Whether caring for seniors in the United States or in a village in the Pacific Rim, providing culture-specific environments and services is taking design in a new direction as seen in three international projects. Read More »
Most nursing home providers understand the importance of auditing the MDS against the medical record to ensure that the chart supports the coding decisions represented on the MDS. But analyzing MDS responses in the context of quality seems to be a missed opportunity for many providers. Read More »
While most Americans say that Washington should act quickly to bring down the deficit, there is little public support for major reductions in federal spending on Medicare, according to the results of a national poll. Read More »
The tragic events surrounding the deadly nightclub fire that happened over the weekend in Brazil should remind occupancies of all types to focus on fire safety every day of the year. Read More »
The first criteria for the appropriate use of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging technology to aid in the diagnosis of people with suspected Alzheimer's disease were released Monday by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) and the Alzheimer's Association. Read More »
The long-term care industry has advanced dramatically in recent years when it comes to innovations in healthcare and living environments for our aging population. At St. John's on the Lake in Milwaukee, 20 LTC designers, architects and academics have gathered to judge 59 new senior housing projects. They are a tough and demanding group. Read More »
An increased focus by the Attorney General’s office on the conditions in SNFs throughout the state of California mirror the trend of enforcement and prosecution against those in the healthcare industry across the country. Read More »
Good design in environments for the aging improves not only the quality of life for residents, but it resonates, and hopefully improves, every aspect of the senior living business, from marketing to housekeeping. Nowhere will LTC professionals find a more comprehensive and qualified collection of minds from the architecture, interior design and building fields than at Long-Term Living’s 2013 Environments for Aging Conference. Read More »
This could be the year to address perennial problems plaguing your organization. Take advantage of the new year’s momentum by making minor adjustments in three areas for a big impact: appreciation, repair and organization. Read More »
President Obama touched on Medicare and Medicaid in his second inaugural address on Jan. 21, in a speech with a strong focus on unity among Americans and with a heavy emphasis on social progress. Read More »
At times, health conditions, such as quadriplegia, can have some unusual manifestations on other parts of the body. Are they the result of an existing condition or a symptom of another health issue? Don't ignore spots, rashes, discoloration and other changes as Kathy Mears can verify. Read More »
The fiscal cliff battle is behind us, but the nation is heading to another possible financial crisis caused largely by politics, and the nursing home sector—and their residents—could well be caught in the middle. Read More »
An out-of-order elevator can not only be inconvenient, but it can also present a safety hazard, as one Canadian long-term care facility recently learned. Read More »
Over the next 10 years, SNFs will face $65 billion in Medicare cuts. Have they been pushed off the fiscal cliff as Medicare payments continue to be reduced for skilled care? Read More »
While the original filing deadline has passed, states have been given another extension for compliance with Obamacare’s health insurance exchange mandate. Read More »
As of the fourth quarter of 2012, units under construction in assisted living properties equated to 3.0 percent of the existing assisted living inventory within the top 31 metropolitan markets. Construction activity has been oscillating for more than a year, but has clearly moved past the lows established in 2009. Read More »
MedPAC recommends that Congress vote to keep the special needs plans under Medicare Advantage, although some of the plans perform better than others. Read More »
Each year, hundreds of people die in fires caused by heating equipment, including portable space heaters, according to the National Fire Protection Association. While prohibited in smoke compartments where residents are present in skilled nursing facilities, portable electric space heaters continue to find their way into LTC facilities of all types. Read More »
Which marketing tactics are working best for your facility? Direct referrals aren't the only way to measure the worth of your marketing strategies. Read More »
When it comes to longevity, a healthy attitude about aging matters. Colorado researchers are working on a way to measure self-perceived age. Read More »
Because of the stronger likelihood that more women will access benefits than men, long-term care insurance providers are rethinking their policy premiums. Read More »
Another 106 provider organizations make the CMS list of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), bringing the number of covered beneficiaries to more than 4 million. Read More »
Properly installed bed rails can be protective devices, but if misused or improperly installed/maintained, they can be unsafe for the elderly long-term care resident—even deadly. Read More »
An especially aggressive influenza strain and a nationwide outbreak of norovirus are joining forces to form one of the worst flu seasons in decades. Read More »
