How should the National Alzheimer’s Project Act spend its funding? A new survey shows that many consider long-term care resources, education, financial support for in-home care and respite care resources to be a more important use of the money than researching a cure. Read More »
Side rails may sound like a great safety tool, but unless the use of side rails is properly assessed and documented, their usage can pose great risks to residents and the facility. Read More »
From customer satisfaction surveys to resident councils and hallway suggestion boxes—how welcoming is your process for receiving feedback on the good, the bad and the ugly? Read More »
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued various documents related to the electronic submission of staffing and census information in an effort to promote greater accountability for long-term care facilities. Referred to as “Payroll Data Submission – Payroll Based Journal (PBJ) Reporting,” this new reporting structure will be mandatory effective July 1, 2016.Read on to learn about the goals of PBJ, what these additional requirements mean to providers, how to approach and implement the changes, and how to address the challenges that must be considered.Click here to read more Read More »
Can a resident with dementia provide true consent for sexual intimacy? Can an intimate relationship, even between spouses, ever be considered abuse? Answer: It depends. Read More »
Clothes that maintain their color, size and shape please residents and their families and also provide visible evidence to prospective residents of the quality of care and services you provide. How do you satisfy staff members and regulators, too? Here are some ideas. Read More »
Senior living is expected to be the second-most active segment of the multifamily housing area over the next three years, and trends related to older adults will be shaping real estate efforts for years to come, according to a new report. Read More »
About half of households that have members aged 55 or more years have no retirement savings, and many of those households have few other resources to fund their post-work years, according to a new analysis by the Government Accountability Office. Read More »
The Florida chapter of the Assisted Living Federation of America has partnered with the state's Agency for Health Care Administration to streamline the initial licensure process for assisted living communities in the state. Read More »
On the heels of an analysis finding the Lone Star State be the one with greatest share of low-rated nursing homes, the Texas Health Care Association has released survey results indicating that nursing home quality there has improved over the past year. Read More »
Legislation awaiting the Texas governor’s signature would enable assisted living community operators in good standing with the state to permit residents to move in as soon as the licensure process is complete. Read More »
How many organizations changed bed census designations, increased nursing FTEs or added memory care programs this year? The answers depend on you. Read More »
PointRight launches an executive console that allows long-term care chains to gauge their performance across sites--and against competitors. Read More »
The American Health Care Association is expanding quality improvement efforts related to its skilled nursing facility members, which it began three years ago, the organization announced May 7. Read More »
Negligence has specific legal definitions—and personal injury lawyers love to muddy them. Long-Term Living legal blogger Alan C. Horowitz, RN, JD, explains what nursing homes can do to protect themselves. Read More »
Understand what the changes to the Five-Star Rating System mean to your organization.Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has changed the way it calculates the Five-Star Rating System for all facilities serving Medicare and Medicaid residents across the US. Two new Quality Measures were added for psychotropic treatment, the thresholds for Quality Measure scoring were changed to raise performance expectations, and the staffing algorithm was adjusted to award four stars only to those who achieved a score of four in either or both of the RN and Overall Staffing measures.Read this article to gain perspective on the specific changes that have been made to the rating scale, the effect it is having on the long-term care industry, how it is impacting payment models, and how to address referral partners about the change.Click here to read more. Read More »
Seniors are more interested in using smartphones than ever, according to a new report on the devices. Will smartphones become the new way to send health and wellness communication? Read More »
The American Nurses Association seeks public comment on its draft proposal of recommendations to prevent violence to ensure workplace safety by April 30 deadline. Read More »
Providers and the professional associations advocating on their behalf may be focused on the sustainable growth rate and related issues, but a new survey finds that Medicare beneficiaries are more concerned about potential cost increases and service cuts. Read More »
What’s your strategy when you’ve just acquired the worst skilled nursing facility in the county? Answer: Everything. Our first Leaders of Tomorrow winner, Ben Pyper, NHA, shares one SNF’s journey from “the scourge of the neighborhood” to a five-star facility in just three years. Read More »
Two former senators and two former Housing and Urban Development secretaries are leading a one-year Bipartisan Policy Center effort to address issues at the intersection of senior housing and health. Read More »
