My father died a little over a year ago. While I usually derive tremendous comfort and support by sharing both happy and sad milestones with friends, family, and colleagues, in this instance, sharing the...
Setting up for MDS 3.0 success
By
Steven Littlehale
Jan 06, 2023
Are you a “New Year’s resolution” kind of person? I am not, but I am a strong believer in establishing goals and setting intentions. Whether you prefer to make a resolution or set a goal, January...
Will you pass CMS’s new schizophrenia MDS audits?
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 31, 2023
In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services started focused on-site surveys to address the issue of erroneous coding of schizophrenia in nursing homes. More recently, the agency began conducting...
Beyond ‘document, document document’ — Risk mitigation strategies that work
By
Steven Littlehale
Feb 03, 2023
We encounter risk every day. Risk is present in the most innocuous actions, like crossing the street, walking into the supermarket, and even eating dinner. And as nursing home operators and providers well...
A love letter to baby boomers
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 14, 2022
Dear baby boomers, Thank you, thank you, thank you! You made my ugly-as-sin, chunky, deep-cut, orthopedic “sneakers” acceptable to wear with my fancy tailored business suit. I don’t have to...
New SNF Value-Based Purchasing program: Act now!
By
Steven Littlehale
Apr 28, 2023
When I read my first SNF PPS final rule about 25 years ago, I thought that the start dates for some of its initiatives were so far in the future that they were of no concern. As a young person, my long-range...
Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want
By
Steven Littlehale
Oct 14, 2022
It’s a curious day when I lift a lyric from the Spice Girls to title an article. The Spice Girls’ first single, “Wannabe,” was released in 1996 and rocketed to the top of the British singles chart....