The day after Thanksgiving, CMS further defined its intensions with the Five-Star Quality Rating System; more specifically how the new survey process and derivative data will be used in its calculation...
The truth can set you free — or put your long-term care facility out of business
By
John O'Connor
Jan 11, 2013
Journalists generally get all warm and tingly when previously guarded information becomes available. It must be in our DNA. So I should probably be cheering ProPublica’s announcement that the government...
The star treatment is here to stay
By
John O'Connor
Jul 20, 2012
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has just rolled out its latest version of Nursing Home Compare. If your facility garnered five stars, you probably love it. If you received one star, you surely...
A winning strategy for nursing homes
By
James M. Berklan
Jun 06, 2012
Last week, I heard one of the most insightful, no-baloney talks I’ve heard in a while from a long-term care official.
Five-Star insights: Will those stars ever illuminate your path?
By
Steven Littlehale
May 16, 2012
I recently asked a hospital discharge planner how she chooses which nursing home to discharge to. “Five-Star” was the reply. Was I surprised? Not at all. Once again, it demonstrates just how...
Troubling steps ahead for Nursing Home Compare?
By
John O'Connor
Apr 13, 2012
A newly announced plan to mine data from Medicare Advantage plans might give many operators an unexpected spine shiver.
Vultures and the smell test
By
John O'Connor
Feb 10, 2012
So I’m listening to the radio the other day when a friendly but serious voice starts in about about how putting a loved one in a nursing home is a gut-wrenching choice. It’s all just a prelude...