Four reasons why states need to stop inspecting nursing facilities
By
John O'Connor
Aug 08, 2014
What if every state had its own language, currency and traffic signals? Life could get a lot more complicated once you ventured into another jurisdiction.
For Texas operators, a proposal that might not be as appealing as it sounds
By
John O'Connor
Dec 19, 2014
At first blush, providers in other states might feel a bit envious about a proposal being floated in Texas. But they might want to reconsider.
A survey system that works?
By
John O'Connor
Jan 30, 2012
All sides generally agree that the current nursing home survey system is flawed. But there’s hardly consensus on how best to fix it. Here’s something worth considering.
Premature obituaries about nursing homes unfair, off the mark
By
John O'Connor
Apr 11, 2014
Attend an industry event these days and you’re sure to hear doom-and-gloom forecasts for the skilled care sector. Simply put, LTC is not getting a lot of TLC.
Why the survey system may never be fixed
By
John O'Connor
Sep 05, 2014
Given certain realities about skilled-nursing facility inspections, we should not be wondering why cheating has occurred. Rather, we should be amazed it hasn’t been more rampant.
Where’s your next lawsuit coming from?
By
John O'Connor
May 22, 2015
If a recent survey of about 800 corporate attorneys is to be believed, there’s no shortage of things to lose sleep over.
The nursing home survey system is about to get a much closer look
By
John O'Connor
Aug 29, 2014
You had to know this was coming. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that many nursing homes are submitting massaged staffing and quality indicator data to the feds. The alleged reason? So facilities...
Hope I die before I get (too) old
By
John O'Connor
Aug 19, 2013
When it comes to life spans, we are the chosen ones.
The star treatment is here to stay
By
John O'Connor
Jul 20, 2012
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has just rolled out its latest version of Nursing Home Compare. If your facility garnered five stars, you probably love it. If you received one star, you surely...
The truth can set you free — or put your long-term care facility out of business
By
John O'Connor
Jan 11, 2013
Journalists generally get all warm and tingly when previously guarded information becomes available. It must be in our DNA. So I should probably be cheering ProPublica’s announcement that the government...