Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the controversial “Parental Rights in Education” bill, colloquially known as “Don’t Say Gay.” It reads, “Classroom instruction by school...
April 2022: CMS updates National Quality Strategy
By
Renee Kinder
Apr 28, 2022
Spring is in the air! We all welcome the annual change in seasons, which also comes with a rush to review, digest and comment on multiple proposed rules. April 2022, however, also brings us a renewed approach...
Living in a Hot Pocket world
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Apr 26, 2022
You ever wonder about the fascination about Hot Pockets? To me, I suppose the allure is that it promises immediate satisfaction.
Keep your head up: Your pay rule comments are due by June 10!
By
Neville M. Bilimoria
Apr 25, 2022
Perhaps the proposed rule will allow providers to tell their story to CMS, and this time make the agency’s key personnel understand that a reimbursement cut right now is unreasonable.
A beast of a month leads nursing homes closer to the brink
By
Brendan Williams
Apr 22, 2022
Providers can be forgiven for thinking that at this terribly perilous moment, those looking to administer the coup de grâce have been empowered.
In a death-phobic nation, long-term care embraces the ultimate privilege
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 21, 2022
Some in long-term care wake up thinking of pay cuts, business survival or reform. Me? I awoke this morning thinking about cremation.
Nursing homes, we’re doing better
By
Drew Vogel
Apr 20, 2022
Thirty-three years ago, I entered the nursing home business. In the twenty-four years before that, I was a radio newsman. Not much resemblance between those two professions! In one, it’s all out...
Ambiguous terms lead to risk: The importance of IDDSI implementation
By
Faerella Boczko
Apr 18, 2022
The IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative) was recently founded with the goal of developing globally standardized terminology and definitions for texture-modified foods and liquids...
We need a careforce, not just a workforce
By
Lori Porter
Apr 18, 2022
CNAs, as the largest contingent of staff members in nursing homes, should be known as a careforce, a term seized on recently by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Patient and family engagement — understanding CoreQ
By
Renee Kinder
Apr 14, 2022
On April 11, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a proposed rule that would update Medicare payment policies and rates for skilled nursing facilities under the Skilled Nursing Facility...