Ask the Legal Expert about … accountable care organizations
By
Elizabeth Newman
Oct 22, 2018
What legal advice would you have for joining an accountable care organization or similar alliance? It seems like skilled nursing facilities are getting the short end of the stick and we’re wondering...
Avoid performing CPR on a dead resident, earn an F-tag
By
Marty Stempniak
Oct 22, 2018
A Minnesota nursing home has been cited for neglect after four nurses failed to perform CPR on a resident, even though the resident appeared to have been dead for several hours.
SCOTUS sides with provider, won’t take arbitration case
By
May 06, 2017
In a win for providers, the United States Supreme Court declined in late March to review an arbitration dispute between an Extendicare facility and the family of a deceased resident.
Alzheimer’s spousal sex case has fallout
By
James M. Berklan
Jun 05, 2015
The case of a 78-year-old retired lawmaker who was prosecuted for alleged sexual abuse of his Alzheimer’s-afflicted wife highlights a need for nursing homes to have clearer policies on sex and intimacy,...
Ask the legal expert … about “granny cams”
By
John Durso
Mar 06, 2015
I know there are state-specific laws, but what can we do generally to keep “granny cams” out of our facility? Seems like the movement to use them is growing.
CMS gets stronger on same-sex couples
By
James M. Berklan
Jan 01, 2015
Long-term care providers that don’t recognize same-sex marriages would be endangering their ability to take part in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the federal agency overseeing the programs...
Ask the legal expert … about developing effective boards
By
John Durso
Oct 01, 2014
How do we make sure members of our board of directors all are pulling their weight (and also acting legally)? It seems like a lot of cronyism can be allowed and some boards get away with virtually no input.
Nurse sues facility over live hostage drill
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 01, 2014
A nurse who said she was not warned that she would be threatened and “taken hostage” by a gunman during an emergency preparedness drill is suing her former Colorado nursing home employer for...
Resident’s gruesome death warrants steep fines: court
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 01, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services was justified in fining a Kentucky skilled nursing facility $4,050 a day for three months following a resident’s death, a U.S. Appeals Court recently...
Court tosses out citation for runny eggs, limits surveyors
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 01, 2013
Slapped with an Immediate Jeopardy citation for serving undercooked eggs to residents, a nursing home took its defense to a federal appeals court — and won. The court staked out limits on how government...