November 2012 Issue of McKnight's Long Term Care News
The top stories from McKnight's Long-Term Care News, November 2012
News
Senate bill tackling antipsychotics use
A new Senate bill would require long-term care facilities to report monthly on antipsychotic use.
'Found' funds earn a rebuke
A former top regulator scolded long-term care lobbyists before a crowd of nearly 2,000 influential investors and providers recently.
Sector growth draws interest
Unlike other real estate options, seniors housing continued to grow throughout the Great Recession.
Hard to duck painful cuts, AHCA head says
Of all the uncertainties in politics, one thing is concrete: When the November elections are over, a lame duck period will have officially begun in ...
McKnights.com sports new look
Not content to rest on its laurels, the award-winning McKnights.com has been significantly upgraded.
Gifford offers assistance on lowering antipsychotics use
As pressure from federal regulators increases, the senior vice president of quality and regulatory affairs for the nation's largest nursing home group is offering guidance ...
Many convicted aides aren't new to crime
Nineteen percent of long-term care nursing aides who were found guilty of on-the-job abuse, neglect, or property theft in 2010 had prior criminal convictions, a ...
State News
Amendment passed to defer deep Medicaid cut
ALABAMA - Voters in mid-September overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to use more than $400 million from a rarely tapped source to shore up the ...
Features
Wound care: Not open and shut
Wound care treatment requires far more than a one-size-fits all approach. Here, front-line experts share some hard-won insights for optimal care
Activities: Playing by numbers
Activities such as Wii bowling are popular with residents in long-term care facilities, but getting a return on investment requires marketing and diligence
60 Seconds with...
60 Seconds with... Thomas Scully Former CMS Administrator
Nursing homes lose a ton of money on Medicaid, which I spent a lot of time at CMS talking about.
Ask the care expert
Ask the care expert: Should signs be used to identify patients with C.diff?
The answer to this question is that signage can be used and is expected.
Ask the treatment expert
Ask the treatment expert: How should we calculate pressure ulcer prevalence?
Prevalence is defined as a cross-sectional count of the number of cases at a specific point in time, or the number of people with pressures ...
Wound care
New stem cell population may hold key to skin tissue repairs
Researchers have identified a new stem cell population in the skin epidermis that is responsible for tissue repair. The finding could lead to new wound ...
Study may lead to more effective drugs
Researchers have discovered a previously unknown function for a protein that could add to the arsenal of inflammation-fighting drugs.
Ask the nursing expert
Ask the nursing expert: How can I get new nurses to focus on performance instead of pay?
I am a seasoned director of nursing, but I'm currently having problems with newer nurses focusing on their hourly pay rate vs. the quality of ...
Nursing
Fewer LTC workers are getting their flu vaccines, report finds
While influenza vaccination rates among healthcare workers have increased overall, fewer long-term care facility employees are being vaccinated, a government survey has found.
Study finds medical error reduction trigger
Nurse managers who give verbal expectations about safety protocols or who offer constructive responses to admitted errors have lower overall error rates in their facilities, ...
Ask the payment expert
Ask the payment expert: Why should I be concerned about hospitals being penalized for rehospitalizations?
Rehospitalization is another way that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is looking to cut Medicare costs.
Payment & policy
CMS: Readmit penalties will be higher than first thought
A miscalculation by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services means that more than 1,400 hospitals with comparatively high readmissions rates will lose more federal ...
OIG to study contractors
A new federal work plan declares that even the Medicare contractors charged with keeping close tabs on long-term care facilities will be put under the ...
Legal Matters
Court of appeals sides with CMS in reimbursement case
After struggling over a case involving a rehabilitation claim, a U.S. Court of Appeals has decided in favor of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ...
Court: Relative not bound by arbitration
The child of a deceased long-term care resident is not bound to an arbitration agreement because she signed it on behalf of her mother — ...
Pursuing excellence
Smart money: Ancillary services push
The senior living industry currently has very favorable supply and demand dynamics. Occupancy is trending higher and financing avenues are opening.
Design
Claridge Court: Redesigning for wellness
Claridge Court is the latest Lifespace community to redesign its facility toward the Six Dimensions of Wellness to promote residents' health
How to do it…
How to do it... Resident satisfaction
Gathering and using effective resident and family feedback can go far in improving quality of care and services.
A day in the life
Giving a silent generation a voice
Filmmaker Stu Maddux is determined to make long-term care more sensitive to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents.
I couldn't live without...
I couldn't live without... Med-Mizer Pivot-Rehab 1000 swivel bed
Sarah Maxwell says her job became a lot easier with the introduction of the Pivot-Rehab 1000 swivel bed from Med-Mizer.
Technology
CMS expanding the reach of young telemedicine program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is increasingly looking to telemedicine as a way to improve care while reducing fiscal outlays.
Opinion
Things I think: Sunshine's dream
Margaret was just one of those people. She always wore a smile and a bright yellow sweater, and staff and residents at her assisted living ...
Resident care
CDC lauds new tracking tool that eyes infection progress
Government health officials have released a tracking tool that can help nursing homes monitor healthcare-acquired infections.
Implants increase risk of anxiety, trauma
People who are implanted with cardioverter defibrillators should be carefully monitored and screened for depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to officials with the ...
Company news
Experts: Sector on rebound, managed care growth likely
Seniors housing continues a comeback, but operators need to be prepared for the expanding role of managed care, experts said during the National Investment Center ...
Deal is a true groundbreaker
Genesis HealthCare is partnering with Johns Hopkins Hospital's Bayview campus in a $20 million project that may force many analysts to revamp skilled care bed ...
Vendor news
Streamlined order handling system makes debut at AHCA
American HealthTech unveiled a redesigned order management system at the American Health Care Association show in Tampa, FL.
PointRight teaming up with McKesson
McKesson Medical-Surgical Minnesota Supply Inc. and PointRight Inc. recently announced an agreement to bring analytics and solutions aimed at reducing readmissions to the long-term care ...
The big picture
Little innovation in the long-term care sector? Really?
Conventional wisdom holds that the long-term care sector is short on innovation. But there's one little problem with this view. It happens to be dead ...
Editor’s desk
Birth of a giant? Time will tell us if it's the right Rx
Not all association conventions are remembered equally. Some have dynamite entertainment, some a few great speakers. Often, it doesn't go much beyond that.
Profile
Profile: Matt Salo, Executive Director, National Association of Medicaid Directors
There may be nobody more imbued in the policy of Medicaid than Matt Salo.
