Goal: 15% drop in psych drugs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is hoping that providers can add to their success when it comes to further lowering the use of antipsychotic medications in nursing homes.
Print Issue: November 01, 2017
Don’t look ‘over there’ to fix staffing over here
Whether you’re Republican, Democrat or independent, you might do well to listen to Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker.
Telemanagement helps trim readmissions from facilities
Heart failure patients whose conditions are monitored using a telemanagement system may be less likely to be readmitted to the hospital from a post-acute care facility, according to the results of a recent study.
Ready, set, go? LTC bracing for Phase 2
Despite a push from the post-acute care industry to delay implementation of Phase 2 requirements of participation guidelines under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, providers at press time were still planning to be ready to go with them on Nov. 28.
Reader Poll: How do you make the holidays special for your residents?
“At Levindale, to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, the eight-day Festival of Lights, we light the menorah, community choirs sing, and we have intergenerational programs. Our residents show off their talents by playing Chanukah songs on the piano or playing the bells in the Bell Tones choir. Of course, we also have a Chanukah party with potato latkes (pancakes), reminiscing and more singing!”
State News for November 2017
LeadingAge Florida filed a legal challenge in late September over Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) emergency mandate following Hurricane Irma. The provider organization is arguing the rule would “create an emergency rather than solve one.”
Hospitals slam MedPAC’s plan
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s proposed unified post-acute payment system is “unworkable as a foundation,” the American Hospital Association said in September.
Staff key to better resident oral health
Improved caregiver education can help residents maintain oral health over longer periods, according to research published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology in September.
Not the usual small talk
Sabra Health Care REIT chairman and CEO Rick Matros recently tweaked more than a few noses when he made some rather disparaging remarks about the benefits of investing in large skilled-care companies. As he sees it, there pretty much are none.
Objective screenings tend to improve delirium diagnoses
Nurses and others who screen hospital patients for delirium tend to disagree on the diagnosis, according to a longitudinal study of three centers in the Netherlands.
