Tech pilots: End strong
More providers need to take part in I.T. test programs — and stick with them.
Most recent articles by John Hall
How to do it … Complex resident areas
Designing special care areas entails far more than four walls, a bed and medical equipment. Considering the needs for caregivers, as well as the usual ebb and flow of family and guests — both expected and unanticipated — requires a careful balance. Lighting, furnishings and other elements need to be considered to create a perfect space that is functional, inviting and calm, all at once.
What’s causing all the concern?
Occupancy in the senior housing sector has long been characterized by peaks and valleys. But recent history has hardly been typical. Occupancy decreased to 87.8% in the second quarter of 2019, from 87.9% a year ago — the lowest level in eight years, as reported by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care…
Getting wider, not bigger: An investment and planning recipe for survival before the big senior wave
At first blush, expanding any business in a time of declining numbers of customers and sagging construction starts seems illogical. But it’s exactly what may help skilled nursing facilities thrive and prosper in the turbulent years ahead. Some are finding success with asset repurposing. Others are resurrecting with an age-old real estate strategy: mixed use.…
How to do it … Improve online staff training
1. There are many ways to gauge the effectiveness of your online training programs. Course flexibility correlates heavily with the level of staff participation. Jennifer Moore, RN-BC, DNS-CT, CDP, WCC, director of curriculum design and research at Relias strongly advises offering curriculum that allows employees to bookmark their progress. And online should mean offsite; participation…
Providers grapple with ever-complex, sometimes confusing, medication regulations
Viewed individually, each medication rule, regulation, standard and guideline has its fair share of advocates and critics. It’s the sum of their parts, however, that often keeps compliance officers up at night. The regulatory labyrinth is particularly poignant to William Vaughan, RN, BSN, vice president, education and clinical affairs for Remedi SeniorCare. Vaughan joined the…
How to do it … Incontinence improvements
1. Successfully improving bladder function begins with the recognition that hope for improving is often realistic. “Bladder function can be improved, especially with those who are recently incontinent or those who had a catheter removed recently,” says Pam Brooks, OTR/L, a clinical occupational therapy specialist for Centrex Rehab. Recalling the most common reversible causes of…
PDPM’s implementation day may catch many skilled nursing managers unprepared
Few can argue that stakeholders have worked hard to get up to speed on the Patient-Driven Payment Model.
It’s showtime: Providers, supporting cast members hustle to handle changes under PDPM
In less than 30 days, the long-term care industry will open for business under the most fundamental change to nursing home reimbursement since the prospective payment system was introduced 20-plus years ago. At the heart of the new Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) is a comprehensive revision to the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI), the set of…
How to do it…Cleaning the bathing area
Know what would trigger a deep cleaning. “From a cleaning perspective and when to give detail to proper cleaning, that is the challenge,” says Len Sears, director of sales at ProCare Medical. Nursing homes generally never overlook major pathogens, but deep cleaning always should be performed after bathing any resident infected with Clostridium difficile (C.…
