Final rate notice signals continued pressure on Medicare Advantage payments
By
Jennifer Rak
Apr 21, 2014
CMS recently finalized Medicare Advantage plan payment rates for Calendar Year 2015 and announced other changes to payment and program policies for MA and Part D plans. Although the announcement included...
Aiming for the stars? Reflections on staffing to acuity
By
Steven Littlehale
Jun 17, 2013
Experts have proposed standards for minimum and ideal facility staffing, and some states have adopted minimums as legal requirements. However, there is no industry-wide agreement on any of the three targets...
It’s time to regroup and refocus on compliance
By
Tamar Abell
Jul 17, 2020
The world is tired. It’s been a long, hard spring. It feels even longer and harder for long-term care providers and staff. This invisible enemy, COVID-19, has wreaked havoc on the eldercare industry,...
LTC Evangelism 101
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Feb 10, 2015
Do you ever try to attract “talent” to your work environment? Sometimes I’m surprised we recruit at all. I know most people fall in love once they get there, but the getting there is...
Under the microscope: The ever-increasing scrutiny of antipsychotics in LTC
By
Jennifer L. Hardesty
Jun 28, 2012
Facilities need to prepare for the increased scrutiny that surveyors will have on dementia residents taking antipsychotics. While antipsychotics may be required for some residents, a full-fledged review...
Specialized wellness programs beneficial for seniors
By
Khadi Madama
Dec 14, 2010
Wellness programs can help to unlock creativity and promote overall well-being in older adults.
We don’t have any frogs. Now go away.
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 09, 2023
In a cruel twist of fate, I spent the past weekend in Las Vegas. Now, before I say more, I need to be clear: I love the people of Vegas, the long-term care facilities of Vegas, the long-term care staff...
Personal Care Attendants add more hands to the frontlines of long-term care
By
Deborah Franklin
Mar 01, 2021
As America’s population grows older and drives up demand for long-term care, nursing centers are continuing their decades-long struggle to fill direct care positions — the qualified caregivers who...
You’ve got a friend
By
Gary Tetz
Oct 15, 2020
Sometimes I have to stretch to recite something joyful to share from the past week, as is requested at one of our regular work meetings. But this week, the task was easy.
When there Is not a good answer: Dealing with an unprecedented event inside nursing homes
By
Rebekah Bray
Oct 09, 2020
The images and news coverage from the early 2020 of devastated nurses and doctors, and the thousands of body bags and make-shift morgues in New York City, are burned in the memory of healthcare workers...