Pamela Tabar
Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master's degree in English from the University of York, England.
The pros and cons of per capita caps for Medicaid
Federal agencies and lawmakers keep revising one possible way to curb Medicaid spending growth: Per capita caps. Read More » Heard at EFA: Soundbytes from EFA 2013
The editors of Healthcare Design and Long-Term Living collected the best thoughts, stats and take-home messages we heard in the session rooms, keynotes and hallways during EFA 2013. Read More » Storms and flooding prompt LTC evacuations in Midwest
Rain, rain, go away—Several nursing homes in the storm-drenched Midwest are forced to evacute this week. Read More » National Senior Games set for Cleveland
A different kind of “silver tsunami” will arrive in Cleveland this summer—thousands of proven athletes ready to compete in the world’s largest multi-sport event for seniors. Read More » Breaking news: Texas factory explosion damages nursing home
Updated: April 22, 2013, 10:00 a.m. A massive explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas, seriously damages a local nursing home, trapping residents Wednesday night. All 133 residents had to be evacuated and/or transported to the hospital. Read More » The Boston Marathon story the bombs couldn’t destroy
At this week's Boston Marathon, some victorious stories emerged despite the cruel bombing attacks. For Bill, it’s victory #46. Read More » Cost of dementia care exceeds U.S. cancer costs
The costliest disease in the United States isn't cancer, and soon it may not be heart disease, either. Read More » What we heard (and didn’t hear) at the EFA conference
The "culture city" of New Orleans served as the perfect venue for discussing culture change in elder-care building design at the 2013 Environments for Aging conference. Read More » Southern seniors have greatest chance of high-risk prescribing
Medicare Advantage seniors living in the southeastern states have a much higher chance of being prescribed “risky” medications, reveals a new study from researchers at Brown University. Read More » Study: Copper surfaces can control resistant infections
A recent study shows that copper-based surfaces can kill microbes, even resistant strains of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). Read More » EFA 2013: Making space for hospice in the care continuum
Continuing care trends are increasingly involving hospice within the whole care campus, instead of tucking away the hospice in a stand-alone building in a proverbial corner of finality. Read More » Obama budget will cut Medicare but boost Medicaid and mental health
President Obama's new budget, released by the White House Wednesday, includes plenty of cuts, but also contains a few surprising increases. Read More » Silent locks & access control in LTC
As LTC design spaces become more “open,” access control becomes a much more important part of LTC facility strategy. Read More » Conference keynote: What makes your residents happy?
Sunday’s Environments for Aging keynote speaker Margaret Wylde, president and CEO of ProMatura Group, urged architects and designers to re-examine what they think older residents want out of their living communities. Hint: It’s not bocce ball or bingo. Read More » CMS releases guidelines on delegated nursing roles in SNFs
A new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services document clarifies what tasks physicians may delegate to nurses within nursing homes serving Medicare and Medicaid residents. Read More » Ensign Group adds three more SNFs in Texas
While some skilled nursing facilities are being sold off due to budget cuts, the Ensign Group seems to be on a buying spree. Read More » One-on-one with…. Ruta Kadonoff
Senior Editor Pamela Tabar talks with Ruta Kadonoff, vice president of quality and regulatory affairs for the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), about quality in long-term care—and why being able to measure it will be important for business. Read More » 2% Medicare payment reductions begin today
The waiting is over. No resolution to the budget crisis means that sequestration begins—today. Long-term care facilities will feel the effects upfront, but a quieter casuality might be healthcare's information technology and data-sharing initiatives. Read More » Fla insurance shutdown hits 100,000 Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries
Florida’s Universal Health Care Insurance suddenly closed its doors last week, giving beneficiaries three days to choose another insurance provider. Read More » CMS dashboard to simplify best practices for chronic disease
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released a new analytics tool to help providers understand multiple chronic conditions in seniors. Read More » White House, Congress might consider combining Medicare Parts A and B
Sweeping changes may be on the horizon for the way Medicare billing is divided, as President Obama and Republicans put the idea of combining Medicare Parts A and B back on the discussion table, the New York Times reports today. Read More » REITs, acquisitions impact senior housing rankings list
It’s not exactly a building boom yet, but things are looking brighter for the senior housing market, according to ALFA’s new senior living provider rankings. Read More » ‘Super cane’ melds mobility and monitoring
This is definitely not your grandfather’s cane—yet. Read More » Study: Texting better than paging for speedy stroke treatment
Those who suffer a stroke may want the emergency medical staff to be busy texting instead of using an overhead paging system, a new study finds. Read More » DOJ nabs more home health, therapy fraudsters
The Department of Justice and Medicare fraud teams continue to look hard at therapy and home care billing. Read More » CMMI, Senate committee lock horns over innovation projects
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) got a tongue-lashing from the Senate Finance Committee, while CMMI’s director explains that testing new models takes time before payment reforms can be put into action. Read More » Researchers discover signalling pathway to control Alzheimer’s
Researchers have discovered a key protein function that appears to “turn off” Alzheimer’s disease. Read More » Staff scheduling strategies for better care and better business
Are your staff scheduling processes as fair, balanced and tightly connected to your census and acuities as they should be? Two experts explain why even small changes in staffing can add up to big savings. Read More » Boomers and seniors primed for digitial marketing
Seniors get a bad rap when it comes to technology, but they’re America’s fast-growing dempgraphic is certain digital technologies. Have you "seniorized" your media marketing streams? Read More » 