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...
Are CMS risk-based surveys enough to address the downfall of survey delays?
By
Steven Littlehale
Apr 26, 2024
In April 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the testing of a risk-based survey (RBS) that streamlines the standard recertification process for high-performing nursing homes....
Pleading the Fifth
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Aug 16, 2022
We all know that political and notable figures of all kinds have the ultimate “out” available when being asked questions of substance by authorities. They can just invoke the Fifth Amendment. That’s...
Confidence, plus 1
By
Martie Moore
Jun 02, 2023
I belong to a group on social media that posts pictures of nature, animals, birds and the occasional unidentified print left in the dirt/sand. This day a question was poised, “Can you identify what animal...
OIG signals new focus on nursing homes
By
Neville M. Bilimoria
Feb 17, 2023
The federal Office of Inspector General recently published its “OIG’s Top Unimplemented Recommendations: Solutions To Reduce Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in HHS Programs.” In the 94-page document,...
The elephant in the room: Are you prepared for the next emergency?
By
Angela Rinehart
Norris Cunningham
Sep 30, 2022
Historically, emergency preparedness programs in long-term care facilities have been less prioritized, with facilities understandably focusing on patient care and operations. But with the pandemic...
From talk to action: Moving forward with nursing home quality improvement
By
Isaac Longobardi
Alice Bonner
Jasmine Travers, Ph.D., R.N.,
Aug 30, 2023
This May, the Senate Special Committee on Aging released a report on the shortcomings of nursing home oversight in the U.S. “Uninspected and Neglected” found that nearly one-third of nursing homes...
Why grease the squeaky wheel?
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Sep 21, 2021
We all know the expression; the squeaky wheel gets the grease. But why? Why do we do that in long-term care? We all have those squeaky residents or families that just are NEVER happy. But have you thought...
Mom-and-pop survival
By
Jean Wendland Porter
May 31, 2022
The chain and franchise SNFs will mostly survive. But in the face of rising costs, federal cuts and vast numbers of employees leaving the workforce, how can the small operators survive?
One, two – with surveys, three is not guaranteed
By
Angi Livingston
Jul 08, 2022
We are seeing a drastic increase in adverse survey outcomes putting operators in precarious licensure situations pending a first, second or third revisit. In addition, we are seeing multiple failed revisits...