The impact of survey delays on nursing home quality and consumer information
By
Steven Littlehale
May 24, 2024
In a column published by McKnight’s in December 2023, “Revamping CMS Survey Data Integration Amid Regulatory Lag in Nursing Home Oversight,” I urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...
Third-party validation a necessity in Five Star system
By
MIranda Meadow
Oct 01, 2014
The attention given to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Five Star Quality Rating System over the last few weeks by the New York Times, Forbes, and elected officials serves to highlight the...
Maybe you don’t want to be in that preferred network …
By
Steven Littlehale
Jan 23, 2017
When it comes to contemplating joining caregiving networks, maybe you have more in common with the hospital than you think. Poor-performing hospitals tend to coexist in the same market as poor-performing...
The truth in the stars
By
Jessica Curtis
Jun 07, 2021
Can a one-star skilled nursing facility be the same as a five-star facility? It depends on your zip code. When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services assigns the health inspection...
Revamping CMS survey data integration amid regulatory lag in nursing home oversight
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 08, 2023
The report titled “Uninspected and Neglected” by the majority staff of the US Senate Special Committee on Aging brings attention to a pressing issue: the severe understaffing of inspection agencies...
The Five Star Report, once again, in the SNF spotlight
By
Steven Littlehale
Sep 24, 2014
The Five Star Quality Rating System takes the spotlight on the front page of the New York Times and the top of the news cycle, kicking off other publicity and political pressure. Regardless of any of the...
Answers to lingering questions about PBJ
By
Karolee Alexander, RN, RAC-CT
Jul 08, 2016
Even though the Payroll-Based Journal kick-off was last Friday, it’s understandable that questions still cloud this new process. It behooves providers to get up to speed and become better informed...
Five-Star makes complaints against nursing homes even more serious
By
Tyler J. Smith
Jul 06, 2009
Nursing homes have a difficult enough time contending with the survey and certification system. Now that the Five-Star Quality Rating System has begun, they have to work even harder to protect themselves...
Multistate corporations, listen up!
By
Steven Littlehale
May 30, 2014
It is not a numbers game. Well, I guess it kind of is. Let’s face it: It is now common practice to monitor your facilities’ Five Star ratings.
Moon landings and the MDS. What gives?
By
Joel VanEaton
Mar 19, 2024
You may be aware that on Feb. 22, Houston-based Intuitive Machines landed a spacecraft on the moon, making history as the first commercial craft to reach the lunar surface and the first U.S. spacecraft...