MDS/RAI

Resident Focus: New Strategies to Promote Health and Happiness

In this new exclusive report from I Advance Senior Care, we highlight the following best practices that senior care communities can use t... Read More »

AANAC, AADNS founder and CEO to retire in 2018

The founder of the two long-term care nursing associations plans to step down after a nearly 20-year career in improving senior care. Read More »

2017 RAI User’s Manual updates: The new survey era

Plenty of changes are in place to synch the MDS with new regulations starting in November—including the way urinary tract infections are defined. Read More »

Care planning and assessments a lengthy process, AANAC reports

AANAC’s biennial study reveals how nurse assessment coordinators spend their time and how they’re compensated.  Read More »

Will RUGs be swept under the rug?

A new advanced rule-making notice from CMS seems to indicate that Resource Utilization Groups (RUGs) may be headed for big changes, especially for SNF therapy billing. But, what will replace them? Read More »

Decoding the mixed messages about psychiatric care in SNFs

What should SNFs do when CMS’s 5-star guidelines for antipsychotic medication use don’t agree with SOM guidelines? Read More »

Top 10 dementia care rules for nursing homes

How well does your facility comply with the State Operations Manual's new rules concerning dementia care? Read More »

How the RAI Manual changes encourage collaboration

AANAC's Judi Kulus, RN breaks down the impacts of the new RAI Manual changes and why SNF needs to collaborate better among their care teams and with their outside partners—including therapy providers and home health. Read More »

Advancing wound care technology

Wounds that measure themselves? New technology makes it almost that simple. Check out the hot wound care advancements from this year’s American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living conference. Read More »

Fla. judge says resident death is manslaughter

A Florida court has charged an assisted living LPN with aggravated manslaughter—a felony charge rarely seen in the assisted living setting and one that comes with serious jail time. Read More »

AHT partners with COMS Interactive for combined clinical workflow

The two companies will combine their nursing workflow system features and create accessibility from a single dashboard. Read More »

MDS Update: Gearing up for Section GG charting

The new section, which documents a resident's functional ability and assistance levels, has a compliance date of October 1, 2016. Read More »

Focused Dementia Care Surveys: What You Need to Know

CMS is moving forward with new surveyor tools for facilities that offer dementia care. does your staff know how to document for the new survey? Read More »

F-Tag 309 and the compliance domino effect

Poor training in dementia care documentation can get a facility a pile of deficiencies in a big hurry, explains a national consultant in survey-related regulatory issues. Read More »

CMS releases v1.13 of the RAI User’s Manual

The newly released RAI includes ICD-10 coding information and other clarifications. Read More »

SNFs repond to the new MDS-focused survey process

Have you experienced this new surveyor process yet? Be ready for scrutiny of your ADL services and documentation. Read More »

Clinical Data Collection: The Top Steps for MDS Accuracy, and Greater Reimbursements – Part Two in a Series

The staff-resident relationship is essential to quality care. Consistency of care, and the relationship fostered between the staff and residents over time, directly impacts the perceived quality of care for LTC providers. In this article, Jayne Warwick examines the unquestionable bond between staff satisfaction and patient satisfaction, and how to positively impact both of these elements to avoid unnecessary financial pitfalls.Click here to read more. Read More »

Clinical Data Collection: The Top Steps for MDS Accuracy, and Greater Reimbursements

It's simple, really.  No residents, no income.  Jayne Warwick addresses how inaccurate treatment records have become a growing problem for healthcare facilities. Inaccurate documentation of care is often where providers leave money on the table.  Avoid financial pitfalls by switching to electronic charting for a more complete record of care provided. Click here to read more. Read More »

1/3 of community hospital patients receive ‘inappropriate’ treatment for infections

Infection rates are up in community hospitals and SNFs. But who’s infecting whom? Read More »

Hand sanitizer, training, leadership lacking in HAI prevention: study

Long-term care facilities are missing chances to prevent infections by not placing hand sanitizer everywhere it's needed, not dedicating funding to worker education and not sending a clear message to employees that it's a priority, researchers say. Read More »

One MDS assessment may take a NAC more than five hours to complete: study

Where does the time go in a NAC’s day? Results from an American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordination study answer that question. Read More »

Is it rejection of care or resident choice?

Clearing the blurred lines between choice and rejection of care ensures correct coding of the Minimum Data Set. Read More »

6 tips to fight osteoporosis

World Osteoporosis Day is October 20, so find out what can help keep bones strong and reduce the risk of fractures in all seniors, but especially in older women. Read More »

Survey survival: Fall scene investigation

Plenty of attention is given to reducing the risk of falls. But after a fall happens, do your nurses know how to gather the information your surveyors will want to know? Read More »

4 technology trends in post-acute and long-term care

Care, staffing, and workflow processes and tools all are changing as technology and the healthcare system adapt to one another, according to one expert. Read More »

3-day hospital stays, hospice surveys under scrutiny

Industry leadership weighs in on proposed “observation stays” legislation and increasing the frequency of hospice recertification surveys. Read More »

Trends in resident care services and infection control

Now that providing quality resident care has grown far beyond mere Activities of Daily Living, we asked Long-Term Living's readers to tell us about their communities' new care initiatives, including their clinical monitoring programs, infection control protocols and, of course, how they’re training their nurses and other caregivers to meet the new care quality levels demanded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Read More »

Is a C. diff vaccine really on the horizon?

As clinical research trials advance into Phase 3, the idea of a vaccine for C. difficile may be inching closer to a reality. Read More »

New TeamSTEPPS program tackles safety & communication issues in LTC

Health professionals in Connecticut adapt the TeamSTEPPS safety training program specifically for long-term care settings. Read More »

‘Spy-cams’ in Ohio nursing homes unearth abuse, yet raise legal questions

Next time you think your loved one is being neglected or abused in a nursing home, you might not be the only one watching. Read More »