A simple way to make life safer for nursing home residents
By
John O'Connor
Aug 06, 2018
According to recent reports, more than 1,000 senior living operators in the Sunshine State still do not have back-up generators on the premises.
What if your residents stopped deteriorating?
By
John O'Connor
Feb 19, 2015
Conventional wisdom holds that the sweet spot for long-term care residents is around age 85, give or take. But what if that figure were to suddenly rise by several decades?
Life, death and other tough choices for nursing homes
By
John O'Connor
Nov 21, 2014
As Mom used to say, where you stand usually depends on where you sit. That adage seems especially relevant for handling the wishes of residents diagnosed with terminal conditions.
Opinion: The Big Picture: Going From Good to Grating
By
John O'Connor
Dec 06, 2007
Columnists frequently fall into a predictable trap around this time of year.
Many feel an almost primal urge to have their December essay babble about the amazing year that was. This almost invariably...
The big picture: What goes around comes around
By
John O'Connor
Jun 13, 2005
Bill Gleeson was my first boss. He was classic “old school.” Tough, gruff and a hard drinker, Bill was a stickler for getting stories first and getting them right. He also gave me some of the...
We are stunned, stunned that such prescribing could occur
By
John O'Connor
Feb 11, 2019
As Cindy Lauper famously sang, money changes everything. And when it comes to medicine, there are billions and billions of reasons why hinky behavior might occur.
The Supreme Court is about to deliver another blow to unions
By
John O'Connor
Feb 05, 2018
An upcoming Supreme Court ruling might be the end of public unions. As far as most nursing home operators are concerned, it’s too bad the same fate wouldn’t extend to non-public unions as well.
Bed taxes and other troubling compromises
By
John O'Connor
Aug 04, 2014
As my colleague Tim Mullaney reported last week, the Government Accountability Office has been taking a closer look at Medicaid bed taxes lately. And the investigative arm of Congress doesn’t seem...
A toxic nursing home strike that gets weirder by the day
By
John O'Connor
Feb 11, 2013
The late Hunter S. Thompson famously said that when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. By his logic, the management and workers involved in a strike across five HealthBridge Management facilities...
The Affordable Care Act is here to stay, even if nobody seems to know what that means
By
John O'Connor
Nov 12, 2012
As late as Friday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) indicated he still would like to upend Obamacare. But he really needs to find a less frustrating way to spend his working hours.