Impossible expectations are undermining nursing home care
By
Brendan Williams
Feb 05, 2024
Maine has the nation’s oldest population, and yet almost 40% of its nursing homes have closed within the past few decades. As the Bangor Daily News has reported, that’s forced residents of some...
It’s painful — and there’s no end in sight
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Sep 12, 2023
So here I am in Florida. I started having pain in my upper right gastric region. Over the course of three days it was getting really intense. Could my primary care provider squeeze me in? Nope. So...
Telehealth and rehab with end of PHE
By
Renee Kinder
May 25, 2023
Regulation is always clear and easy to comprehend. Laughable, right? What often happens when new rules and regulations are proposed or finalized is that there is a flurry of activity following, from...
Shouting time
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 25, 2022
Maybe it comes from working in the highly regulated long-term care profession for so many years, or maybe it’s just from being a subservient Canadian, but I’ve become quite a prolific rule follower....
I honestly love you
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 11, 2022
I know we have a lot on our minds these days. Little brain teasers like, how do we possibly replace the estimated 362,000 employees the long-term care profession has lost during the pandemic? A recent...
A call for clear, coordinated and manageable expectations of nursing homes
By
Howard L. Sollins
Apr 06, 2022
It falls to individual skilled nursing facilities and caregiving teams to create clear and coordinated expectations of nursing homes.
Christmas vacation or no, these ‘gifts’ kept on coming
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 05, 2022
There’s a pit of desperation of sorts that normally envelops most journalists around holiday periods. With few folks working in government or corporate offices, important decisions and developments sometimes...
‘Keep it simple’ is just not in our nature
By
Steven Littlehale
Jun 28, 2021
I asked all the leadership at New Choice Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to bring me their department-specific resident assessment tools. They were to leave them on my desk by 5 p.m. When I returned...
Biden Medicare regulations favor hospitals over skilled nursing facilities
By
Lisa Grabert
Jun 02, 2021
On an annual basis, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updates various payment systems within the Traditional (fee-for-service) Medicare program. This regulatory season is more entertaining than...
When heavyweights go at it
By
John O'Connor
Apr 26, 2021
There seems to be a nice skirmish shaping up right now between long-term care leaders and some in the government.