Guest Columns

High-quality care for residents will NEVER exist unless we care for staff

By

Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, DrPH, CIC

Nov 30, 2022

Any employee who is satisfied in their position is more engaged and productive. The healthcare industry is no different. This is not controversial or shocking. I am not going out on a limb when I talk…

CQAPI brings ‘significant and meaningful’ change

By

Amy S. Chidester

Nov 29, 2022

During my time developing and researching CQAPI (Comprehensive Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement) techniques for operators, I have become enamored with the history and the process of incontinence…

Do you know how to play SPADEs? MDS starts a new game

By

Joel VanEaton

Nov 28, 2022

Do you like playing cards? I do. I find it enjoyable to gather friends together for an evening of card playing. I would be lying if I didn’t say that there was no competition involved. Mostly though,…

Thanklefors

By

Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC

Nov 22, 2022

Many of us have Thanksgiving Day traditions. It might be a special breakfast, or watching the Thanksgiving parade, best in show dog show or football on TV, or playing football with family and friends….

A word of warning: Beware of staffing ratio violations

By

Neville M. Bilimoria

Nov 21, 2022

We are all waiting to see the possibility of proposed rules over federal minimum staffing ratios in nursing homes.  But with possible federal minimum staffing ratios looming, let’s make sure the government…

A burnt orange car becomes a teacher

By

Martie Moore

Nov 18, 2022

Slowly I walked around it, turned and walked away. Walking down the aisle, I kept looking back over my shoulder. I stood looking at the model of a car that I had rented a hundred times, and the one that…

Let there not be light

By

Gary Tetz

Nov 17, 2022

It’s the first command in the Biblical creation story — let there be light. But if you’re working a night shift in a long-term care facility, I need you to stop reading this right now and go turn…

Talevski ruling could send nursing home liability rates soaring

By

Randy Fearnow

Jaya White

Nov 16, 2022

If the Supreme Court leaves Talevski in tact, experts predict liability insurance will become significantly more expensive for publicly owned facilities in Indiana.

Let’s talk about joints

By

Jean Wendland Porter

Nov 15, 2022

As a Physical Therapist for several years (and even several decades), I’ve participated in rehabilitating a lot of joints. Some shoulders, a few elbows, some hips, and lots and lots of knees. Our job…

Think like an incident commander

By

Stan Szpytek

Nov 14, 2022

If there is anything that the last several years have taught long-term care providers about managing emergencies and disasters, it’s that strong leadership is a critical operational component to help…

Making sense of the data deluge

By

Steven Littlehale

Nov 11, 2022

My happy place is standing in front of nursing home providers and honoring them through education. Shining a loving light on these special people and honoring their commitment to better care feeds my soul….

Therapy teams take note: CY 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule

By

Renee Kinder

Nov 10, 2022

It’s that time of year again! Medicare has released the calendar year 2023 final rule related to Medicare Part B, which is impacted by the physician fee schedule and determines rates and coding updates…

Let’s ban busy

By

Julie Thorson

Nov 09, 2022

As I was preparing mentally for my day, I was beating myself up because I waited to prepare this blog until the last minute. I justified it by telling myself, “Well, I have been busy.” If I could…

Inventive languages

By

Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC

Nov 08, 2022

My family tells me that when I was a very little girl, I apparently had a proclivity for creating my own language that only my older sister could interpret. It took some coaching but eventually I adapted…

Are value-based payments the best CMS can do for nursing home residents? A call for stronger action

By

Marissa Bergh

Nov 04, 2022

America’s nursing homes are in crisis, and the government has been complicit. In the past 2 and a half years, COVID-19 has killed more than 158,000 nursing home residents. These facilities, filled with…

The positive wake-up call

By

Gary Tetz

Nov 03, 2022

Generally, I’m a law-abiding citizen. If I have a good reason, I’ll occasionally violate a minor rule or two, but nothing significant. I don’t do much murder, for instance,

Don’t let deferred maintenance compound other LTC issues

By

Jim Burke

Nov 02, 2022

One issue that’s been a longstanding problem with healthcare generally and was no doubt aggravated by developments in the last two years has been that of deferred maintenance. 

Online transparency in skilled nursing: A saving grace?

By

Maggie Hilty Katz

Oct 31, 2022

With the continued rise in social media platforms and the use of online research prior to making a decision about a provider, it is more pressing than ever for healthcare companies, specifically those…

Why LTC is delivering sub-optimal Parkinson’s care — and what to do about it

By

Cory Frasier

Oct 28, 2022

Parkinson’s disease is a crippling and often misunderstood disease process. There are little to no protocols and standards for the care of Parkinson’s residents. They tend to be lumped into the protocols…

Don’t gamble on cultural competence

By

Renee Kinder

Oct 27, 2022

Culture, it’s a sensitive topic, best not to gamble on this one.  Furthermore, culture, cultural awareness, and cultural competence are collectively listed a total of 125 times in the 861 pages of the…