Guess who’s asking whether to discontinue skilled care?
By
John O'Connor
Oct 24, 2014
The audience member had a question that in previous years would have been found at the corner of Blasphemy and Crazytalk. She wanted to know whether it would be advisable to drop skilled care from her...
Why the New York Times’ ‘hatchet job’ shows better days are coming to long-term care
By
John O'Connor
Aug 26, 2014
A pall hangs over this sector at the moment, thanks to the New York Times.
What are the scouts saying about your long-term care organization?
By
John O'Connor
Jul 25, 2014
There is no draft in senior living, nor really a need for one. But what if its three most dominant players were to be sized up? How might the scouts rate skilled care, assisted living and home care, respectively?...
Dementia increases risk for hospital readmission by 20%
By
John O'Connor
Jun 01, 2014
Seniors are more likely to be rehospitalized within 30 days of discharge if they have dementia, and the risk increases if they are taking an antipsychotic medication, according to recently published research.
Occupancy, absorption both climb in first quarter: NIC
By
John O'Connor
Jun 01, 2014
Skilled nursing facilities’ average occupancy rate continued to rise in the first three months of 2014, while absorption flipped into positive territory for the first time in almost a decade, according...
Cost of doing business about to rise for many providers
By
John O'Connor
Apr 21, 2014
It’s not quite in the dirty-little-secret category, but here it is: The nation’s recent economic downturn was good for the bottom line at many urban long-term care facilities. Change appears...
No way to fix staffing
By
John O'Connor
Jan 01, 2014
It’s no secret that our nation’s long-term care facilities need additional caregivers. More than 43,000 direct care staff positions remain unfilled, according to figures from the American Health...
A $1 billion verdict sends a pretty strong message
By
John O'Connor
Aug 02, 2013
It’s a fact of life that people tend to have more balance problems as they age. As a result, falling is a real risk that many of our oldest citizens routinely face. Providing the kind of care that...
Irony dead? Not while we have Obamacare
By
John O'Connor
Jul 15, 2013
When the Obama administration recently announced it would push back the healthcare law’s employer insurance mandate for another year, many a long-term care operator rejoiced. I’m guessing there...
Are you taking care of residents or conditions?
By
John O'Connor
Jun 17, 2013
Mr. Fogel quietly passed away last week at a Chicago-area nursing home. Most of the staff didn’t know he was in the building. Among the few who did, he was a resident with heart problems. What a...