November 2016 37 11 Issue of McKnight's Long Term Care News
November 2016 edition of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
Where are they now?
Where Are They Now: Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing
One of the saddest parts of pet ownership is that humans generally outlive them. Such was the case with Front Porch Center for Innovation and ...
Analysis
Admins' pay rises to $102K, DONs' up to $90K
The long-term care field is showing signs of robust health. For the first time since the recession hit eight years ago, it is offering strong ...
News
Records need photos: expert
Long-term care providers should use photography more often to document injuries, a forensic nursing expert told nursing leaders in October.
New final rule bans binding arbitration
Binding pre-dispute arbitration agreements have been banned under the new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services final rule for long-term care facilities, which was unveiled ...
CMS shocker: Survey revamp
A new survey process will start in November 2017 as part of the new final rule for nursing homes, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ...
Falls top cause of injury, death
Falls rank as the leading cause of injury and death for seniors, according to new data recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and ...
Readmissions sink nationwide
Thirty-day hospital readmission rates dropped in all states except Vermont between 2010 and 2015, according to data published recently by the Centers for Medicare & ...
Flu vaccination rates: staff up, seniors down
The rate at which nursing home staff are receiving flu shots is rising, but seniors are lagging, according to the Centers for Disease Control and ...
Kindred fined record $3 million
Kindred Healthcare has been hit with a $3 million-plus penalty for failing to adhere to a federal corporate compliance program.
Provider groups say new ban on arbitration 'unnecessary'
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services first major overhaul of long-term care regulations since 1991 garnered nearly 10,000 comments after its initial proposal.
LCCA settling statistical sampling case
One of the biggest skilled nursing whistleblower lawsuits in recent years is being settled out of court, according to documents filed in September.
State News
State News for November 2016
A Texas Health Care Association commissioned report says the blame for what it calls historic employee turnover rates and more at-risk seniors lays squarely on ...
Features
Feature: Built for success
The effectiveness of long-term care operations depends on obtaining capital for physical features as much as the staff members who work in them
The pressure's on
New skin injury standards may lead to clinical clarity but they also present myriad questions about billing and liability issues for many long-term care providers
60 Seconds with...
Ask the care expert
Ask the Care Expert about ... the Triple Aim
Our new corporate director keeps talking about the "Triple Aim" and how we have to get in line with it. However, I have no idea ...
Resident care
Older adults unlikely to fully recover following hip fracture
Less than half of seniors who suffer hip fractures will recover previous levels of function, according to a new study.
Laughter may be best medicine: study
A combination of exercise and laughter may boost the mental and physical health of seniors, recent research shows.
Ask the treatment expert
Ask the Treatment Expert about ... epibole
I've heard the term epibole used for wound healing but don't understand exactly what it is, how to recognize it or what the proper treatment ...
Wound care
Photo software could speed measurement of wounds
Improving computer technology could make it easier for clinicians to measure irregular wounds and flap borders.
Mixed fungi film slows foot ulcer healing
Researchers have discovered that fungi found in chronic wounds can form mixed bacterial-fungal biofilms associated with poor outcomes and longer healing times.
Ask the nursing expert
Ask the Nursing Expert about ... director of nursing skill sets
How have director of nursing skill sets changed the most in recent years? What should I be concentrating on to enhance my skill sets and ...
Nursing
DONS who seek consensus suffer fewer citations: study
Nursing homes whose leaders welcome staff input and share decision-making authority have fewer deficiencies, according to a study published in Health Care Management Review.
Nursing assistants often go uninsured
One-fifth of nursing assistants who work in nursing homes do so without health insurance, according to a report from the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute.
Ask the payment expert
Ask the Payment Expert about ... new CMS initiatives
There are so many new programs coming out from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently that it's hard to understand. Is the criteria ...
Payment & policy
Quicker start is possible for unified payments: MedPAC
Thanks to the creation of models that would use data already collected by federal officials, post-acute providers could be using a unified Medicare payment system ...
Bundled pay cuts LOS, use
The Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative is already showing promising results, researchers said.
Ask the legal expert
Ask the Legal Expert about ... removing a director
How do we tactfully, and legally, remove a director we no longer want around? This director sullied his reputation and could, therefore, hurt ours too.
Legal Matters
Court: No delay for appeals backlog suit targeting HHS
The Department of Health and Human Services' request to put off litigation over its overwhelming Medicare appeals backlog was denied in late September. Thousands of ...
New OT regs could spike FLSA lawsuits
Nursing facilities are among the businesses often hit by Fair Labor Standards Act prosecutions, and the number of those actions likely will spike when the ...
Design
Ready for the next century
A full renovation at the Artman Lutheran Home has the 100-year-old facility striving to exceed cultural and design challenges of a new era
How to do it…
How to do it... Professional development
Long-term care workers at all levels often wonder how they can take the next step in their own professional development. With strained resources, that's sometimes ...
A day in the life
Angels against abuse
Search any news website for the phrase "nursing home" and your quest could return some less-than-stellar stories alleging elder abuse or neglect.
Technology
Technology boosts nursing home care, study reveals
Long-term care administrators can expect to see an even greater push to share data electronically with hospitals and other post-acute facilities, thanks to new research ...
Opinion
Reader Poll: What do you wish people knew about being a long-term care nurse?
"Most people have no understanding of how long-term care nurses are as good as acute-care nurses. They are better assessors and have skills because physicians ...
Signs of the season
Once again, our planet completed its 584-trillion-mile encirclement of the sun and safely brought us back to October/November and two things that matter most — ...
Company news
Genesis, UNM partner up to cut hospital readmissions
The nation's largest provider of skilled nursing services is teaming with the University of New Mexico Health System in an effort to tackle the growing ...
Occupancy hits 5-year low
Occupancy rates for skilled nursing facilities dropped to 82.2% in the second quarter of 2016 — the lowest level in five years, according to a ...
Vendor news
New telemedicine solution for skilled care facilities
UPMC Enterprises has started Curavi Health to provide a telemedicine solution and physician care for skilled care facilities.
McKesson unveils pay coordinating hub
McKesson Health Solutions unveiled the McKesson Intelligence Hub™ in September as a platform for enabling interoperability and sharing business intelligence through healthcare applications.
The big picture
Our quiet revolution
The CommonWell Health Alliance recently announced that members soon will be giving patients instant access to virtually all their health data.
Editor’s desk
Nipping the improper Medicare pay in the bud
Does the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services need its own deputy sheriff to set its house in order? Some seem to think so.
Profile
Profile: Niles Godes
Of all the adjectives that may come up when talking to Niles Godes — terms such as "wonky" and "poodle owner" — what doesn't immediately ...
