This time of year, I love to sit on my back porch and watch the fireflies dance in the twilight. Something from my childhood, I suppose. This year they seem particularly bright. Almost like fireworks...
The changes to end-of-life skin wound classification in the most recent Minimum Data Set update are ultimately a positive for long-term care, but regulatory ambiguity and potential legal concerns still...
The top long-term care stories of 2023
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 18, 2023
Long-term care providers were intent on dismissing undesirable memories of the COVID-19 pandemic as much as possible in 2023, but the year’s top stories revealed there were still remnants of it to...
Days-old MDS creating chaos for some providers
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 04, 2023
Just two days into a new era in nursing home patient assessments, providers were reporting widespread struggles with an updated MDS system, observers said Tuesday.
CMS call takes listeners back in time for MDS compliance but offers nothing new on staffing mandate
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 01, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services invited the nation’s nursing home stakeholders to a conference call Thursday but played its cards close to the vest regarding its pending release of a first-ever...
Switch to new MDS platform underpins feds’ growing drive for nursing home data
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 18, 2023
Providers should view the change to the iQies system as just the first step in an ongoing process to make it easier for federal regulators to gather and evaluate nursing home statistics.
March, the summer solstice, and social determinants of health
By
Joel VanEaton
Mar 21, 2023
Daylight-saving time is finally here! I look forward to the day in March that it arrives starting June 21 every year. What’s June 21 you ask? Why, it’s the summer solstice. The summer solstice is...
Setting up for MDS 3.0 success
By
Steven Littlehale
Jan 06, 2023
Are you a “New Year’s resolution” kind of person? I am not, but I am a strong believer in establishing goals and setting intentions. Whether you prefer to make a resolution or set a goal, January...
CMS clarifies: New flu vaccination reporting rule applies broadly
By
Joe Bush
Oct 07, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Thursday cleared up what officials called confusion about the types of skilled nursing facilities now required to report annual healthcare personnel influenza...
$9 million verdict against nursing home thrown out by appeals court
By
Elizabeth Newman
Aug 26, 2014
An Illinois nursing home won a victory last week when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit voided a $9 million verdict.