Why the field’s biggest problem is not going away anytime soon
By
John O'Connor
Feb 08, 2016
There are many serious problems in long-term care: funding, regulations, legal concerns, staffing and more. But none of these is the biggest.
4 considerations for building your emergency preparedness plan
By
Diane Doherty
Jan 09, 2018
From Hurricanes Irma and Harvey to the California wildfires, there has been no shortage of extreme weather around the country.
Hand wringing about hand washing
By
Gary Tetz
Sep 12, 2013
Now that we know many nursing homes don’t meet hand-washing guidelines, let the hand-wringing begin. Hopefully with a generous squirt of anti-microbial sanitizer in the palm first.
This Medicare shift may change the way you do business
By
John O'Connor
Mar 06, 2015
When you ask providers to name the biggest Medicare change they’ve encountered, the answer is almost always the same: the advent of prospective payments. But we’re not hearing much about a...
Attorneys general seek greater punishment for nursing homes: A counterproductive approach?
By
Alan C. Horowitz, Esq., RN
Jun 27, 2018
At the end of May, attorneys general from 16 states and the District of Columbia signed a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar urging him “to reconsider this regulatory rollback.” The “rollback” the...
The good news is that QAPI isn’t entirely new, even though the emphasis from CMS and the surveyors is different.
Who wants to be a billionaire?
By
John O'Connor
Apr 04, 2016
The March 21 issue of Forbes, which lists the richest people on the planet, is as much fun as the Sears Christmas Wish Book.
They told us everything we need to know about the future — except what to do
By
John O'Connor
Apr 03, 2015
What should long-term care operators be doing to prepare for the future? Take your pick of these three things.
Wired for survival: Uncovering the brain’s influence on employee engagement
By
Nancy Anderson, RN, MA
Apr 12, 2017
For reasons unknown to me, I am absolutely fascinated by the human brain. Not so much the complexities of the brain’s anatomy and physiology, but rather its predispositions and proclivities, how...
Stop calling residents ‘cute’
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Oct 26, 2015
Working in long-term care for over 35 years, I’ve heard various residents referred to as “cute” nearly every day. “Cute” competes with “spry” and “adorable.”