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...
Dreams or delirium? Why making the right call is important
By
Tim Mullaney
May 27, 2014
As they approach death, people often are transported across time and space to be reunited with loved ones and relive meaningful moments. They do so in dreams and visions, which frequently are a source...
Nursing homes trail hospitals in quality improvement, AHRQ report shows
By
Tim Mullaney
May 19, 2014
About 60% of nursing home quality measures have been showing significant year-to-year improvement, but hospitals have been improving more quickly, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Nursing homes suffering from reimbursement shifts to home care, market analysis finds
By
Tim Mullaney
May 14, 2014
Reimbursement is shifting to home health, hurting the finances of skilled nursing facilities, a newly released market analysis states.
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.
CMS: Hospice quality reporting to begin July 1, will require admission and discharge records
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 14, 2014
Providers will have to report certain hospice quality measures to the federal government starting July 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services formally announced in a recent Federal Register notice.
Nursing home-hospice relations the focus of webinar
Feb 14, 2014
Long-term care providers will learn how to better collaborate with hospice staff and colleagues in a hospice setting during a special webcast on Thursday. Alva S. Baker III, M.D., CMD, and Jeffrey Burl,...
CMS clarifies rules regarding vaccines, respite care for hospice patients
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 11, 2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has loosened regulatory language regarding which providers can furnish vaccines to hospice patients, and has tightened enforcement of a five-day payment limit...
CMS clarifies reporting requirements for hospice providers operating in skilled nursing facilities
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 04, 2014
New revisions to the Medicare Claims Processing manual are intended to clarify requirements for hospice providers operating in skilled nursing facilities, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced...