November 28 is ruined for me now. Thanks, CMS. For years, I’ve been celebrating it as the fateful day in 1443 when Albanian George Kastriotis Skanderbeg and his forces liberated Kruja in Middle Albania...
Humanizing and changing dementia care
By
Karen Love and Jackie Pinkowitz
Aug 06, 2012
A new effort known as the Dementia Initiative germinated from the belief that there is a moral and ethical societal imperative to view and understand people living with dementia as whole beings, and not...
Short cycle dispense: A case study in implementation
By
Jonathan Shaatal, R.PH., MS, and Carol Sirianni, R.PH.,
Aug 02, 2012
A new rule from CMS promises to have a tremendous impact on how long-term care pharmacy (LTCP) providers serving skilled nursing facilities will operate their businesses and serve facility residents. A...
A call for more chocolate: Will it ease swallowing problems?
By
By Faerella Boczko, MS, CCC-SLP, BRS-S and Siobhan McKeon, MS, CCC-SLP
Apr 03, 2012
What affect would the addition of chocolate have for seniors with difficulty swallowing? That’s what we set out to learn.
Stop the ‘siloed’ policy making for skilled nursing
By
Alan G. Rosenbloom
Mar 21, 2012
Last week, three reports issued by three separate government agencies made incongruent recommendations — or no recommendations at all — related to skilled nursing facility (SNF) patient care and policy....
Operate with an eye on quality, not the next survey cycle
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 16, 2012
The anxiety associated with an impending survey should be offset by the fact that the nursing facility holds the secret to its own success – the knowledge of its customers.
A good first step but more to do with MDS 3.0
By
Leah Klusch, RN, BSN, FACHCA
Mar 07, 2012
It was a long first day, but there was tremendous value and everyone who is here has learned what the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ positions are with the April updates and some of the...
RAC reviews and the long-term care provider
By
David Centafont
Feb 10, 2012
Recently, claims for hospital patients discharged to skilled nursing homes have come under increased review, particularly by various recovery audit contractors. If you know some background and better understand...
When good excuses go bad
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Dec 22, 2011
Do you ever sometimes just want to say, “I’m not buying that one” when you get some absolutely bizarre excuse from a staff member as to why she called out?
Lessons learned from analyzing fall prevention programs
By
Melvin Hector, MD, and Myunghan Choi, PhD, MPH, APR-BC
Nov 18, 2011
Falls in the elderly can be a devastating event. They are the leading cause of hospital admissions for trauma and the leading cause of injury deaths for this age group, and amount to a direct medical cost...