Five-Star insights: Will those stars ever illuminate your path?
By
Steven Littlehale
May 16, 2012
I recently asked a hospital discharge planner how she chooses which nursing home to discharge to. “Five-Star” was the reply. Was I surprised? Not at all. Once again, it demonstrates just how...
New initiatives needed to build skilled caregiver workforce
By
Alice Vestergaard, Ed.D
May 05, 2012
The aging of the American population and the healthcare issues that go with it are creating a demographic earthquake that will shake our current system of healthcare to the core. We are on our way to becoming...
Capturing acuity: How MDS accuracy has a critical impact on Medicare/Medicaid payment systems
By
Steven Littlehale
Apr 20, 2012
There’s a familiar saying in the industry that “If it’s not documented, then it’s not done.” But what if it is documented, but just not documented correctly?
Operate with an eye on quality, not the next survey cycle
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 16, 2012
The anxiety associated with an impending survey should be offset by the fact that the nursing facility holds the secret to its own success – the knowledge of its customers.
Analytically Speaking: CMS Quality Measures for MDS 3.0
By
Steven Littlehale
Feb 17, 2012
At first, the MDS 3.0 Quality Measures do not appear to be very different from those based on MDS 2.0. But “the devil is in the details” and nearly every measure that seems familiar is different...
Analytically Speaking: MDS data accuracy
By
Steven Littlehale
Jan 13, 2012
Since the late 1990’s, the Minimum Data Set has been a primary driver in the long-term care industry, influencing all areas of skilled nursing facility operations. With so much depending on it, ensuring...
Rise of COPD: Not hopeless
By
John W. Walsh
Jan 09, 2012
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has become the third leading cause of death in the U.S. — 12 years earlier than predicted...
How to make your nursing facility RAC-ready
By
Bryan Baird
Nov 08, 2011
As skilled nursing facilities adjust to the changes to Medicare that arrived early last month, they must be ready for Recovery Audit Contractors. RACs are independent auditors for the government that are...
Information technology interoperability: How to get it right in LTPAC
By
Robert C. Davis
Oct 14, 2011
To enhance facility communications with other providers and vendors while improving patient care, one of the most important information technology considerations must be interoperability. There are varying...
Paris Hilton, supermarket tabloids … and the National Labor Relations Board
By
Woodruff Imberman
Oct 11, 2011
As we predicted in “Labor Pains: Craig Becker’s Troubling Prescription for Long-Term Care Facilities,” in a January 2011 posting at mcknights.com, the National Labor Relations Board is...