Medicaid expansion leading HCBS programs to rethink strategy: Researchers
By
John Hall
Feb 19, 2015
Researchers on Wednesday proposed ways to better identify the most susceptible nursing home candidates in order to ease the expected burden on programs designed to keep the chronically ill and frail elderly...
RAC groups battle provider plea for short-stay payment relief
By
John Hall
Feb 19, 2015
Third-party firms that audit Medicare bills for payment issues are pushing back hard against a hospital association plea for more favorable short-stay reimbursements, adding to the ongoing unwelcome specter...
Half of what I say is meaningless
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 13, 2015
That headline will only make sense if you were either alive or conscious during the 1960s, or care about good music. It’s a lyric from a Beatles song, written by John Lennon for his mother, Julia....
Nursing homes to have first look at new quality-rating provisions today
By
Elizabeth Newman
Feb 13, 2015
Concerned providers will get their first look today at a newly rebased quality measurement scale under Nursing Home Compare 3.0
The love story of Boris, Pumba and nursing home residents
By
Elizabeth Newman
Feb 12, 2015
It’s hard to follow the love story around Rusty the dog, which we ran last Valentine’s Day for our faithful readers. But I thought it was worth trying with the story of Boris and Pumba.
Changes to Five Star expected, providers fear lower ratings
By
Elizabeth Newman
Feb 12, 2015
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is expected to unveil major changes to Nursing Home Compare today that could cause facilities to lose rating stars, according to industry sources.
Don’t want to be replaced by a robot? Then you’d better read this
By
John O'Connor
Feb 09, 2015
We’re hearing more about technology’s growing role in the long-term care field. And to be sure, there are many positive things to be said about the shift. The bad news is that your job as a...
Letting the light in: The impact on rehabilitation
By
Hope Miller
Feb 05, 2015
Believe it or not, looks do matter — at least when it comes to rehabilitation centers. The look and feel of a patient’s environment has a clearly established effect on how quickly and how well...
What ‘do everything’ can mean
By
Angelo E. Volandes, M.D.
Feb 04, 2015
The day I met Mrs. Bartlett at my hospital, she was an 89-year-old long-stay nursing home resident with moderate-to-severe dementia who was being transferred to my hospitalist service for shortness of...
A palliative care focus
By
Diane E. Meier, M.D., FACP
Feb 01, 2015
Palliative care, specialized medical care focused on treating the symptoms and stress of serious illness, should be the standard of practice for all elderly people in skilled care settings.