Guest Columns

Oh me, oh my… thank goodness for CMMI!

By

Renee Kinder

Oct 21, 2021

There are two deep cleaning seasons in our household.  Spring and fall. Fall cleaning includes the neighborhood kids closet rotation (I haven’t had to buy school khakis in three years!), washing…

Long-term care’s impending doom: staffing shortages

By

Norris Cunningham

Angela Rinehart

Oct 20, 2021

While staffing shortages have plagued the long-term care industry for quite some time, the coronavirus pandemic has certainly shone a spotlight on the issue and worsened it.   At the start of…

Taking control back

By

Matt Salmon

Oct 19, 2021

I think it’s important that we recognize the impact COVID has had on our staff — and in some cases, recognize the damage it has done. Our staff are experiencing dissatisfaction and disconnection at…

Chitchat is your new favorite

By

Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC

Oct 18, 2021

One of my favorite holiday movies is “Elf.” A movie about a human, who is raised at the North Pole as an elf. When Buddy, our main character, finds out he is human (an absolutely hysterical scene),…

Safety in colors

By

Jean Wendland Porter

Oct 15, 2021

The newly-remodeled lobby of the skilled nursing facility looked more like a luxury hotel. The colors were muted, earth-tone hues, low light illuminating the front desk. It was welcoming to the daughter…

My incredible shrinking lifespan

By

Gary Tetz

Oct 14, 2021

With so much still to say to the long-term care profession, I’m realizing I better write fast, because I may not have many years left. Less all the time, according to a study from Oxford University….

Recovering or healing?

By

Julie Thorson

Oct 13, 2021

Does acceptance of “what is” indicate defeat? For a leader with competition as one of her top five strengths, I’ve struggled with this question the last few months. Maybe you have also. To…

How to give feedback that gets results

By

Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.

Oct 12, 2021

Whether coaching supervisors on leadership skills or teaching employees to follow proper infection control procedures, the way in which feedback is offered can have an enormous impact on how it’s received…

Skilled services 101: Understanding the medical appropriateness exception

By

Renee Kinder

Oct 07, 2021

In our industry, we have all read it numerous times. Some of us can quote portions of it in our sleep… three consecutive calendar days, for a condition that was treated during the qualifying hospital…

Road warriors, conference season and taco beds

By

Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC

Oct 05, 2021

We road warriors know all about the “fun” that comes with the constant travel. You know, getting to see some really not cool cities, desperately trying to catch up on emails and calls, often adjusting…

Long-term care’s problems are bad and getting worse — but fixable

By

Stephen A. Moses

Oct 01, 2021

The long-term care business is hurting: labor shortages, wage pressures, vax mandates, too much Medicaid, too little private pay, value-based reimbursement, MedPAC vs. Medicare and so on and on. What should…

Sick and tired of being sick and tired

By

Ashleigh Boyd

Sep 29, 2021

Geriatric care is a calling. The relationships that caregivers form with their patients at nursing and acute geriatric facilities are unique within the healthcare industry.  The average stay for a patient…

The importance of understanding healthcare finance

By

Lyle Solomon

Sep 27, 2021

The amount of money that gets wasted in healthcare facilities can be shocking, especially to healthcare personnel that are unaware. While it may be your primary duty to care for your residents, medicine…

And we adjusted: Looking to the past to inform the present and future

By

Martie Moore

Sep 24, 2021

I, like many, obtained my nursing license during a time of turmoil and fear. We did not wear gloves, nor masks, as we dealt with blood, body fluids or airborne infectious pathogens.  We did not wear any…

The pandemic doesn’t mean you can sleep on anti-kickback law compliance

By

Neville M. Bilimoria

Sep 22, 2021

On September 8, 2021, the Department of Justice, in connection with the Office of Inspector General, announced a settlement of $17 million against a home health agency that purchased two home health agencies…

Mastering the paper records to EHR migration

By

Norris Cunningham

Angela Rinehart

John Myers

Sep 20, 2021

By now, most can agree that going electronic is a necessity of doing business, especially in the health care setting.  Among other uses, electronic health records (“EHR”) often provide for the ability…

Telehealth is a linchpin to SNF success

By

Steven Littlehale

Sep 17, 2021

Telehealth Awareness Week (September 19–25) is a time to highlight and reinforce the critical role of telehealth.  Telehealth is the use of telecommunications technology to deliver care and health…

Life safety alert: Storage is prohibited in the means of egress

By

Stan Szpytek

Sep 13, 2021

As a Life Safety Consultant working directly with LTC providers around the country as well as with many state healthcare associations, I need to start this piece by being blunt and will get straight to…

Approaching the finish line

By

Jean Wendland Porter

Sep 13, 2021

I went to a wedding this month.   Let me rephrase that: I went to a wedding that was a three-day, in-person, 125-attendees, sitting-at-tables-for-eight, extravaganza with family I haven’t seen in…

When celebrity obscures suffering

By

Brendan Williams

Sep 10, 2021

There is a poignant scene in the first episode of Spike Lee’s “NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½” on HBO in which New York Assembly Member Ron Kim breaks down recounting the efforts of former Governor Andrew…