Providers will be paid by the federal government based on care quality rather than care quantity under new, measurable goals announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Monday. Read More »
When you want to use social media to communicate with residents or prospective residents, which networks should you use? New data provide some insights. Read More »
People with Alzheimer's or other dementias have found a champion in Gary Glazner, founder and executive director of the Alzheimer's Poetry Project. Blending poetry with the arts in an innovative program provides a pathway to the hearts and souls of people with memory loss. Read More »
Could the Affordable Care Act lead to changes that will affect skilled nursing, hospice and home healthcare and lower Medicare spending? Authors of a new analysis think it could. Read More »
For minor skin infections and irritations, some residents like to rely on simple remedies used when they were young rather than take more medication. Read More »
A new report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the Urban Institute proposes changes to Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services payments to discourage skilled nursing facilities from “furnish[ing] therapy for financial gain.” Read More »
When it comes to quality and efficiency measures, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should focus on population-level outcome measures instead of clinical process measures, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission said in a recent letter. Read More »
Don’t pick up hitchhikers, especially those that are difficult to see. Bed bugs like to travel. New data from Orkin names the leading destinations on a bed bug’s itinerary. Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has added star ratings to its Dialysis Facility Compare website and plans to update the ratings annually beginning in October. Read More »
The number of nurse practitioners licensed in the United States has greatly increased over the past 10 years, according to data released by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Read More »
The Assisted Living Federation of America and the Gerontological Society of America are calling on the federal government to remember older adults in the wake of the president's State of the Union address. Read More »
A robust information technology architecture is needed to handle the new data influx from wearable devices while maintaining quality, says one expert. Read More »
Paper storage of living wills and advance directives remains popular, but use of digital storage will grow as technology becomes more familiar, authors of a new report predict. Read More »
Implementing an electronic health record system and integrating an automated wound management solution into it has resulted in numerous benefits for one nursing and rehabilitation center. Read More »
Finding a cure for diseases such as diabetes and cancer would be the focus of a new Precision Medicine Initiative proposed by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address. Read More »
On Monday morning, a snow plow driver spotted the body of an elderly woman in the driveway of a Sagamore Hills, Ohio, assisted living facility. Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has agreed to reform its hospice payment system by taking five steps outlined in a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Read More »
The long-term care industry’s adoption of electronic health records systems has made great strides in the past year. What needs to happen next? Read More »
More older adults are reporting falls, according to new research, but the authors aren’t sure whether seniors are falling more or just reporting more. Read More »
Meals are the best part of the day for most residents, and breakfast is the most important meal. Cutting back on quality might be economical, but your residents can taste the difference. Read More »
The staff-resident relationship is essential to quality care. Consistency of care, and the relationship fostered between the staff and residents over time, directly impacts the perceived quality of care for LTC providers. In this article, Jayne Warwick examines the unquestionable bond between staff satisfaction and patient satisfaction, and how to positively impact both of these elements to avoid unnecessary financial pitfalls.Click here to read more. Read More »
