June 2014 35 6 Issue of McKnight's Long Term Care News

June 2014 35 6 Issue of McKnight's Long Term Care News

Top news stories from the June 2014 issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News.

News

Ultra-High therapy keeps surging: CMS

Providers aren't just being accused of coding therapy patients in higher payment categories than ever before. The charge is being backed by hard numbers in ...

Readmission numbers drop

Readmissions of seniors to a hospital within a month of discharge declined in 2013, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

SNF Medicare rate rises 2%

The government has proposed increasing skilled nursing facility Medicare payments by $750 million in fiscal 2015.

LTC nurses likeliest to want new setting

Most nurses find their work rewarding and satisfying. But nurses in the long-term care sector appear to be the most likely to want employment in ...

McKnight's wins 9 more awards

The McKnight's editorial team earned four honors in the 2014 ASHPE national editorial awards program.

Aspirin not best for wound care?

Non-aspirin pain relievers may be best for residents with chronic wounds, according to new study results.

Sorbet raises food intake

Nursing home residents who have a sorbet appetizer tend to eat more at mealtime and maintain their weight, according to findings from a small study.

Feds: Without more funds, we are cutting provider oversight

Nursing providers could feel reduced heat from federal Medicare and Medicaid oversight activities — if an agency official's testimony is to be believed as more ...

Administrators pan pay-for-performance

Most nursing home administrators do not believe that pay-for-performance initiatives lead to improved resident care or stronger bottom lines, according to findings recently published in ...

Features

Handmade trouble

From double-gloving to long nails, myths and misperceptions persist when it comes to hand hygiene and washing critical touchpoints for resident care

Wound care artistry

As the science of wound care develops, long-term care clinicians are faced with myriad options — and some cost constraints — when it comes to ...

60 Seconds with...

60 seconds with ... Katy Fike, Ph.D.

Q: Aging 2.0 hosted the inaugural Global Innovation Summit last month. How did the summit contribute to the Aging 2.0 mission?

Ask the care expert

Ask the care expert ... about life safety code changes

I am a new ADON and heard there's a new life safety code, which I'll be responsible for. Is that true?

Resident care

Dementia increases risk for hospital readmission by 20%

Seniors are more likely to be rehospitalized within 30 days of discharge if they have dementia, and the risk increases if they are taking an ...

Investigators put faith in religious music

Listening to religious music helps seniors increase their life satisfaction and self-esteem, and decreases anxiety around death, a new analysis shows.

Ask the treatment expert

Ask the treatment expert ... about staging an ulcer

What do you do when staff disagree about the stage of an ulcer?

Wound care

Doctors promote NPWT for seniors' post-surgery care

Negative pressure wound therapy holds promise for most seniors following a surgery, according to experts at the International Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Expert Meeting.

Firm grasp of devices, documents urged

Providers trying to improve pressure ulcer rates should examine equipment and documentation processes, an expert said at the LeadingAge Illinois conference in May.

Ask the nursing expert

Ask the nursing expert ... about leadership styles

What type of nurse leadership style works best, and how does it affect quality of care and outcomes?

Nursing

Residents reciprocate when nurses initiate warm regards

Relations between long-term care nurses and residents can be understood through the concept of "reciprocity," and cultivating certain types of reciprocity can improve care, according ...

Veteran nurses struggle to make grade

Registered nurses with a lot of experience might have a harder time in graduate school than less seasoned nurses, according to a first-of-its-kind pilot study ...

Ask the payment expert

Ask the payment expert ... about Medicare changes

What significant changes in Medicare occurred for us in 2014?

Payment & policy

CMS pushes back on quality measure recommendations

Healthcare providers face unfairly reduced reimbursements if they serve economically disadvantaged patients, according to a recent National Quality Forum draft report. The government rejected recommendations ...

Hospice care scrutinized

Medicare would increase hospice reimbursements by 1.3% in fiscal year 2015 under a payment rate proposed in May. This would be a $230 million boost, ...

Ask the legal expert

Ask the legal expert ... about personal liability insurance

Do you think nursing home or CCRC staff members should have their own personal liability insurance?

Legal Matters

Judge OKs $1 billion action, candidate keeping distance

A federal judge in Florida has determined that a legal case involving more than $1 billion in wrongful death and other judgments against a bankrupt ...

Pressure sore leads to false-advertising suit

A resident who developed a serious pressure ulcer allegedly due to negligence at a Pennsylvania continuing care retirement community is suing the operator, claiming it ...

Design

Design Decisions: A rehab project indeed

Saber does not rattle its short-term residents because it gives them what they want: amenities, privacy and more living options

How to do it…

How to do it ... medication management

Proper and effective medication management of controlled substances can save your facility thousands of dollars in needless waste and diversion. Most solutions are, figuratively speaking, ...

A day in the life

Kids, seniors have s'more fun

Long-term care residents might not be able to rough it as they once could, but as one Minnesota facility has shown, camping adventures still are ...

I couldn't live without...

I couldn't live without ... Kronos workforce management solutions

In overseeing payroll for employees at several dozen facilities, Lynne Kennedy had her hands full as Midwest Health's accounting and payroll manager.

Technology

Smartphone worm could put LTC facilities' data at risk

The proliferation of wireless devices and seemingly limitless supply of apps have advanced communications capabilities to wondrous new heights. But there is a dark side ...

ITUpdate June 2014

» An app developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the U of I at Chicago allows healthcare providers to analyze ...

Opinion

Forgiveness — do it

That new CNA ran over your foot with the med cart. Someone else is getting the promotion you expected. A resident's family member said horrible ...

Company news

Occupancy, absorption both climb in first quarter: NIC

Skilled nursing facilities' average occupancy rate continued to rise in the first three months of 2014, while absorption flipped into positive territory for the first ...

A new day for Sunrise

Sunrise Senior Living has promoted Chris Winkle to its top executive post. The firm's former COO replaces Penny McIntyre, who had been on the job ...

BusinessBriefs June 2014

» Four bidders have emerged as finalists to buy Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II Inc., in a transaction that could value the company at more than ...

Vendor news

Sub-branding creates better customer recognition: study

Long-term care vendors likely benefit most from adding sub-brand names with new products, according to a new study from the University of Buffalo School of ...

RecoverCare and Joerns to merge in June

RecoverCare LLC will merge with Joerns Healthcare, the companies announced in April.

CompanyBriefs June 2014

» RosieConnect LLC announced integration with PointClickCare, allowing providers to deliver resident vital signs and weights directly into the company's EHR platform. By eliminating manual ...

Business & Marketing

For whom does the bell toll? MDS knows

Death is never an easy topic. Hemingway addressed it eloquently in his novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls," the title of which was taken from ...

The big picture

Time to take the plunge?

I'll never forget my first encounter with the high diving board at Sherman Park pool.

Editor’s desk

Long-term care to go Ivy League for new research

It appears that the nation's largest association of nursing home operators has decided to buy itself a whole lot of credibility. I mean that only ...

Profile

Profile: Faith in nursing and family

As the youngest of four children in a small rural town in Minnesota, Neal Larson grew up in a tight-knit circle where hard work and ...