August 2013 34 8 Issue of McKnight's Long Term Care News

Top stories from the August 2013 issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News.

News

More facilities earn best possible rating

Providers have been arguing that nursing homes are doing a better job. A Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' analysis of Nursing Home Compare data ...

CMS revises hospice rules

A long-term care provider and its hospice partner will need to draw up a detailed contract, according to a final rule released by the Centers ...

GAO: Review process rushed

Medicare Administrative Contractors started a manual review process for outpatient therapy claims too quickly, setting the stage for chaos in late 2012, a government review ...

Senators see flaws in RAC payment system

Aspects of the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor program came under intense scrutiny during a Senate Finance Committee hearing in June. Lawmakers questioned auditor payment incentives ...

Mandate delay gives prep time

The Obama administration has delayed implementing a key part of the Affordable Care Act, and a legal expert said operators should seize this opportunity.

Suicide threats counteracted

Caregivers in long-term care facilities should screen residents using a suicide risk tool, according to a June 17 report in Annals of Long-Term Care: Clinical ...

Diuretics vastly overused: study

An "epidemic" of inappropriate diuretic prescribing is hitting seniors, a top researcher says. The drugs are widely overused to treat arterial hypertension, heart failure and ...

Execute documentation as it's claimed: survey expert

An industry expert served up straightforward advice during a recent McKnight's Super Tuesday webinar: Accurately claim what you do, and do what you claim.

Limits on telehealth will stay, CMS says

Medicare will stick with reimbursing only one telehealth visit per month for skilled nursing facility residents, according to a proposed rule from the Centers for ...

State News

Ohio — State nursing home investigations have spiked, raising questions about how the attorney general's office is utilizing surveillance cameras.

Features

Guardians of safety

Laundry and housekeeping personnel are on the front lines when it comes to safeguarding long-term care residents' health, cleanliness and quality of life.

60 Seconds with...

60 seconds with ... Alzheimer's expert Jason Karlawish, M.D.

Q: The Alzheimer's Association annual conference took place in mid-July. As an expert in the disease, what did you find the most noteworthy takeaway?

Ask the care expert

Ask the care expert ... about fecal containment systems

Are you aware of any type of fecal containment system that may assist us with very loose stools that keep contaminating sacral ulcers?

Resident care

Vocal training, use will help seniors keep voices strong

The vocalizations of geriatric rats have provided speech language pathologists with new information on how seniors can strengthen their voices.

Personalized approach tames diabetes

An individualized approach to diabetes treatment results in dramatically better results in adults over age 70 with Type 2 diabetes, a new study finds.

Ask the treatment expert

Ask the treatment expert ... about pressure ulcer documentation

How much do we have to document risk and implemented interventions to prevent pressure ulcer development?

Wound care

Study: normally helpful cells can sabotage wound healing

Recovery can be delayed when the body produces too many mast cells, which are normally helpful. At least, that's according to an article published in ...

Care improvements reduce amputations

Advances in diabetic foot ulcer treatments are helping reduce lower-extremity amputations, a new study finds. Researchers at the University of Iowa Department of Orthopaedics and ...

Ask the nursing expert

Ask the nursing expert ... about transitioning to DON position, staying abreast of MDS changes

I have just been promoted to director of nursing after the position became available. I am very nervous. Where do I even start and where ...

Nursing

Verbal abuse frequently used against newly licensed RNs

Almost half of newly licensed registered nurses were likely to have been verbally abused at work by their colleagues within the past three months, according ...

Night shift work is tied to breast cancer

A new study identifies a link between night shift work and risk of breast cancer, according to Canadian researchers. In an investigation of 1,100 women ...

Ask the payment expert

Ask the payment expert ... about RAC nursing home audits

We keep hearing about RACs in skilled nursing homes but we haven't seen any in our state, so why should we worry about them?

Payment & policy

Fix flaws before changing nursing home pay: AHCA says

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should consider a higher market basket update for nursing homes due to improper calculations that could be costing ...

SNFs may help enroll: CMS

Organizations may serve as authorized representatives for nursing home residents in the Medicaid application and enrollment process, according to a final rule issued by the ...

Ask the legal expert

Ask the legal expert ... about pressure-ulcer product promises

What happens if we contract with an alternate pressure-surface vendor that claims we'll lower our pressure-ulcer rates by using its product, but our incidents actually ...

Legal Matters

Judge allows whistleblower FCA case against Omnicare

A whistleblower who alleges Omnicare Inc. paid kickbacks to nursing homes did not violate the False Claims Act, a judge has ruled.

Man guilty of trafficking in forced labor

Kizzy Kalu, a Colorado businessman on trial for luring nursing home workers to the United States under false pretenses, was found guilty July 2 of ...

Design

Bottom to top upgrade

Flooded by Hurricane Sandy, a 10-story Brooklyn facility renovated from basement to rooftop, improving its look and storm-proofing.

How to do it…

How to do it ... Resident security

Resident safety and security are two of the most pressing topics for administrators and nurses in long-term care settings. In fact, all departments should be ...

A day in the life

New chef wins 'top' honors

Bernie Karlov has been chef at Life Care Center of The Willows less than a year, but he's already made the 100-bed nursing home proud. ...

I couldn't live without...

I couldn't live without ... Nurse Rosie Vital Signs Monitoring

As the director of nursing at the 120-bed Camelot Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation center in Granite Falls, NC, Sarah B. Eckard is happy to be ...

Technology

Feds unveil plan to improve tech safety via partnerships

Healthcare technology can greatly help or harm the care residents receive. Recognizing this dichotomy, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) ...

ITUpdate

» The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has unveiled a new webpage with information and resources for long-term and post-acute (LTPAC) ...

Opinion

Nomophobia threat

They say confession is good for the soul, so here goes. I'm having an affair — with my smartphone. What started with a few innocent ...

Company news

Kindred shifts allegiance to Omnicare from PharMerica

Kindred Healthcare will split with PharMerica and instead partner with Omnicare in 2014, marking a significant change in the landscape of long-term care pharmacy services ...

REIT in $173M Merrill buyout

Health Care REIT is buying the remaining 20% equity interest in a Merrill Gardens 38-property portfolio, the two companies announced the final week of June. ...

BusinessBriefs

» Cambridge Realty Capital Companies recently arranged $24 million in Housing and Urban Development loans to refinance skilled nursing facilities with a total of 549 ...

Vendor news

AlixaRx continues to expand; parent gives capital infusion

A pharmacy company on track to serve more than 400 healthcare facilities has received a $100 million investment from Fillmore Capital Partners, which owns Golden ...

CAST updates EHR whitepaper, matrix

Selecting an electronic health record should soon be easier for long-term care providers. LeadingAge's Center for Aging Services Technologies recently announced the upcoming release of ...

CompanyBriefs

» Chris Bauleke is the new CEO at Healthland Inc., the company announced at the end of June. Bauleke was previously president of RelayHealth Enterprise ...

Business & Marketing

Household's the word

The "household" concept is helping many senior living communities successfully compete in today's markets. This case study, provided by David Slack, principal at the Aging ...