For nearly a decade, my freelance writing career included plenty of articles about chronic wounds, payment reform and pretty much anything else skilled-nursing related. Surely, I thought, I’d mastered...
Five-Star surveys: Changed forever?
By
Spencer Blackman
Feb 08, 2021
When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services unlocked survey ratings for the first time since April, we analysts dove into the numbers expecting big changes. But as an earlier McKnight’s article...
The heart of it all and the birth of redeeming ideas
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 05, 2021
You had to look only in one place for a pair of fascinating long-term care stories this week.
Almost done
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 04, 2021
“Almost done,” the doctor assured me, as she aimed her laser at my right eye. Then over the next 20 minutes, she said it several more times. By then I knew it was all a cruel deception, meant to distract...
Improve early illness recognition with two simple tools
By
Maryann R. Coletti
Shari Kist
Feb 01, 2021
Early illness recognition is central to managing resident condition change and reducing potentially avoidable hospitalizations. Every staff member, provider and family play a role in identifying when a...
COVID-19 lawsuits: the ‘onslaught’ is coming, providers
By
James M. Berklan
Jan 29, 2021
I received my first speeding ticket on the way to see “Risky Business” at the theater when it first came out. Cruising over a hill on a country road after picking up a couple of friends, I never had...
How COVID-19 unmasked ageism
By
Joel Landau
Jan 25, 2021
For every occasion, even a pandemic, there appears to be a hashtag. One used to describe the coronavirus was particularly vile, particularly cruel: #BoomerRemover. There is, tragically, some truth to it,...
After the great vaccine rally, LTC has another big concerted effort to look forward to
By
James M. Berklan
Jan 22, 2021
The world’s collective race to develop and distribute COVID-19 vaccines has been valuable in many ways.
Effective communication key to improving care coordination during transitions
By
Bevey Miner
Jan 21, 2021
While electronic health records systems are ubiquitous in primary, acute and specialty care settings, long-term care facilities are still lagging in adoption. The biggest reason for the disparity in adoption...
What 2021 has in store on the legal front
By
Neville M. Bilimoria
Jan 20, 2021
Everyone has been celebrating that 2020 is over, and who can blame them? Yet, I can’t help think the legal issues facing long term care in 2020 won’t necessarily go away in 2021. Some of the lingering...