Long-Term Living talks with Front Porch CEO Gary Wheeler about helping not-for-profits (NFPs) survive these challenging economic times.People and organizations need to do more with less. For stand-alone NFP organizations, this has become increasingly difficult. Read More »
For most families, entry into a nursing home is like being teleported onto a strange new planet. The arrival is often swift and unanticipated, and the customs are foreign and frequently unnerving. Consider what services you can offer to improve the experience of anxious family members. Read More »
In the aftermath of last week’s 5-4 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA), long-term care providers are taking stock of the far-reaching ramifications for an industry in transition. Read More »
Leaders digest: So the ACA stays. What now? Long-Term Living’s editors speak with leaders in the long-term and post-acute care industry the day the Supreme Court decision is announced. Read More »
BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court has decided the Affordable Care Act will stay in place. The majority voted to keep individual mandate and the right for Congress to offer funding for state reform programs. Read More »
Private pay has become the holy grail of long-term care, and a powerful combination of industry leadership and political action is opening up access for the consumer to new funding options. Every owner of a life insurance policy has the legal right to convert their policy to pay for long-term care while still alive—but too few consumers and LTC industry professionals are aware of this fact. Read More »
With the need for states to rein in healthcare budgets, we are seeing a rapid move toward managed long-term care in states across the country. These changes are forcing many LTC providers to adapt to a new healthcare environment. Read More »
Some insurers aren't waiting for the Supreme Court's decision to show how they feel about some of the reforms within the Affordable Care Act. Read More »
Last spring (May 2011), the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published a report titled, "Medicare Atypical Antipsychotic Drug Claims for Elderly Nursing Home Residents." Here is what medical directors practicing in long-term care had to say about the appropriate prescribing of antipsychotic medications. Read More »
Sexual appetites don’t disappear after age 50, an Australian study concludes. However, seniors in nursing homes often have to sneak around because administrators are concerned about safety risks. Read More »
Sadly, many hospital nurses are depressed according to a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative. Read More »
Cutting-edge organizations that are effectively meeting the challenges of caring for an aging population with acquired brain injuries are implementing strategies that promote good health and quality of life by actively engaging both mind and body. Read More »
Solving the problem of hospital readmissions will take much more than follow-up calls at home. Each link in the care chain has quality improvements to make, say health IT experts at the 2012 LTPAC Health IT Summit. Read More »
With the federal government’s escalating war on healthcare fraud and abuse, long-term care operators are on high alert in their efforts to be compliant in documentation and reporting. A leading educator pounds home the need for documentation and compliance. Read More »
On a hot day in the spring of 2011, a nurse said the building’s temperature could get hot in the summer, sometimes as high as 100 degrees. I remembered that on May days when my room was not cool. Even with a fan some evenings my thermometer read 87 degrees and I was perspiring profusely. Read More »
Genesis HealthCare, one of the nation’s largest long-term care providers, buys Sun Healthcare Group to expand its services, geographic presence and grow business during these uncertain times in the healthcare industry. Read More »
HHS and the Office of Health Reform announced today that customers will get money back from insurers who didn’t meet 80/20 rule. Payors will also have to explain why they didn't meet the mandate. Read More »
The stability in nursing care market fundamentals continues, as occupancy remains essentially flat, according to NIC MAP. In 1Q12, nursing care occupancy was 88.2 percent, which is unchanged from the prior quarter and a 30 basis point decrease in the past year. Read More »
NASL’s Cynthia Morton shares insights on Congressional legislation and CMS innovation projects with attendees at this week’s eHDS User Group meeting. Read More »
However the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, the need for additional healthcare workers at all levels will continue to grow. Read More »
It’s been a week of high anxiety for the long-term care industry as anticipation builds for the U.S. Supreme Court’s impending decision on the fate of the Affordable Care Act, expected to come down before the end of the month. Read More »
This past week I was entertained and enlightened at the eHDS User Group meeting. The general session focused on becoming a better, happier and more successful person professionally and personally. Here’s a little of what I took away from that enjoyable hour. Read More »
A basic strategy you should use to grow qualified referrals is targeting physicians for referral development. Consider these recent successes by clients employing this strategy. Read More »
While not every prospective adverse event can be mapped out with anticipated responses and scenarios, there are steps owners and providers can take, especially in the first 24 hours after a serious event, to better protect residents, their families and employees. Read More »
A study shows how ApoE4 can unleash an excess of the protein cyclophilin A into the cardiovascular system, causing inflammation in atherosclerosis and other conditions. The study also found that ApoE4 makes it more likely for cyclophilin A to accumulate in cells that help maintain the blood-brain barrier, reducing blood to the brain and allowing toxic substances to infiltrate. Read More »
Making the claims processing more efficient, leads to savings and allows physicians to spend more time on patient care and less on payment reconciliations. Read More »
The Senate Appropriations Committee today struck down several amendments aimed at putting a chokehold on funds allotted by the Affordable Care Act, including a prevention fund containing millions for eldercare initiatives. Read More »
A detailed economic forecast, released this week by Health Affairs, predicts national healthcare spending will experience “modest growth” during the next nine years, but will spike in 2014 when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage expansions activate. Read More »
I admit it. On Sunday nights I watch The Apprentice. Watching the team dynamics and project development is compelling entertainment for me. I recently heard about a CCRC in Spring, Texas, that has adopted the show’s format as a team-building project. Read More »