Signature HealthCARE acquires Elmcroft Senior Living’s SNFs

Signature HealthCARE has acquired the skilled nursing division of Elmcroft Senior Living in an attempt to build the first post-acute network in Kentucky, where both companies are headquartered. Read More »

ACHCA elects new president and CEO

Cecilia Sepp, CAE will serve as president and CEO of the American College of Health Care Administrators beginning Jan. 4, 2016. Read More »

Capital One acquires GE Capital Healthcare Financial Services

The acquisition has resulted in the formation of Capital One Healthcare, which will provide more than $11 billion in total outstanding balances of financial services to the healthcare industry. Read More »

National health spending picks up steam

The national healthcare spending growth rate has accelerated for the first time after five years of sluggish growth, according to new annual data from CMS. Read More »

Brookdale to expand memory care wings in Georgia facilities

Brookdale Senior Living is spending $9.5 million to expand beds and common areas at two Georgia facilities. The number of people in the state with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia is expected to increase by nearly half by 2025. Read More »

Memoirs set to classical music

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra continues its Music as Medicine series with the first performance of “Memoirs.” The Dakota Wind Quintet will punctuate the telling of a retirement community resident’s life story. Read More »

Person-centered care and resident choice: Giving elders a voice

Providers and clinicians often want to honor resident choice, but are afraid to do so. The key is finding the balance between providing quality care and keeping clients safe, and allowing choices that may involve risk but will enhance quality of life. Read More »

PBA and antipsychotic meds in SNFs: No laughing matter

Nursing home residents with symptoms of pseudobulbar affect (PBA) are twice as likely to receive antipsychotic medications in off-label mode, a new study shows. Read More »

Intel-GE Care Innovations, Amedisys ink home health deal

The two companies combine efforts and data analytics to improve remote care monitoring for high-risk conditions in 34 states. Read More »

Former retirement community manager sentenced for embezzling

A former retirement community manager was sentenced for embezzling funds over a two-year period. Read More »

Why aren’t Californians connecting with MediConnect?

The opt-out rate for California’s new pilot program for dual-eligibles is so high the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research just got a massive grant to study why. Read More »

Texas ALF settles fire sprinkler suit

The owners of a Fort Worth, Texas assisted living complex learn the cost of sprinkler system violations. Read More »

A subscription box that keeps on giving

Senior Care Box is a monthly care package designed specifically to help people age 65 and older reminisce about the good ol’ days and let them know someone is thinking about them this holiday season — and throughout the year. Read More »

Care conferences

Resident blogger Kathleen Mears discusses the process of resident care conferences. Read More »

Hospital software vendor to enter LTPAC software market

A community hospital software vendor will expand to the post-acute care market following a definitive agreement to acquire Healthland Holding Inc. and its affiliate American HealthTech, a provider of electronic health record software to more than 3,300 skilled nursing facilities. Read More »

Toy maker Hasbro unveils robotic cat for elderly

Hasbro has launched its first product line specifically for older recipients this holiday season, a robotic cat, after market research found many parents were gifting stuffed animals to aging relatives. Read More »

Dish up some family history this holiday

Take advantage of family togetherness this season and encourage conversations about medical history and capturing fond memories. Read More »

A tale of two transfers

Avoiding legal issues with improper resident transfers takes close examination of the reason why transfers are needed and all the right documentation. Read More »

CEO charged in $190M investment scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the head of Global Healthcare REIT of money-mixing and defrauding investors. Read More »

I scream for…frozen dessert

An emergency room physician with a lifelong passion for ice cream was inspired by his patients to concoct a tasty and nutritious frozen dessert. Read More »

ANA appoints new president of ANCC

Patricia Reid Ponte, a nursing executive, researcher and educator, has been tapped as the next president of the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the largest nurse credentialing organization and a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association. Read More »

Understanding Parkinson’s disease psychosis

Educating caregivers and staff on the effects of Parkinson’s disease psychosis can help them react with understanding to a resident’s hallucinations and false claims. Read More »

Rising acuity, changing LTC needs in Canada

Caring for residents with growing complexities and chronic care requirements isn't an isolated event; Canadians are experiencing much the same trends, notes a new Ontario Long-Term Care Association report. Read More »

Connecticut to require comprehensive employee background check for long-term care facilities

The state Department of Public Health launched an applicant background check Web portal designed to protect residents and help long-term care providers identify offenders who might not be suited to work at their facilities. Read More »

Leg strength associated with brain health in older women

Researchers found older women with strong legs had better cognition, suggesting leg power can be used to predict cognitive ageing in women.  Read More »

Thankful for

A friend's close call with a heart attack is plenty to be thankful for, but a stranger's random act of kindness is something blogger Kathleen Mears won't ever forget. Read More »

Report: Liability costs expected to rise in 2016

Liability loss rates vary widely among individual states depending on tort reform, use of arbitration, the jittery market and many other factors, notes a new analysis. Read More »

CMS gets to work on new value-based fee structure

Now that the SGR is history, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is tackling the new value-based payment model. Leading long-term care organizations are playing important roles in advising the new policies. Read More »

Boost the bottom line by boosting staff morale

Surveys show that engaged staff improves morale, productivity and the bottom line. A healthcare staffing and engagement consultant offers four ways to engage with staff, shift the workplace culture and create a better experience for both staff and residents. Read More »

Person-centered care benchmarking survey under way

The LTC industry needs YOU! Be sure to contribute to this new national benchmarking survey on the current state of person-centered care delivery in long-term care. Read More »