Life safety alert: Storage is prohibited in the means of egress
By
Stan Szpytek
Sep 13, 2021
As a Life Safety Consultant working directly with LTC providers around the country as well as with many state healthcare associations, I need to start this piece by being blunt and will get straight to...
The importance of data accuracy
By
Steven Littlehale
Apr 10, 2013
Has a day gone by when you haven’t heard about a new healthcare reform requirement coming of age? This month skilled nursing facilities were supposed to have started having an operational compliance...
When the rules change, not everyone wins: Counting IC deficiencies in Five-Star
By
Steven Littlehale
Feb 05, 2021
Do you remember how, as you were growing up, there was always another kid who would change the rules mid-game to ensure that he won? I do, and it would always make my blood boil. The Centers for Medicare...
Is long-term care a flea market?
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Mar 20, 2019
Recently, I overheard a business office manager speaking on the phone to a managed care company, which after approving dozens of patients, kept denying payments — without giving a reason, of course....
Stuff I won’t do for residents and why your staff shouldn’t either: preventing burnout in...
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Jan 09, 2014
In my last post, I wrote about some of the many things I do for residents as a long-term care psychologist. The astute reader will note that most of the tasks were accomplished during work hours and within...
Waiver or not, here I come!
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 28, 2020
The immediate relief I felt when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a blanket waiver 1135 on March 13 was soon replaced with confusion and anxiety.
CMS and You: Strategy and action finally together
By
Martie Moore
Aug 06, 2018
The Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services outlined its priorities and goals in its quality and strategy plan. Translating its goals into leadership actions, however, is another matter.
Making resident-centered care a priority
By
Sharon Belovarac, Jana Scavona and Steven Walkingstick
Sep 02, 2015
When Asbury Communities Inc., began its journey with Planetree it was not without a few questions. In our healthcare centers, where this culture-change journey would have its greatest presence, we wondered...
Silo-busting
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Nov 07, 2017
There are benefits to breaking down silos between public and private aging services.
The incredible shrinking brain
By
Gary Tetz
May 28, 2020
For those of you seeking a different coping path through this pandemic, might I suggest walking, gardening, swimming or dancing. I say this because a new preliminary study suggests that people who do those...