Uh-oh, Congress is about to ‘fix’ your hiring problems
By
John O'Connor
Jun 07, 2013
Many providers are hoping immigration reform can help ease the field’s chronic understaffing challenges. But like many problems the government sets out to solve, this one is likely to cause a few...
Things heating up in case of the runny eggs
By
John O'Connor
Jun 03, 2013
Looks like CMS and nursing home inspectors have more than a little egg on their face, thanks to a recent circuit court ruling in favor of a wrongly accused operator.
Senior living operators can choose happiness — which really annoys some economists
By
John O'Connor
May 17, 2013
In recent times, federal deficit spending has only gotten worse. But now that it appears there are some bright spots, it’s a bad thing? Depends on whom you talk to.
Immigration reform won’t solve long-term care’s fundamental staffing challenge
By
John O'Connor
Apr 05, 2013
Long-term care operators are understandably giddy about the sudden prospect of immigration reform. But they might want to curb their enthusiasm.
When long-term care experts speak, things can get foggy
By
John O'Connor
Mar 11, 2013
I was hoping to get clear answers about the sector’s future at the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry’s regional meeting last week in San Diego. I did, but I...
Why long-term care operators are wary – and weary – of sequestration fiasco
By
John O'Connor
Feb 22, 2013
Well, here we go again. Less than three months after President Obama and Congress narrowly avoided walking off a fiscal cliff, we’re bracing for Round 2. Only this time, we’re all a bit worse...
A toxic nursing home strike that gets weirder by the day
By
John O'Connor
Feb 11, 2013
The late Hunter S. Thompson famously said that when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. By his logic, the management and workers involved in a strike across five HealthBridge Management facilities...
The truth can set you free — or put your long-term care facility out of business
By
John O'Connor
Jan 11, 2013
Journalists generally get all warm and tingly when previously guarded information becomes available. It must be in our DNA. So I should probably be cheering ProPublica’s announcement that the government...
Regardless of fiscal cliff outcome, funding cuts loom
By
John O'Connor
Nov 26, 2012
We’re hearing much out of Washington these days about the looming fiscal cliff. Assessments about its impact run the gamut from no big deal to very big deal. As is usually the case, the truth is...
This cliffhanger shows few signs of a happy ending
By
John O'Connor
Oct 19, 2012
If you are hoping to learn before the Nov. 6 election whether planned federal budget cuts might be avoided, I have some advice: forget about it.