Valentine’s week for our family has also been mid-winter break for our kiddos. It’s a slow down after the holidays before the rush of spring. One of those special weeks yearly when there is no school,...
Treating opioid-induced constipation in seniors with chronic pain
By
Neel Mehta
Jun 17, 2019
Chronic pain is one of the most common conditions in the United States, with approximately 50 million Americans reporting incidence. For Americans ages 65 years and older, chronic pain is even more prevalent,...
Medication management tied to hospitalizations
By
David Siegelman
Nov 12, 2014
Plans are being put into place that will also penalize the skilled nursing facility for avoidable readmissions. As such, to distinguish oneself as a desirable downstream provider, one must effectively...
The Employee Free Choice Act: What nursing homes can do to keep unions at the door
May 01, 2009
It could just be a matter of time before the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the card-check bill, passes through Congress. Even if it is enacted, there are steps that nursing homes can take to...
Revamping CMS survey data integration amid regulatory lag in nursing home oversight
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 08, 2023
The report titled “Uninspected and Neglected” by the majority staff of the US Senate Special Committee on Aging brings attention to a pressing issue: the severe understaffing of inspection agencies...
A tisket, a tasket … No LPNs in the RN basket
By
Steven Littlehale
Jul 20, 2015
Reporting direct care hours is nothing new, but the Affordable Care Act takes it to the next level with mandatory quarterly electronic submission of staffing and census data. This focus on staffing ratios...
The Medicaid LTC snafu
By
Stephen A. Moses
Apr 15, 2024
Long-term care operators were sold a pig in a poke. When Medicaid started paying for nursing home care after 1965, it looked like a pretty good deal. The new revenue stream vastly expanded severely limited...
Caring for complex patients is no easy task
By
Jeffrey Brenner, M.D.
Apr 06, 2016
We plan to bring together front-line providers, healthcare educators and students, model-builders, data scientists, and policy makers to build this national center, collect learnings, and teach others...
The power of attorney and five wishes
By
Kerry Peck
Oct 06, 2014
The most important documents to put into place when dealing with individuals with Alzheimer’s are durable powers of attorney for financial matters and healthcare decisions.
Point of Care data collection: information at your fingertips
By
Larry Triplett
Nov 11, 2008
It’s time to move on from the old method of pen-and-paper documentation in long-term care. Point-of-care electronic data collection offers improved accuracy, communication and resident care. So what...