How should long-term care providers celebrate? Let us count the ways
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 31, 2016
Long-term care operators have plenty of reasons to recoil and lick their wounds over the course of a year. But there are also good times when they should find reason to smile. Like this past week.
Why nursing homes can exhale — but not get complacent
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 07, 2017
The announced delay of full enforcement of new survey requirements is indeed good news for nursing home operators and all of their compliance officers. Their blood pressure should now lower a few millimeters....
No longer the CMS boss, Verma sounds more like provider friend than foe
By
James M. Berklan
Nov 03, 2023
Dwell on the past too much at your own peril, but providers could be forgiven if Seema Verma had them fondly looking back Wednesday.
The staffing rule’s Swiss cheese factor
By
Kimberly Marselas
Sep 08, 2023
There’s a glaring hole in the proposed federal staffing mandate, and no, I’m not talking about that same blackhole that’s apparently sucked in 190,000 skilled nursing workers with no sign of spitting...
Why the survey system may never be fixed
By
John O'Connor
Sep 05, 2014
Given certain realities about skilled-nursing facility inspections, we should not be wondering why cheating has occurred. Rather, we should be amazed it hasn’t been more rampant.
Need a fresh survey strategy? CMS lays out 3
By
Kimberly Marselas
Dec 05, 2023
CMS officials have delivered an early gift to help providers like you map out where they should focus their compliance efforts — not just for 2024, but for 2025 as well.
The nursing home survey system is about to get a much closer look
By
John O'Connor
Aug 29, 2014
You had to know this was coming. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that many nursing homes are submitting massaged staffing and quality indicator data to the feds. The alleged reason? So facilities...
Long-term care and CMS workers occupy common ground
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 03, 2013
Long-term care workers and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services employees might have a lot in common — and that’s not entirely good news.
Reducing seniors’ drug use, one iPod at a time
By
John O'Connor
Mar 28, 2014
For reasons that are understandable yet hard to countenance, antipsychotic drugs are widely used in nursing homes. Too often over-used, according to government statistics. But it’s beginning to look...
Top 5 news stories reveal varied interests among long-term care professionals
By
John O'Connor
Jan 03, 2014
What do neck abnormalities, dangerous bacteria, a murder-suicide, a defensive nursing home chain, and antipsychotic guidelines have in common? These five developments were voted the most popular news stories...