National standardized surveys for nursing homes in the works
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 02, 2015
You kind of get the sense that a government watchdog didn’t want to believe the good numbers coming out of its latest research into nursing home care, so it felt the need to introduce uncertainty.
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.
How should long-term care providers celebrate? Let us count the ways
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 31, 2016
Long-term care operators have plenty of reasons to recoil and lick their wounds over the course of a year. But there are also good times when they should find reason to smile. Like this past week.
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 snapshot of successful dementia surveys
By
Oct 06, 2015
I firmly believe the old saying that a picture’s worth a thousand words. But for every strong, visual message photograph conveys, there are dozens of more messages that it doesn’t, or can’t,...
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.
Why nursing homes can exhale — but not get complacent
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 07, 2017
The announced delay of full enforcement of new survey requirements is indeed good news for nursing home operators and all of their compliance officers. Their blood pressure should now lower a few millimeters....
Where long-term care’s money is spent when it’s for ‘technology’
By
James M. Berklan
Jun 13, 2014
Healthcare providers are considered relatively slow technology adopters, and long-term care operators as a sub-group are believed to be among the slowest. Whether or not that’s true, at least you...
A bad surveyor workplace hurts providers
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jan 31, 2018
As difficult as your job may be — and I know there are many long days — it’s worthwhile to remind yourself it could always be worse. You could be a nursing home surveyor in Idaho.
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.