Tomorrow’s nursing homes must integrate palliative care
Jan 09, 2015
Palliative care, a form of patient-centered care focused on quality of life for the seriously ill, should be the standard of practice for all elderly patients with complex illness in nursing homes.
2015: The year of innovation
By
Jon Kole
Dec 19, 2014
As we prepare to say goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015, now is the time to make a New Year’s resolution of innovation. While each long-term care facility will chart its own course, the Hebrew Home...
Oak Trace reverses continuum
By
Michelle Hart-Carlson
Nov 07, 2014
Seniors who need extra assistance and move directly to a senior living community’s health center often don’t live independently again. But at Oak Trace, a continuing care retirement community...
Fiscal Year 2015: Can you handle it?
By
Steven Littlehale
Oct 23, 2014
It’s that time of the year again! Do the shorter days have you thinking of colorful leaves, a harvest moon, ghouls and goblins on All Hallows’ Eve? Or were you a SNF provider waiting for the...
A plan for drug diversion
By
Susan LaGrange
Oct 13, 2014
One timely topic that is both difficult to comprehend and discuss is drug diversion in long-term care. Long-term care leaders must have a solid system in place with policies and procedures, education,...
The Five Star Report, once again, in the SNF spotlight
By
Steven Littlehale
Sep 24, 2014
The Five Star Quality Rating System takes the spotlight on the front page of the New York Times and the top of the news cycle, kicking off other publicity and political pressure. Regardless of any of the...
Stakeholders need to prepare for the loss of long-term care’s exemption to e-prescribing
By
Cynthia Morton
Sep 15, 2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is set to lift long-term care’s exemption from its e-prescribing rule as of Nov. 1. This is bigger news than most realize right now, and there has been...
Looking at short stay assessments
By
Jan White
Sep 10, 2014
In reviewing the MDS, there are several areas to check related to short stay requirements. First, is the Start of Therapy assessment checked in A0310C? If there is not a 5-day scheduled assessment or readmission/return...
Hospitals cast a wide net for SNF patients
By
Jeff Terkowitz
Aug 27, 2014
For skilled nursing facilities it’s a struggle to stay ahead of the Medicare initiatives and market forces that are causing hospitals and health systems to narrow their post-acute care networks....
New payment models present opportunities for SNFs
By
Jeff Terkowitz
Jun 18, 2014
For skilled nursing facilities, the Medicare SNF 3-day rule can make it difficult to place the right patients in the right setting at the right time. The 3-day rule requires that a Medicare beneficiary...