Survey and certification: Level that playing field!
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 11, 2012
As you engage in quality improvement efforts, put together data-driven marketing materials, complete a HUD refinance application, or talk with families and other community members take care to make sure...
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....
Cracking the code to seven years of Five-Star ratings success
By
Steven Littlehale
Sep 19, 2016
Since the inception of the Five-Star Quality Rating program in December 2008, there have been 113 Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) that have earned and maintained an overall 5-star score. Who are these...
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...
Does caring for specialty populations hurt your public profile?
By
Steven Littlehale
Jun 20, 2016
Many skilled nursing facilities are de facto specialty care centers with a disproportionately large number of certain types of residents. This scenario, unfortunately, can translate into a liability in...
ADL coding: The importance of being accurate
Jan 16, 2015
Section G is one of the most inaccurately coded sections of the MDS 3.0. This is primarily due to the inaccuracy of the supporting documentation for Activities of Daily Living (ADLs).
5 tips for avoiding deficiencies
By
Susan LaGrange
Nov 05, 2014
Here are five quick tips to operationalize for the top five most frequently cited deficiencies nationwide. Facilities could choose one per day and revisit each week to focus on audits, discussion, education...
The beauty of bad publicity
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 28, 2014
When I saw the New York Times article illuminating the clever ways devious operators could inflate their Medicare star ratings, I had mixed emotions ranging from fury to rage.
The tie between revenue and risk managment
By
Tim Goux and Scout Blount
Oct 20, 2014
By providing the best level of care, a provider will help ensure resident satisfaction as well as foster a positive work environment for employees. Poor quality will affect a provider’s revenue stream.
Addressing quality of death
By
Linda Elizaitis
May 05, 2014
What do you do when a resident crosses the threshold and your organization needs to address quality of death? We all know that there is a great emphasis, appropriately so, on a resident’s quality...