A sure-fire way to make nursing homes less dangerous
By
John O'Connor
Dec 05, 2016
There is nothing nice to be said about nursing home fires. Yet nobody seems to be demanding an obvious way to ensure that fewer take place: ban smoking.
A sensible approach to clearing the Medicare appeals backlog
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jan 20, 2017
While hospitals and long-term care providers often disagree, providers are united on the thorny topic of backlogs for Medicare appeals.
As HUD gets its house in order, more long-term care operators are buying in
By
John O'Connor
Dec 10, 2012
It wasn’t so long ago that long-term care operators looked at HUD funding with a disdain bordering on contempt. But the Department of Housing and Urban Development has come a long way in a short...
For long-term care operators, every day is Labor Day
By
John O'Connor
Sep 04, 2018
Hope you had a nice Labor Day. For most of the country, it comes around once a year. But if you are leading a long-term care organization, it’s pretty much an everyday event.
This lifesaving coincidence definitely makes you swallow deeply
By
James M. Berklan
Jun 01, 2016
It wasn’t enough that Patty Ris was saved from choking in the dining room at her continuing care retirement community. She and her rescuer made worldwide headlines.
Of Purell and payment reform
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 16, 2013
I was sympathetic when the Partnership for Sustainable Health Care called for a speedier shift away from fee-for-service last week — and I also thought about Purell. Yes, that Purell.
CMS award winners showcase partnerships
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jun 19, 2012
Grasping, as many of us do, to find a positive healthcare story that includes the long-term care sector, it was nice to see that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Innovation Awards made...
The secret to ‘winning’ post-acute care
By
Jun 13, 2017
What does it mean to win post-acute care? There aren’t any trophies involved, no big acceptance speeches in front of the industry. What winning providers do have, however, is a deep understanding...
The best thing you’ll read all week
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 10, 2013
My grandmother passed away on Sept. 1. In the days since, those who knew and loved her have celebrated her life and mourned her passing together — and the obituary we wrote for her has gone viral on...
Flashing the badge at conferences
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jun 29, 2015
One of the more mortifying moments of attending a recent conference was when I went up to a participant and asked to interview her. She nicely reminded me that I had interviewed her 10 minutes before.