Risk Management

New OIG webpage catalogs quality-of-care Corporate Integrity Agreements

As an addendum to our recent article titled “Nursing care quality and the False Claims Act” in the June issue of Long-Term Living, the Office of Read More »

Life safety = quality of life

Flooding, tornados, hurricanes, fires and terrorism—we live in volatile times in a volatile world. As I traveled last week to the annual National Read More »

OIG compliance guidance for nursing facilities

The importance of the long-term care (LTC) mission and this hyperintensive regulatory environment requires constant vigilance and hard work. As Read More »

OFCCP audits: Are you really covered?

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) enforces equal employment opportunity laws. This most prominently includes Executive Read More »

Hail your new digital gatekeeper

Part one of a two-part series on data security measures   Whether or not it was ever intended, healthcare providers these days are responsible for Read More »

RAI/MDS process and nurse competencies in culture change

Diane Carter, RN, MSN, CS The MDS 3.0 demands that you focus on resident voice and choice. But the MDS, Care Area Assessments (CAAs), and care Read More »

Decrease survey deficiencies: An educational intervention

Failure to maintain compliance with applicable rules and regulations can be costly to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The Office of Inspector Read More »

Mechanics of a labor investigation

As noted in the September 2010 issue of Long-Term Living (“Old law-New problem,” p. 32), the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division has Read More »

Agents of the Prescriber

It's been 10 years since the Drug Enforcement Administration briefly mentioned in a Federal Register notice that long-term care nurses are not Read More »

Social media in the workplace

Do you have any clue as to how many of your employees “tweet”? Do you know how many employees have a Facebook page? Who among your employees is Read More »

Old law-New problem

The courts are becoming cluttered with wage and hour lawsuits. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) cases are emerging as a leader in employment Read More »

Consumer protection and CCRCs

Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) have attracted the attention of the federal government and two parallel investigations of the Read More »

Protecting administrators from ‘layer in between’

At a glance… This article will examine how the administrator of record could be disciplined for negative outcomes of decisions made by managers who Read More »

Why Steve Jobs should run healthcare (video)

New terms are being bantered about in healthcare. One is the “accountable care organization.” The idea is that a group of providers—primary care Read More »

Nursing home safety issues

When I initially came here I was very concerned about wandering residents. They came into my room whether my door was closed or not. As an Read More »

Improve quality of care to reduce liability

Increasing litigation and difficulty in insuring facilities have forced an increasing number of long-term care (LTC) providers to divert critical Read More »

Internal audits

Staying on top of ever-changing government regulations is one of the greatest challenges for long-term care facilities. Poor training often leads to Read More »

Risk management: Lighting’s impact on residents

An issue receiving more and more attention by researchers and designers in long-term care is lighting and glare. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Read More »

Medication errors: Managing the risk

The medication errors experienced by actor Dennis Quaid's newborn twins have received a lot of media attention. While hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Read More »

Focuson Bariatrics

Bariatric Bed NOA Medical's Bariatric Bed with a safe working load of 750 lbs is designed to accommodate 98% of all bariatric patients. The 42" wide Read More »

The snapshot: Recording a thousand words’ worth of evidence

In the first part of this series in the October issue, we looked at the reasons to use photography in long-term care investigations and the tools Read More »

Survey Survival

Long-term care facilities are not strangers to regulation 483.25(h) Accidents as it historically represents and continues to make the Centers for Read More »

The best monitoring may begin with ‘hello’

While long-term care providers appropriately advance the next generation of “Nana” technologies for monitoring the health and well-being of older adults. Read More »

Are your fall interventions enough?

It is estimated that as many as 75% of nursing home residents fall annually, twice the rate of seniors living in the community. Many of these falls Read More »

Floor maintenance: A scientific approach to slip/fall prevention

While studies show that elderly and infirm people often slip and fall because of reasons related to their age, medication, illness, or other Read More »

The snapshot: Recording a thousand words’ worth of evidence

Documenting evidence is essential to any investigation. Photography, a powerful and yet convenient form of documentation, allows an investigator to Read More »

Is pressure ulcer prevention alive and well?

Prevention of pressure ulcers is a constant process for long-term care facilities, but vitally important to preserve residents' health and avoid Read More »

Restraint reduction: A success story

Nationwide, nursing home facilities are striving to comply with federally mandated restraint reductions. Brigetta Nethery, nursing home Read More »

Flying Glass Can Be Deadly

Window film can strengthen glass to withstand everything from accidental impact to explosions Read More »

How Assisted Living Should Prepare for Disaster

Assisted living regulations vary widely from state to state, and official involvement in a facility's disaster preparedness can vary, as well. No Read More »