CMS doubles down: Surveyors do not have to be COVID vaccinated
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 07, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has held audiences with skilled nursing providers, made presentations and entertained comments in recent months to assure operators that regulatory actions...
‘Confounded’ providers urge mandated COVID-19 testing for hospital workers, surveyors
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 01, 2020
Healthcare stakeholders who regularly come into contact with skilled nursing residents should be subject to COVID-19 testing mandates similar to those for nursing home employees, a prominent long-term...
A good first step but more to do with MDS 3.0
By
Leah Klusch, RN, BSN, FACHCA
Mar 07, 2012
It was a long first day, but there was tremendous value and everyone who is here has learned what the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ positions are with the April updates and some of the...
November 1: Will you be ready?
By
David Lashar
Sep 12, 2014
This year, it is the day after Halloween that might be scary. On November 1, prescribers, pharmacies and facilities in the long-term-care industry must cease the transmission of electronic medication orders...
As values shift, it’s time to add something back to nursing
By
Kimberly Marselas
Oct 24, 2023
It seems like everything these days requires a value proposition to be appealing. What can we add to an experience or a product to make it better and one-up the competition?
Top 5 news stories reveal varied interests among long-term care professionals
By
John O'Connor
Jan 03, 2014
What do neck abnormalities, dangerous bacteria, a murder-suicide, a defensive nursing home chain, and antipsychotic guidelines have in common? These five developments were voted the most popular news stories...
Has CMS gone too far?
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Sep 27, 2011
Previously, I’ve explained my position on the new rehab regulation changes to take effect on Saturday (Oct. 1). However, has CMS gone too far this time?
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.
Nursing home pay rule reveals CMS strategy on minimum staffing
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 13, 2022
If there’s one thing nursing home providers, consumer advocates and regulators can all agree on when it comes to the development of a federal minimum staffing rule, it might be just how difficult the...
Nursing homes fire back after CMS warning about ‘exploitative’ debt-collection practices
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 12, 2022
A warning letter sent late last week by federal regulators about nursing home debt collection practices was overblown and obscured another significant problem, nursing home operations experts said over...