CMS adds appeals process in final nursing home-closure rule
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 19, 2013
Long-term care facilities will have to notify the federal government, state survey agencies, state long-term care ombudsmen, residents and residents’ legal representatives at least 60 days in advance...
CMS announces 20 new participants in program to improve transitions, reduce rehospitalizations
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 12, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced 20 new organizations participating in the Community-based Care Transitions Program (CCTP), which is an initiative to cut down on hospital...
Inappropriate touching led to reasonable Immediate Jeopardy citation, court finds
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 11, 2013
A federal appeals court recently upheld Immediate Jeopardy penalties against a North Carolina skilled nursing facility that it agreed did not respond adequately to a resident’s inappropriate touching...
Message from the White House: Don’t trust nursing homes
By
John O'Connor
Mar 08, 2013
Ever wonder how much regard the White House has for long-term care operators? A brief filed last week makes the answer abundantly clear: very little.
Court upholds Immediate Jeopardy citations for nursing home in AL pressure sore case
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 06, 2013
An Alabama nursing home that did not properly handle a resident with pressure sores on her feet is on the hook for Immediate Jeopardy fines of nearly $135,000, a federal appeals court recently affirmed.
Data sharing a major benefit of bundled payment groups, Medicare administrator says
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 04, 2013
Increased coordination among acute and post-acute providers has reduced rehospitalization rates, signaling that healthcare reform is working, a senior Medicare official told the Senate Finance Committee...
LeadingAge and AHCA join ranks opposed to Medicaid cost sharing proposal
By
McKnight's Staff
Feb 26, 2013
LeadingAge and the American Health Care Association have joined a growing list of organizations opposed to Medicaid cost-sharing provisions in the Affordable Care Act. More than 700 respondents submitted...
Old wine, new bottles: Increased scrutiny for antipsychotic drug use
By
Alan C. Horowitz, Esq., RN
Feb 22, 2013
The landmark legislation known as “OBRA ’87” (the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987) significantly limited the inappropriate use of antipsychotic drug use in long-term care facilities....
Do you know your P’s and Q’s of QAPI?
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Feb 21, 2013
The Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement system from CMS is on our doorsteps. As facilities have been training and educating themselves, the new QIS (Quality Indicator Surveys) are ready to roll....
The Smell Test
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 15, 2013
Over in South Korea, precocious robots have been sniffing the air at a few nursing home test sites and neutralizing unwelcome odors. Or at least they were, but now have probably been reassigned to nose...