Establishing processes to utilize root cause analysis for quality improvement is necessary, but it takes discipline. One of the first steps is to challenge your own beliefs about safety and quality failures.
A Baptist Home blast from the past
By
Elizabeth Newman
Aug 30, 2017
Coming from a long line of folks who hate to throw anything away, culling more than 250 books this summer from our house has been physically painful. But the cleaning also has resulted in some unexpected...
Enraged about an unfair playing field for nursing home admissions
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 21, 2017
It was not a good sign from the start. The “personal” email stiffly started “Dear Sir,” The first line only validated my gnawing feeling: “I can’t tell you how enraged...
Are your Ultra High RUGs putting you at risk?
By
Steven Littlehale
Feb 22, 2016
The 2016 Office of Inspector General work plan calls for increased scrutiny of the Ultra High therapy billing category because the amount of this therapy delivered has increased over time, despite resident...
The ballad of the MDS coordinator
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jun 08, 2015
A NADONA presentation focused on preparing documentation and audits spent time diving into the way MDS managers are treated — and it doesn’t look great.
Is ‘murse’ OK? Tips for gender integrated nursing staffs
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 05, 2013
McKnight’s Senior Editor Elizabeth Newman recently raised some thought-provoking questions about how “women manage women” in long-term care facilities with largely female staffs. Her...
Judge facilities on an individual basis
By
Liza Berger
Aug 07, 2009
A significant and perhaps somewhat controversial piece of research was released this week suggesting that not-for-profit nursing homes offer higher quality care overall than for-profits. That’s great...
What the NLRB’s new ambush election rules mean for you
By
Woodruff Imberman Ph.D.
Jan 28, 2015
Long-term care facilities, ranging from independent living communities to post-acute care and rehab centers, all will face new problems avoiding unions because of the recently issued National Labor Relations...
What isn’t being said
By
Julie Thorson
Mar 02, 2017
Disclaimer: This is not scientific. I can, however, tell you I believe this notion to be true based on the hundreds of leadership conversations I’ve had, or haven’t had.
Cue the banjo player (you won’t regret it)
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 28, 2016
So anyway, speaking of aging, I got to spend Sunday evening with a delightful old guy named Steve — a spry, perfectly adorable gentleman with a Mike Pence hairdo who plays the banjo and seems to have...