Meet Kurt Merkelz, MD, 2024 McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards ‘Setting the Standard’ honoree
By
Jessica R. Towhey
May 09, 2024
Kurt Merkelz, MD, led the recent standardization of best practices throughout Compassus through the development of tools and procedures built into the organization’s interoperability platform. This effort...
Passing of ‘superwoman’ Sherrie Dornberger, top NADONA exec for the last 20 years, leaves massive...
By
James M. Berklan
May 19, 2024
Sherrie Dornberger, the caregiving powerhouse who bounced back from her own life-threatening medical issues to assume one of long-term care’s top nurse leadership posts, died Wednesday after a two-week...
Federal court weighs nursing home’s duty to bargain over emergency pay during COVID
By
Josh Henreckson
May 13, 2024
A case to decide whether a nursing home could make pay and staffing decisions during the COVID-19 health emergency without input from its workers’ union entered a new stage Thursday with the start of...
One step forward, one back as lawmakers increase role of LPNs, take back temp rate hike
By
Josh Henreckson
May 08, 2024
A week after the Minnesota Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board approved a $24 minimum wage for CNAs, a group of elected lawmakers fell short in their attempt to create exceptions and funding for “distressed”...
Nursing home workers praised for roles in harrowing tornado evacuation
By
Josh Henreckson
May 13, 2024
Staff members of Barnsdall Nursing Home were quick to jump into action during a tornado that damaged their Barnsdall, OK, long-term care facility Monday night and forced a full evacuation in the aftermath....
Lawsuit against Kentucky provider allowed to proceed amid heightened scrutiny of caregivers’ COVID...
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 14, 2024
The son of a long-term care resident who died of COVID-19 has made an adequate argument that the facility where she lived was “grossly negligent” in her care, a finding that allows a lawsuit to proceed...
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...
MDS ‘alarm’ bells key to quality gains in heightened reporting environment: expert
By
Josh Henreckson
May 06, 2024
Patterns revealed by Minimum Data Set entries and what they unearth about patient care can help providers perform better on quality measures, if that data is used to better understand and act on problem...
Closure of historic nursing home reflects sector’s increasing infrastructure problems
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 20, 2024
An unsuccessful, years-long bid to find a partner willing to finance needed capital improvements or help redevelop a historic nonprofit nursing home in South Boston will lead to its closure this summer.
Cognitive differences between young and old shrink with time, research suggests
By
Donna Shryer
May 06, 2024
Three review studies examined how cognitive abilities change as people age, particularly focusing on whether there are differences between older and younger adults and how these differences evolve over...