December 2017 37 12 Issue of McKnight's Long Term Care News
December 2017 issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
Where are they now?
Where Are They Now: The New Jewish Home
Jewish Home Lifecare scored the top honor in the Innovator of the Year category of McKnight's 2014 Technology Awards for its use of a television-based ...
News
LeadingAge to battle tax plan
Nonprofit providers could be ravaged by a Republican tax plan winding its way through Congress, industry leaders said in November.
Ex-drug exec picked to run health agency
President Donald Trump chose a former pharmaceutical company executive in mid-November to take over as the nation's top health official.
Pay ramp-up period sought
Medicare payments would decrease for for-profit and freestanding providers under a proposal being considered by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission designed to accelerate reimbursement adjustments.
4-in-1 flu shot shows promise
A vaccine that combines genes from four strains of influenza may one day serve as a universal flu shot, researchers said in November.
A familiar face to head ACHCA
The American College of Health Care Administrators announced 37-year long-term care veteran Bill McGinley, CNHA, CALA, CAS, FACHCA, as its new president and CEO last ...
Fingerprint scanning leads to privacy fight
The latest tension between employee privacy and staffing procedures is embodied in an Illinois long-term care employee suing his workplace over twice-a-day required fingerprint scans.
Lawmakers: Phase 2 can wait
Two dozen senators made what amounted to a last-ditch effort to get implementation of Phase 2 of the Requirements of Participation delayed in late November.
State, fed relationship will be 'reset' by Medicaid overhaul
The relationship between the federal government and states participating in the Medicaid program will be "reset" under Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Administrator Seema ...
New OT pay threshold search underway
Although the Trump administration didn't like its predecessor's new threshold for determining overtime pay eligibility, it apparently is taking steps to raise the cut off ...
State News
State News for December 2017
Following the closure of a 67-bed skilled nursing facility in White River Junction, state officials are asking whether regulatory changes are needed to monitor nursing ...
Features
Break ups can be hard
Making the switch to a new EHR vendor requires research, resources and resolve
Care for the caregiver
There's an old saying about the road to hell being paved with good intentions.
60 Seconds with...
60 Seconds With ... Robert Espinoza
A recent PHI study examined racial and gender disparities in the direct care workforce. What was the most surprising finding to you?
Ask the care expert
Ask the Care Expert about ... incontinence-associated dermatitis
We have a new wound care nurse and she insists that a few of our residents have "IAD." I am not familiar with this. Can ...
Resident care
Person-centered care paying dividends at Kansas facilities
An in-person survey of 320 Kansas nursing homes showed that facilities with a specific approach to patient-centered care had more satisfied residents than those without ...
Study explores dementia, advanced care
Researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis are working with nursing homes to develop a program that provides advance care-planning for patients with Alzheimer's disease and ...
Ask the treatment expert
Ask the Treatment Expert about ... evaluating pressure injury programs
How do we evaluate whether our pressure injury program is ready for the new survey process?
Wound care
Blood pressure drugs could double as topical wound fix
A topical gel made from common blood pressure pills has been proven to speed the healing of chronic skin wounds in mice and pigs.
Nurses lacking ulcer awareness: study
Nurses need more training on medical device-related pressure ulcers, according to a prospective study published in Ostomy Wound Management.
Ask the nursing expert
Ask the Nursing Expert about ... the Facility-Wide Assessment
My administrator has asked me to lead the effort to prepare our Facility-Wide Assessment (FWA). What does this mean for me, as the director of ...
Nursing
Many LTC nurses wonder if they belong, new study finds
Long-term care nurses often feel isolated from the rest of the healthcare workforce, asking themselves, "Am I actually a nurse?"
SNF specialization might help outcomes
Patients discharged to a skilled nursing facility after trauma had lower odds of mortality when the facility had fewer beds per nurse, new research shows.
Ask the payment expert
Ask the Payment Expert about ... the new survey process
How should our facility prepare for the new survey process?
Payment & policy
Readmissions project brings 17% drop in hospitalizations
A Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services program created to reduce hospital readmissions among nursing home residents has shown positive results after three years, the ...
Providers wary of waiver
Less than half of healthcare providers eligible to use the three-day hospital stay waiver available through the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative actually use ...
Ask the legal expert
Ask the Legal Expert about ... arbitration agreements
There has been so much in the news about arbitration agreements over the past year. Are we in the clear and can we use them ...
Legal Matters
Numerous states take large opioid distributors to court
While long-term care continues to struggle between providing opioids for residents in pain and the ramifications from a national epidemic of overdoses, multiple attorneys general ...
Vitas agrees to record-setting settlement
The nation's largest for-profit hospice provider and its parent company will pay $75 million to settle allegations that it submitted false Medicare claims for hospice ...
How to do it…
How to do it ... Short-term, homelike rehab
Most patients would agree they think home is the best place to recover from a debilitating injury or major surgery. That's why so many rehab ...
A day in the life
This was no Sunday stroll
On most days, housekeeper Darnel Williams catches a bus to work. If she misses the bus, it's about a 40-minute walk to Park Manor of ...
Technology
McKnight's Technology Awards highlight innovation, dedication and quality of care
Whether it was reducing hospital readmissions or better tracking of incontinence, striking use of technology to improve resident care characterized the 2017 McKnight's Excellence in ...
Personalized robot helpers act as motivator for patients
Robotic helpers may be the rehabilitation wave of the future, but they won't motivate patients too unless they're able to mimic human movements, according to ...
Opinion
Reader Poll: How has your family influenced your long-term care career?
"In my immediate family, all of the women work in long-term care. All three of us, as well as my younger sister, who works as ...
The 'I' in Toxic Team
Have you ever been a member of a Toxic Team in long-term care? Where you're always watching your back, thinking you're a martyr, wondering what ...
Company news
HCR 'vindicated' as Justice drops whistleblower lawsuit
After a string of settlements and defeats in False Claims Act lawsuits filed against various long-term care providers, one of the biggest found reason to ...
Genesis looks to restructure
Genesis HealthCare CEO George Hager said the battered nursing home chain hoped to save $54 million per year with new leases — once landlords Welltower ...
Vendor news
New referral system seeks to find match for providers
Netsmart has partnered with a continuing care retirement community client, Cantex Continuing Care Network in Texas, for a "smart referral" management solution.
Smartphones used for measurement
Swift Medical has introduced Swift AutoDepth technology, which lets clinicians take wound-depth measurements at the point of care using a smartphone camera.
The big picture
Rescued by millennials?
When it comes to skilled-care staffing, the future outlook is bleak. If it's possible, the situation for nurses might be even worse.
Editor’s desk
LeadingAge board chair about to kick off new era
Several thousand LeadingAge members got their first look at new board chairman Steve Fleming recently, and if initial reactions are any indication, it's going to ...
Profile
Profile: Earl L. 'Buddy' Carter
Soon after striking out on his own as a retail pharmacist, Earl L. "Buddy" Carter found himself back in the driver's seat.