
Irving Stackpole
John Sheridan
Oct 02, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services notice of proposed rulemaking and the report on which it is based have made the foundational point that more staff in nursing homes will result in better patient...
Baseline proficiency for success with managed care payers
By
Susie Mix
Mar 11, 2024
Setting up a building with proficiencies in working with managed care payers is a key to success at this midpoint of the 2020s. Fifty-one percent of Medicare-eligible Americans are covered by Medicare...
Let’s talk about joints
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Nov 15, 2022
As a Physical Therapist for several years (and even several decades), I’ve participated in rehabilitating a lot of joints. Some shoulders, a few elbows, some hips, and lots and lots of knees. Our job...
An update on President Biden’s initiatives for long-term care
By
Angela Rinehart
Norris Cunningham
Jul 25, 2022
President Joe Biden gave his State of the Union address on March 1, 2022. Markedly, he announced his intention to “set higher standards for nursing homes” to “make sure your loved ones get the care...
Calling for a trauma-aware culture in long-term care
By
Kelseanne Breder
Jul 12, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently updated the Rules of Participation to require that long-term care facilities provide trauma-informed care to residents. Failure by LTC staff to recognize...
Online transparency in skilled nursing: A saving grace?
By
Maggie Hilty Katz
Oct 31, 2022
With the continued rise in social media platforms and the use of online research prior to making a decision about a provider, it is more pressing than ever for healthcare companies, specifically those...
Medicare Advantage: A not-so-advantageous deal for beneficiaries and providers
By
Brendan Williams
Nov 29, 2023
Open enrollment is well underway for Medicare, as television viewers inundated with cheesy insurance company ads can tell. Those ads must work. For the first time 2024 will see most Medicare...
Shouting time
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 25, 2022
Maybe it comes from working in the highly regulated long-term care profession for so many years, or maybe it’s just from being a subservient Canadian, but I’ve become quite a prolific rule follower....