Snobbery that skilled care operators can ill afford
By
John O'Connor
Mar 06, 2017
Quite a few skilled care operators tend to look at assisted living as being not quite equal. Many on the skilled side tend to see themselves as being a bit, ahem, more qualified.
Finally, some coverage that puts ‘nursing home’ and ‘great’ in the same headline
By
John O'Connor
Sep 08, 2014
By any standard, much of what’s being reported about nursing homes these days could hardly be considered good news. I could point out many examples, but the point is clear: There’s a lot of...
OPINION — THE BIG PICTURE: To be or not to be: Who picks?
By
John O'Connor
Apr 18, 2005
As this issue went to press, the Supreme Court had just decided not to intervene in the case involving Terri Schiavo. She has spent the past decade and a half in a Florida nursing home. There, she has...
The waiting is the hardest part
By
John O'Connor
May 03, 2021
Our ride on the pandemic Tilt-A-Whirl won’t last indefinitely but it’s not over yet.
Alone again, naturally
By
John O'Connor
Apr 20, 2020
Until nursing homes remedy both of their big issue-related problems, they will probably never get the respect or credit they deserve.
What’s happening in the Senate is no thing of beauty
By
John O'Connor
Jul 17, 2017
When it comes to the Senate’s latest healthcare bill, providers have unloaded many valid criticisms of it. Sadly, they may be irrelevant. It’s easy to get so caught up in this legislation’s...
Is Donald Trump a friend or foe of long-term care?
By
John O'Connor
Feb 06, 2017
There’s an old saying in Chicago politics: Once you’re bought, stay bought. In other words, if you are being paid to behave a certain way, don’t flip-flop. Those who would like to think...
Getting to the teeth of the matter
By
John O'Connor
Jan 30, 2017
“I have a bone to pick with you,” proclaimed the indignant voice on the other line. In my experience, conversations that begin with that invitation seldom go well.
Will 29-hour workweeks be the new normal in long-term care?
By
John O'Connor
Oct 21, 2013
We’ve been hearing a lot lately about problems uninsured people are having with health exchanges. But not much is being reported about a different kind of exchange many long-term care managers might...
Shamelessly invoice at your own risk
By
John O'Connor
Mar 22, 2013
Here’s the good news for providers: new analytics are making it possible to understand and bill your care in ways that would have been impossible just a few years ago. Here’s the bad news:...