Despite efforts to ease the backlog of appeals, no relief is in sight for the backlog of appeals from facilities that choose to appeal Medicare claims denials and deficiency citations. Read More »
The pressure is on for skilled nursing facilities: Compliance for CMS reimbursement means proper charting, documentation of therapy minutes and shaking out those RUGs. Read More »
A new study found residents with Alzheimer’s disease were less likely to be restrained or medicated at nursing homes where frontline staff spoke regularly with memory care specialists, suggesting quality outcomes can improve with expert intervention. Read More »
PARA-SCOPE software evaluates risk for post-acute providers by analyzing data from Nursing Home Compare and American Health Care Association along with Formation Healthcare Group proprietary models. Read More »
Mistakes and “near misses” can and will happen. But, how a facility discloses an error can affect everything from the CMS response to the family’s reaction. Read More »
Researchers found well-being, sensory function, mobility and mental health are better measures of health for older adults than their chronological age. Read More »
Are the new Justice Department Elder Justice Task Forces a smokescreen to cut costs? Long-Term Living's politics and policy reporter, Robert Gatty, examines the forces at play in the new initiatives. Read More »
Hospice may see a 2 percent increase in reimbursements in 2017, but new reporting requirements could go into effect as well, according to a new CMS proposal. Read More »
Older Americans say it's important to maintain or improve brain health. The Administration for Community Living, in partnership with Oakland, Calif.-based Statebridge senior theatre company, is helping seniors take center stage and share their stories. Read More »
National Healthcare Decisions Day is Apr. 16, and as most skilled nursing facilities know, an advance directive may be a little piece of paper, but it’s a big conversation process. Read More »
Residents have a right to visitors, but SNFs must maintain safety and the rights of others. Long-Term Living's Legal expert Alan C. Horowitz shares some complicated cases and offers intervention strategies from chief medical directors. Read More »
As OSHA rules become more stringent, senior living organizations are giving more attention to healthy habits to avoid staff back injuries—and not just when lifting a resident. Read More »
Women still have a longer life expectancy but they’re living longer with at least one disability that prevents them from doing at least one normal daily activity. IN comparison, men are living longer and more years without disability. Read More »
Current contracts for SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania are set to expire at the end of March, and nursing home workers fair wages, affordable healthcare and improved staffing in their new contracts. Read More »
A startling number of people across adult age groups are nonchalant about engaging in their own health and wellness, according to new survey data from Frost & Sullivan. Read More »
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 »
The number of seniors living alone had risen steeply since 1900, but for the past 26 years, the percentage of senior women living alone has dropped. Yet, more than half of seniors surveyed in the research say they'd prefer to stay at home than move to a professional care setting if they could have a caregiver. Read More »
Long-term care providers need to take care to address their marketing shortcomings because getting the word out about their facility is key to their long-term success. Read More »
Fewer senior housing organizations plan to pursue new construction in 2016, but plenty plan to do some renovating and repositioning for a better service mix, notes the latest survey data from Lancaster Pollard. Read More »
Legal advertisements that aim to exploit nursing homes often hit way below the belt, and nursing homes have the right to challenge them. Legal expert Alan C. Horowitz, JD, RN, explains what nursing homes can do to fight back against misleading and deceptive legal advertisements. Read More »
Medicare has long invested in the coverage of prescription drugs to treat chronic diseases. But a growing number of people think Medicare is missing the boat by not covering medications used to treat obesity. Read More »
Succession planning and employee incentives will become even more important over the next few years, as more than 40 percent of senior living’s top-level executives near their own retirement ages. Read More »
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services adds patient experience ratings to its Home Health Compare five-star quality ranking system. Read More »
