Seema Verma, administrator for The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is at it again with a proposed rule that purports “to eliminate state financing gimmicks that cost the federal government...
Employee engagement: What story does the data tell leadership?
By
Martie Moore
Sep 06, 2017
The first time I used the words “resilience” and “engagement” was with my leadership team at the time. I asked, “What can we do to advance engagement and help people to be...
Back to before census
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 10, 2021
One of my favorite lyrics from the musical “Ragtime” is “We can never go back to before.” The character Mother sings about no longer being a slave to societal expectations; she is confident, moving...
Life safety alert: Common hazardous condition emerging in SNFs
By
Stan Szpytek
Jan 24, 2022
Closed doors are a critical element of life safety in skilled nursing facilities. Learn why they also matter for compliance.
When celebrity obscures suffering
By
Brendan Williams
Sep 10, 2021
There is a poignant scene in the first episode of Spike Lee’s “NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½” on HBO in which New York Assembly Member Ron Kim breaks down recounting the efforts of former Governor Andrew...
Managing a bah humbug holiday season
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Dec 15, 2020
By now many of us have viewed the viral video of residents gleefully shooting soft foam balls at laughing staff members dressed as reindeer dodging through a pine-tree “forest.” It’s the kind...
Dr. El’s Shrinky LTC Fantasy
Aug 04, 2015
I hung up the phone with the managed care case reviewer. The patient in question was in her late 50s, with multiple sclerosis and other physical problems that had left her bed-bound. What else would need...
MDS data quality: Things are not always as they seem
By
Steven Littlehale
Jul 15, 2013
Open up the hood and look at the engine. Does the data scrubbing module focus only on standard CMS coding and consistency checks and the “RUG” items, or is it more robust and emphasize clinical...
How consistent CNA assignments will help residents
By
Steven Littlehale
Feb 07, 2013
Consistent assignments for CNAs are discussed and implemented more frequently than they used to be. For the most part, research studies speak to the positive attributes of this model of care. From improved...
With new rules, more payment denials expected
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Oct 02, 2012
Here it comes again! The Oct 1, 2012, federal regulatory changes will not only impact reimbursement but new reporting requirements also will multiply denials for skilled nursing providers across the country.