This week and next will largely determine the fate of healthcare reform. Of course, we in the media have been offering variations on that theme a lot during the past year.
What to do with unused meds
By
Liza Berger
Mar 10, 2010
There is more and more talk in state legislatures of finding new ways to dispose of unused medications at healthcare facilities. This is an idea whose time has come.
Something new to think about for flu season
By
Sep 04, 2017
Allow me to get ahead (slightly) of the deluge of news articles, press releases and conference sessions on influenza and vaccinations that are about to hit, with the results of a new study throwing a new...
When it comes to fixing long-term care, it’s time to start thinking outside the tank
By
John O'Connor
Apr 18, 2014
I was reminded of a cinema classic when I heard another think tank is being put together to consider improvements for our nation’s long-term care system.
Final assessment: Awards hit the spot
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 26, 2011
There might be a misperception that the folks at AANAC are just a bunch of code-interpreting keypunchers tucked into tiny offices at nursing homes. The truth is that AANAC — the American Association...
The Russ era begins
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 09, 2013
Barring a shocker that would be akin to Uncle Sam suddenly handing out a double-digit market basket increase to Medicare reimbursement rates, Len Russ will become the next board chairman of the American...
The reaction to ACOs? Ouch!
By
James M. Berklan
May 16, 2011
I haven’t heard them pronounced this way yet, but long-term care providers might want to consider it when it comes to ACOs. Instead of spelling it out, as in A-C-O, say it phonetically, as in “Ache-O.”
What’s more frightening than the nursing shortage? What’s driving it
By
John O'Connor
Jun 12, 2015
To better appreciate this sector’s alarming nurse-staffing nightmare, it’s helpful to recall the warden’s famous line in Cool Hand Luke: “What we’ve got here is failure to...
Our elected officials: patriots or lackeys?
By
John O'Connor
Mar 26, 2012
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that our elected leaders need to quit playing political chicken. Otherwise, there are going to be some bleak days ahead for We the People.
Step away from the vending machine: Real life nutrition tips for healthcare workers
By
May 02, 2017
Long-term care leaders can encourage healthy activity among their staff, starting with modeling healthy behaviors themselves. But what about the frontline healthcare workers with just a few minutes a day...