Opportunity may be knocking, but many operators don’t want to answer the door
By
John O'Connor
Nov 07, 2014
If you are a long-term care operator, the latest report from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization should leave you with mixed feelings.
A very tangled web
By
John Hall
Oct 01, 2014
Medication management is as much art as science in a patient’s final days, and that can present multifaceted caregiving challenges for hospice providers
Accepting what nurses cannot fix
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jul 17, 2014
Like perhaps many of you, I come from a long line of “fixers.” Multiple people whose schedules are conflicting? We’ll coordinate. Someone isn’t able to find a job? We’ll provide...
A blessing within the loss
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
May 27, 2014
This is a very hard blog for me to write. My mother just passed away. It was very sudden and not expected. I am blessed to have two mothers: A step-mother who has been in my life since I have been 8 years...
This American Life … and death: Superb shows about hospice
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 29, 2014
A few months after Pattie Burnham started working as a hospice nurse, she forgot the name of the president of the United States. That’s normal, her boss told her.
Inching toward success
By
John O'Connor
Feb 01, 2014
Our brand new year is already into its second month. So chances are fairly good you have been exposed to more than a few suggestions from the success gurus.
What the family wants
By
Elizabeth Newman
Apr 18, 2013
When it comes to talk about palliative care and rehospitalizations, what should a provider do when the family is insistent on sending their loved one back to the hospital?
Majority of hospices exclude some patients due to Medicare daily fee, researchers discover
By
McKnight's Staff
Dec 06, 2012
Despite the fact that hospice is one of the fastest growing parts of Medicare, 78% of surveyed hospice operators turned away patients with the potential for high-costing care, according to a new study...
Medicare expenditures for advanced dementia patients vary widely, study shows
May 17, 2011
Implementing high-quality palliative care programs for nursing home residents with advanced dementia could prevent expensive hospitalizations and burdensome interventions, such as feeding tubes, a new...
A reason to hide
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 17, 2011
Given recent flaps about hospice care in nursing homes, one has to wonder if long-term care providers are always going to be subjected to the “one step forward, one step back” syndrome.