April 2014 35 4 Issue of McKnight's Long Term Care News
Top news stories from the April 2014 issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News.
News
Obama budget cuts provider payments
Presidents usually release budgets for reasons that have less to do with spreadsheets than legacies. President Obama's fiscal year 2015 spending plan is no different. ...
CMS requests survey buildup
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is asking for $49 million more in its next budget, largely to expand long-term care inspection programs.
Audits paused, providers glad
Long-term care providers are applauding a pause in the Medicare recovery audit contractor program.
Feds looking to QAPI, not penalties, for help
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials said they consider the upcoming Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement guidelines, not harsher penalties, as the better way ...
Staffing, quality link found shaky
Nursing home staffing levels have not been definitively linked to better care, according to an analysis published in JAMDA.
New test for Alzheimer's
A new blood test reveals with 90% accuracy which people will develop Alzheimer's disease or mild dementia within three years, according to study results in ...
Flu shot cuts stroke risk 24%
People who are vaccinated against the flu are 24% less likely to suffer a stroke during that flu season, say British researchers who analyzed records ...
White House spending plan less than industry hoped for
In every White House budget, there are winners and losers. Unfortunately for providers, long-term care again falls into the latter category. All told, President Obama's ...
22% of beneficiaries return to hospital
A large number of rehabilitation patients seek hospital care shortly after being discharged from a nursing facility, according to recent research.
State News
State News
PENNSYLVANIA - The state's nursing home operators say they are approaching fiscal disaster as facilities look at razor-thin margins half the national average.
Features
Big data headaches
A tsunami of information has skilled nursing facilities searching for ways to shore up against the deluge that could wash over the long-term care industry
Inspiring motivation
Cultivating motivation in the rehab therapy setting comes down to pushing the right buttons at the right time — and knowing when to stop pushing.
60 Seconds with...
60 seconds with ... Leonard Gelman, M.D., CMD
Q: What motivated the recent decision to extend AMDA membership to nurse practitioners? A: The last set of stats that I saw, about 25% of visits ...
Ask the care expert
Ask the care expert ... about INRs
We have quite a few residents on INRs (with a diagnosis of Atrial Fibrillation) that we cannot regulate as hard as we try. Do you ...
Resident care
Self-reporting may forewarn memory problems in future
Men over 60 who self-report memory problems may be predicting later cognitive impairment, new research finds.
Website debuts for HIV-positive seniors
Clinicians treating people older than 50 with HIV now have a new resource.
Ask the treatment expert
Ask the treatment expert ... about timing negative pressure wound therapy
Can you give me some guidelines regarding when I should start negative pressure wound therapy and when it should be discontinued?
Wound care
Foot ulcer healing rate jumps 50% in first-of-its-kind trial
A new drug nearly doubled the diabetic foot-ulcer healing rate in a recent clinical trial, which researchers are touting as a potential breakthrough in wound ...
Study: Diabetes often precedes wounds
Diabetes is the co-morbid condition most strongly associated with the development of pressure ulcers in nursing home residents, according to an analysis of existing research.
Ask the nursing expert
Ask the nursing expert ... about ICD-10's impact on nurses
What is ICD-10? What does this mean for nurses?
Nursing
AMDA to allow NPs, physician assistants as full members
The American Medical Director's Association has a new name and will now allow nurse practitioners and physician's assistants full membership.
Physical demands on CNAs differ by shift
Certified nursing assistants who work in long-term care are put in severe postures for their shoulders and elbows at night, and for their neck during ...
Ask the payment expert
Ask the payment expert ... about Medicare technical requirements
We were told we didn't meet technical requirements for Medicare. What does that mean?
Payment & policy
Feds recover $10 million in incorrect Medicaid payouts
Federal investigators recovered more than $10 million in incorrect Medicaid payments made to nursing homes in 2013, an annual review shows.
MDS insight found lacking
Long-term care staffers' understanding of the Minimum Data Set and its Quality Indicators is "mediocre at best," according to recent survey results. Lack of exposure ...
Ask the legal expert
Ask the legal expert ... about screening for sex offenders
How can we make sure we don't have registered sex offenders working or volunteering for us? What if they lie to us about it?
Legal Matters
Supreme Court to hear case sparked by Omnicare deals
A recent $4 million legal settlement over kickbacks for anemia drug Aranesp is small change compared to other recent deals Omnicare has made with federal ...
Extrapolation for overpays OK, court says
A federal appeals court has ruled that a government contractor may justifiably calculate the amount a provider owes for Medicare overpayments by conducting a limited ...
How to do it…
How to do it ... Resident security
Monitoring in caregiving is getting more "personal" than ever. We live in the age of watchers, pitting privacy issues against vested interests in security. Technological ...
A day in the life
Day in the Life: Sniffing out wandering residents
Long-term care providers might want to get themselves an Acki to help locate residents who wander from the premises. No, Acki is not the name ...
I couldn't live without...
I couldn't live without ... PointClickCare Secure Conversations
Leaders at Wellington Healthcare noticed that when residents needed a doctor, nurses were text messaging physicians to request a call. Security concerns prevented the long-term ...
Technology
ICD-10: LTC must get ready
The procrastination is over for the conversion to ICD-10 coding. After the third postponement of the start date last year, officials are adamant about starting ...
ITUpdate
» HIMSS Analytics alleged that too many providers rely on outdated and inefficient practices to back up and archive resident-related information. The organization surveyed 150 ...
Opinion
A miracle of reflection
Sometimes in business — and particularly in the long-term care business — it can be useful to see things from a fresh, unexpected perspective.
Company news
Brookdale, Emeritus merger upends status quo, CEO says
Brookdale Senior Living is poised to become the largest senior living provider in the country, through a $2.8 billion acquisition of Seattle-based Emeritus Corp.
Ensign split hurts earnings
The Ensign Group's annual results for 2013 came in just under management's guidance for the first time in the company's history, the provider announced.
BusinessBriefs
» Country Villa Health Services, which operates 19 skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in California, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Pending class-action lawsuits ...
The big picture
Trouble with success
As my dear mother used to say, it's a rare cloud that doesn't offer some kind of silver lining.
Editor’s desk
Some good news (from MedPAC !): Quality rising
A funny thing happened on the way to a semi-annual eye rolling about a MedPAC report. It contained some information that could make long-term care ...
Profile
Profile: Mastering by example
Everything Mary Leary needed to know about tenacity and resilience, she learned at home. Her father lived a full life despite injuries from World War ...
