The New Wave of Foodservice Technology in Senior Care

Month: July 2011

CMS to cut SNF payments by 11.1%

Medicare will cut skilled nursing facility payments by 11.1 percent, or $3.87 billion, starting October 1, under a corrective proposal the federal Read More »

LTC in Italy: Seniors living La Dolce Vita

Healthy seniors living the good life. On a recent trip to Italy, I decided to actively investigate how Read More »

Healthcare expenditures continue to rise

By 2020, healthcare spending will catapult to $4.6 trillion dollars as projected in a new report from federal actuaries. It predicts that from Read More »

GAO: Medicare spent $48 billion on improper payments in 2010

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports an estimated $48 billion in Medicare improper fee-for-service payments in 2010, representing about Read More »

The joy of hiring great caregivers

Hiring is often a flip of the coin. In my experience, we strive to hire great people and often they are less than desirable. But every once in a Read More »

Medicare Part D reduces admissions to SNFs, hospitals

A new study finds that Medicare’s prescription-coverage program cuts healthcare costs since the benefit results in reduced admissions to nursing Read More »

Hospice care grows as do patient negligence concerns

While the for-profit hospice industry is growing and thriving, concerns about withholding appropriate care for dying patients are increasing as well, Read More »

Lowering readmits through transitional care

Discharge, readmit, discharge, readmit. It’s the healthcare cycle many seniors are trapped in as they age and/or their disease process runs its Read More »

‘Get all the liars in one room’

You know things are bad when the antagonism, fear and general malaise surrounding the fight over the U.S. debt ceiling trickles down to casual Read More »

Celebrating a senior media milestone

In Janary 2002, Channel 6, a resident/staff broadcasting venture, went live at Greenspring, an Erickson Living retirement community in Springfield, Read More »

Subsidizing wages at LTC facilities could cut turnover

Subsidizing low-wage caregivers at group homes would likely reduce worker turnover rates and help contain costs at long-term care facilities, Read More »

A resident’s day trip

When my Mears cousins invited me to a family reunion in 2008 I wanted to go. But it was 70 miles away from the nursing home and I had not traveled Read More »

Genetic type of Alzheimer’s may be detected years before symptoms

Measurable brain chemistry changes may appear 10 to 20 years before the first detectable cognitive impairments among people with a genetic form of Read More »

EEOC sues nursing home for religious discrimination

A Boca Raton, Fla. nursing facility violated federal law by firing an employee over Sabbath-keeping issues, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Read More »

Introducing some fresh faces

You may have noticed over the past month a few new contributors to the Long-Term Living blog. Hopefully, you have already checked out their expert Read More »

Majority of senior households financially vulnerable, researchers say

Three out of four senior citizen households are financially unprepared for an unexpected illness or other traumatic life event, according to a new Read More »

CCRC DON salaries rose in 2011

The national average salary of Director of Nurses in Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) increased 2.56 percent in 2011, from $80,573 in Read More »

AP poll finds aging boomers to be most obese generation

Baby boomers are setting themselves up for unhealthy—and costly—golden years, according to the new Associated Press LifeGoesStrong.com poll that Read More »

Defining ‘non-institutional’ interiors

For the upcoming July 2011 issue of Long-Term Living, we asked three well known senior living designers to debate the pros and cons of various Read More »

New OIG webpage catalogs quality-of-care Corporate Integrity Agreements

As an addendum to our recent article titled “Nursing care quality and the False Claims Act” in the June issue of Long-Term Living, the Office of Read More »

LTC nurses focus on infection prevention

Top-down and bottom-up approaches to facility infection control and prevention programs are an evolving force in culture and practice. During an Read More »

More than half of Alzheimer’s cases may be preventable

Lifestyle changes and treatment or prevention of chronic medical conditions may be all that’s necessary to defend against more than half of Read More »

‘Gang of Six’ deficit plan would cover doc fix, repeal CLASS Act

A bipartisan group of senators known as the “Gang of Six” Tuesday unveiled their 10-year $3.7 trillion deficit-reduction plan, featuring a mixture of Read More »

What to make of healthcare workers’ piercings and tattoos

The first time I saw a nursing home staff member with a tongue piercing, I shuddered. It looked painful. Since I never thought of having one myself, Read More »

The magic kicks off at NADONA

In Kissimmee, Florida, the home of Disney World and other fantasies, the 2011 National Association Directors of Nursing Administration conference Read More »

Keying in on documentation

Karen L. McDonald, RN, BSN, of KLM & Associates, LTC Consulting, LLC, offered nurses tips, tricks and good advice on keeping accurate and consistent Read More »

Antidepressant changes may contribute to SNF resident falls

Nursing home residents taking certain antidepressant medications are at an increased risk of falling days after starting a new prescription or a dose Read More »

Early onset of Alzheimer’s increases risk of falling

Falls are more common among individuals with the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s, according to a study presented Sunday at the Alzheimer’s Association Read More »

Mouth care: Reducing resistant behaviors

More elders are entering long-term care with their natural teeth, and those who develop dementia will require Read More »

Man admits to nursing home killings 2 years ago

Robert Stewart earlier this week admitted in court that he shot and killed eight people in a North Carolina nursing home back in March 2009. Even Read More »