CPR guidelines should change for rural areas, researcher says
By
McKnight's Staff
May 06, 2013
Hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation is recommended by the American Heart Association, but it may not be the best way to save lives if more sophisticated medical care is slow in coming, according to...
Limiting use of common antihistamines could reduce C. diff in facilities, researchers say
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 29, 2013
Taking antihistamines such as Tagamet, Pepcid and Zantac increases the risk that people in healthcare settings will be infected with Clostridium difficile, according to a recently published study.
Skilled nursing facilities, already bracing for scheduled Medicare payment cuts of $65 million, face further losses that could total hundreds of millions of dollars, according to an Avalere Health analysis.
Direct caregivers will make up nation’s largest workforce by 2020, analysis predicts
By
McKnight's Staff
May 11, 2012
Direct care workers, a group that includes nursing assistants, home health aides and personal care aides, are expected to comprise the United States’ largest workforce by 2020, according to a new...
Medicaid audit contractors lag behind Medicare counterparts, federal officials admit
By
McKnight's Staff
Jun 08, 2012
Federal officials acknowledged in a House hearing Thursday that Medicaid’s recovery contractors have not been as successful as their Medicare counterparts in detecting fraud and recovering overpayments.
Nursing home meth lab fire kills one, hospitalizes five
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 07, 2012
Investigators are blaming an Ohio nursing home fire — which killed one person and hospitalized five others — on a methamphetamine lab in a resident’s room.
An optometrist in Kentucky defrauded Medicare and Medicaid by filing claims for nursing home care that was unnecessary or not provided, alleges a False Claims Act lawsuit recently brought by the federal...
Gold-medal intern wins fans
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 01, 2013
Fairhaven Manor’s Amy Kotterman wasn’t sure her incoming graduate student intern was the Katie Smith until receiving an unusual voicemail. Smith called to say she would miss a day of her upcoming...
Regulations for nursing home ethics programs and QAPI still in the works, administrators say
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 22, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is still working on the regulations for ethics and compliance programs that nursing homes were supposed to have implemented this month, CMS administrators admitted...
CMS debuts antipsychotic drug reduction program
By
McKnight's Staff
May 30, 2012
Federal officials unveiled a medication reduction initiative with an ambitious goal: trimming antipsychotic drug use among residents by 15% this year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’...