Month: November 2011

Could reimbursement cuts be the impetus for lawsuit reform?

Long-term care providers are justly lamenting the harsh 11.1 percent Medicare reimbursement cuts that took effect on October 1. But in the Read More »

Study: Largest for-profit nursing homes provide worse care, lower staffing than nonprofits

The largest for-profit U.S. nursing home chains deliver “significantly lower quality of care” than nonprofit and government-owned nursing homes, Read More »

A patient-centered pragmatist may take helm of CMS

It came as no great surprise last week when Donald Berwick, MD, announced his resignation as administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Read More »

Former Fla. ombudsman Lee expands lawsuit against state

Florida’s former long-term care ombudsman Brian Lee, who was forced out of his job this past February, has added new accusations to his lawsuit Read More »

SNF nurse admits to stealing morphine, drug tampering

A Kansas nursing home employee admitted this week as part of a plea deal that she had diluted her employer’s morphine solutions after stealing the Read More »

HHS pumps $9 million into senior Medicare fraud program

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last week pumped $9 million into funding Senior Medicare Patrol programs, a national effort to Read More »

Fla. Supreme Court invalidates nursing home arbitration agreements

The Florida Supreme Court last week invalidated nursing home arbitration agreements that limit damages allowed by state law, the Associated Press Read More »

CDC study: Four meds sending elderly to hospital emergency rooms

A small group of blood thinners and diabetes medications causes two-thirds of the nearly 100,000 yearly emergency hospitalizations for adverse drug Read More »

Accommodating a resident by bringing in her own bed

My adjustable home care bed was put in storage 15 years ago, when I first moved into a nursing home. I then had to sleep in one of the facility’s Read More »

CMS Admin Berwick resigns

President Obama nominated Berwick in April 2010 and then appointed him the following July while Congress was on summer recess. That recess Read More »

Achieving a balance between healthy and homelike

In many senior care facilities across the country, Alzheimer's treatment is finally taking a more common sense approach: effectively caring for the Read More »

Why LTC providers need electronic health records

There are no financial incentives in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for providers of long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) to adopt. Read More »

Study: Physicians, pharmacies need to address problems with e-prescribing

Despite viewing electronic prescribing as a safe and efficient tool, physician practices and pharmacies are not utilizing the technology to its full Read More »

‘Super committee’ fails to reach agreement; provider groups respond

The congressional “super committee” announced Monday its failure to agree on a proposal that would reduce the nation’s deficit by $1.2 trillion, Read More »

Nursing home quality scorecards should account for dementia care, researchers argue

Government agencies that rate nursing home quality should update their scoring system to account for the degree of cognitive impairment in Read More »

Laboratory worms may reveal secrets of wound healing

Advancements in wound healing, a serious problem in diabetics and the elderly, may soon bear the mark of one of nature’s smaller life forms: the Read More »

Thanksgiving is a time for resident gratitude

After living so many years in nursing homes I am normally prepared for when staff ask me about my Thanksgiving plans. Most years you’ll find me at Read More »

‘Super committee’ teeters toward stalemate

It’s going to be a long weekend for certain members of Congress. The bi-partisan 12-member “super committee,” tasked with finding $1.2 trillion in Read More »

Researchers test MRI technique to diagnose Alzheimer’s

In the effort to develop an accessible method of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease, researchers are putting a new “spin” on existing technology—one that Read More »

Population of seniors age 90-plus growing rapidly

The nation's 90-and-older population nearly tripled over the past three decades, reaching 1.9 million in 2010, according to a report by the U.S. Read More »

Welcome to the ‘giving’ season

Thanksgiving is a day when loved ones gather to reflect and appreciate the blessings in our lives. It is also the official kickoff of the holiday Read More »

The bariatric patient and trends in health facility design

*Editor's note: Jennifer Kovacs Silvis is Managing Editor of HEALTHCARE DESIGN and Editor-in-Chief of Healthcare Building Ideas, both sister Read More »

Provider group supports reimbursement cuts for SNFs with frequent re-hospitalizations

Addressing the costs associated with avoidable re-hospitalizations of Medicare beneficiaries, the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care Wednesday Read More »

Policy report addresses needs of LGBT older adults

The National Academy on an Aging Society and Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) released Wednesday the first issue of the Public Policy & Read More »

U.S. cuts $17.6 billion in improper payments including Medicare and Medicaid

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) yesterday announced that the Obama administration cut improper payments by $17.6 billion dollars in 2011 as Read More »

Exploring the future of healthcare design

Interest in and attention to the design and architecture of today’s healing environments has exploded over the past decade, as evidenced by the rapid Read More »

Obama administration to inject $1 billion into healthcare workforce development

The Obama administration announced Monday a new grant program that will award up to $1 billion to innovative organizations that hire and train Read More »

Low-income older adults more likely to develop heart failure

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Annual surveys from the resident’s perspective

In 15 years spent between two nursing homes, I have come to see many annual surveys. At my first facility, the aides were very nervous at survey Read More »