The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a draft version of MDS 3.0 last week. CMS disclosed details about it at a Long-Term Care Open Door Forum.
New infection control guidelines released; MRSA, c. Diff and urinary tract infections figure prominently
Oct 10, 2008
Many of the nation’s most prominent infection-control groups on Wednesday released a new set of “consensus” guidelines to help curb the spread of six potentially fatal facility-acquired...
‘Never event’ Medicare reimbursement rules now in effect
Oct 02, 2008
As of this month, Medicare no longer is reimbursing healthcare facilities for “reasonably preventable” medical errors. Also, hospitals are not allowed to charge patients directly for medical...
OIG: Nearly all nursing homes violated federal standards in 2007
Sep 30, 2008
More than nine out of 10 nursing homes in the United States last year were cited for violating federal health and safety standards, according to a report released Monday by the Department of Health and...
McCain, Obama advisers discuss long-term care at symposium
Sep 12, 2008
Surrogates for presidential hopefuls John McCain (R) and Barack Obama (D) spelled out their respective nominees’ views on the future of long-term care in the United States at the third annual Long-Term...
Private equity firms do not affect nursing home quality of care, Harvard study finds
Sep 11, 2008
A year after a news report uncovered resident care and ownership problems at privately held nursing homes, a new report from Harvard Medical School finds the opposite: Quality at nursing homes does not...
Fracture risks among elderly rise after hospital visits
Aug 18, 2008
People in their 70s who were hospitalized showed a threefold increase in the risk of bone fractures during the year following admission, according to a new report.
Committee OKs legislation that would increase number of foreign-educated nurses in nursing homes
Aug 05, 2008
Nursing-home providers this week expressed approval for legislation recently approved by a House committee that would increase the number of foreign-educated nurses in the U.S.
Nursing homes seek solutions to sex-offender problem
Jul 24, 2008
The American Health Care Association asked Congress to help improve the tracking of sex offenders and develop a definition of “sex offender” in an effort to improve residents’ safety.
Study: Most nursing homes don’t have pandemic flu plans …
Jul 23, 2008
Fewer than a quarter (23%) of all nursing homes have a plan for dealing with a massive flu outbreak, according to a new study. About 25% had a pandemic response as part of a broader overall disaster plan.