Guest Columns

Parting thoughts, and a pricey problem

By

Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.

May 17, 2022

While I haven’t run out of material, I’m tapping out my last column because I don’t want to run out of time. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from sitting by the bedsides of elders in the…

How to take a whole-person approach to patient care

By

Marlene Sheehy

May 16, 2022

During the COVID-19 pandemic, patient care mattered more than ever. Unfortunately, patients’ perceptions of care have slipped downward since 2020. According to recent research by Press Ganey, patients…

Therapists, take note! Proposed changes to ICD-10 mapping

By

Renee Kinder

May 12, 2022

The buzz around the proposed rule for fiscal 2023 continues as providers aim to review, digest and comment on proposed updates to the SNF payment rates, wage index adjustments, methodology for recalibrating…

Manage your pit stop — with a well-used crew

By

Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC

May 10, 2022

Every year on the West Coast of Florida they hold a Grand Prix event in St. Petersburg. On the East Coast of Florida, they hold the Daytona 500. Now, I will admit, this hasn’t been a sport I get excited…

The fate of telehealth funding once PHE is gone

By

Liz Westbrook

May 09, 2022

Despite a spate of high-profile cases among the “DC elite” in recent weeks, the federal government seems eager to turn the page on COVID-19.  Anthony Fauci, M.D. recently announced that we are…

Here’s your sign: Don’t grow up, it is a trap

By

Martie Moore

May 06, 2022

One of my best-loved activities is to poke around in small town shops. The other day, I announced to my favorite person that a road trip was in order. That led us grabbing our road trip snacks and setting…

Every breath you take

By

Gary Tetz

May 05, 2022

As pandemic testing becomes more sophisticated, a creepy song from the ’80s takes on new and ominous relevance. “Every breath you take I’ll be watching you,” warned The Police, and now that an…

Honoring our fallen

By

Sara Bender

May 04, 2022

“What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.” — Helen Keller. These past two years of the pandemic have presented clinical challenges…

Mental health, everywhere

By

Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.

May 03, 2022

These days, mental health in long-term care is getting far more attention than it used to. After 25 years as a nursing home psychologist, it’s pretty exciting to see. I perused the April print edition…

Please say gay

By

Jean Wendland Porter

May 02, 2022

Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the controversial “Parental Rights in Education” bill, colloquially known as “Don’t Say Gay.” It reads, “Classroom instruction by school…

Tough conversations on gender equity, from dinner tables to boardrooms

By

Steven Littlehale

Apr 29, 2022

To solve our staffing shortage, we must address the issue of gender parity in leadership. And to do that, we must embrace our fear, speak up, and act; we must start the tough conversations.

April 2022: CMS updates National Quality Strategy

By

Renee Kinder

Apr 28, 2022

Spring is in the air! We all welcome the annual change in seasons, which also comes with a rush to review, digest and comment on multiple proposed rules. April 2022, however, also brings us a renewed approach…

Selfless or selfish? An important question for leaders

By

Julie Thorson

Apr 27, 2022

As leaders, we are often faced with the notion of selflessness and selfishness. It may be hard to recognize, but it happens to all of us.  Recently, yet another line was blurred for us as leaders…

Living in a Hot Pocket world

By

Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC

Apr 26, 2022

You ever wonder about the fascination about Hot Pockets? To me, I suppose the allure is that it promises immediate satisfaction.

Experiencing life on ‘The Happiness Curve’

By

Donna Stuart

Apr 25, 2022

Are you short-staffed? Isn’t everyone? CNAs quitting. Nurses walking away from careers. Something has changed in how willing people are to stick with frustrating working conditions.

Keep your head up: Your pay rule comments are due by June 10!

By

Neville M. Bilimoria

Apr 25, 2022

Perhaps the proposed rule will allow providers to tell their story to CMS, and this time make the agency’s key personnel understand that a reimbursement cut right now is unreasonable.

A beast of a month leads nursing homes closer to the brink

By

Brendan Williams

Apr 22, 2022

Providers can be forgiven for thinking that at this terribly perilous moment, those looking to administer the coup de grâce have been empowered.

In a death-phobic nation, long-term care embraces the ultimate privilege

By

Gary Tetz

Apr 21, 2022

Some in long-term care wake up thinking of pay cuts, business survival or reform. Me? I awoke this morning thinking about cremation.

Nursing homes, we’re doing better

By

Drew Vogel

Apr 20, 2022

Thirty-three years ago, I entered the nursing home business. In the twenty-four years before that, I was a radio newsman. Not much resemblance between those two professions! In one, it’s all out…

Breaking news I want to hear

By

Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.

Apr 19, 2022

I have to admit that when I saw the news headline last week, “BREAKING: CMS cuts SNF pay rates by net $320 million,” I felt a kick-’em-while-they’re-down discouragement.