Facility management

Heat wave poses a serious threat to frail elderly

To paraphrase a Sonny and Cher hit…”The heat goes on and on and on” west of the Mississippi. Beating the heat isn’t easy and for seniors it’s a challenge to keep them comfortable—and safe. Read More »

Obama administration announces delay of key healthcare reform provision for employers

The Obama administration changed course on July 2 on a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, when it announced a one-year delay in the ACA’s employer mandate requiring provision of health insurance to employees. Corporations had objected to the mandate, which will now take effect in January 2015. Read More »

‘Spy-cams’ in Ohio nursing homes unearth abuse, yet raise legal questions

Next time you think your loved one is being neglected or abused in a nursing home, you might not be the only one watching. Read More »

Emeritus takes over operations at 38 former Merrill Gardens communities

Emeritus adds to its assisted living and independent living portfolios by snapping up 38 communities from Merrill Gardens. Read More »

Calif. prison system opens $839M LTC facility for inmates

The California state prison system hopes its new long-term care medical facility for inmates can solve its healthcare delivery woes. Read More »

2013 fire sprinkler bill may inspire retrofits and renovations

Currently, only licensed SNFs are required to have sprinklers installed by August 2013. But the new proposed Fire Sprinkler Incentive of 2013 could involve assisted living sites, care homes and more. Read More »

Coexisting with summer critters

Unless you’re an entomologist, a 10-year-old boy or a frog, very few people love spiders, ants and the other creepy-crawlies of summer. Imagine if you lacked the mobility to chase the insects away. Read More »

DIY Marketing Part 2: The 4 elements of the Marketing Improvement Plan

In the second installment of Do-It Yourself marketing, Luke Fannon discusses how a Marketing Improvement Plan plays a crucial role in your organization's marketing makeover. Read More »

Matchmaker, matchmaker

Expanding service lines and increasing referrals from acute care could depend on a growing trend within long-term and post-acute care organizations: Find your business's perfect mate and partner up. Read More »

DIY Marketing Part 1: Assess thyself

Blogger Luke Fannon provides six simple steps to assess your facility and its services (and your competition's) in his new series on DIY marketing for long-term and post-acute care organizations. Read More »

Disaster primer: When Mother Nature strikes

How "ready" are you for whatever Mother Nature can dish out? This disaster primer can help your organization prepare for—and live through—the financial impacts of a disaster. Read More »

Signature HealthCARE acquires six Kindred Healthcare SNFs

Signature HealthCARE has acquired six facilities from Kindred Healthcare, increasing Signature’s national presence to 78 facilities. Read More »

Skilled nursing occupancy hovers near 8-year low

Overall nursing occupancy is near the eight-year cyclical low, but private-pay nursing units are seeing some recovery. Read More »

Nighttime housekeeping is disruptive

While nursing homes are a 24-hour-a-day operation, maintenance/housekeeping staff need to schedule loud and/or noisy projects at times that won't limit accessibility to residents or disturb their routines. Read More »

ALFA 2013 Keynote: Are you a leader of possibilities?

The attendees at ALFA’s 2013 conference learn lessons about leadership (and Beethoven) from world-renowned orchestra conductor Benjamin Zander. Read More »

Contaminated mattresses: A new source of concern in infection control?

Don’t take infection control lying down. The most effective risk management program can be undone by not taking a few simple precautions. Read More »

The brave, new LTC world: Are you on board?

As Americans continue to aging in growing numbers, long-term care faces challenges on several fronts in providing the relevant care, services and accommodations that this new senior demographic will demand. Read More »

LTC property investors shirk SNFs as financial risks

Several of long-term care’s biggest property owners are shedding their interest in the financially challenged skilled nursing sector. Read More »

Assisted living redefined in new building codes

The International Building Code has been revised to reclassify assisted living facilities, acknowledging their difference from nursing homes and hospitals. Read More »

Assisted living fundamentals softened in 1Q13

For the first quarter of 2013,  assisted living occupancy showed a decline from the numbers it had been achieving as it recovered from the economic challenges of the past two years. However, absorption and inventory showed gains. Read More »

One-on-one with… Debra Doyle

Long-Term Living profiles Debra Doyle, COO of Erickson Living, on how her company has maintained—and grown—its census in these challenging times, including strategies in healthcare sales, information technology, operational programming and wellness services. 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 »

Leaders of Tomorrow: Roberto Muñiz

Congratulations to the second of our five 2013 Leaders of Tomorrow award winners: Roberto Muñiz, MPA, LNHA, FACHCA, president and CEO of The Francis E. Parker Memorial Home, Piscataway, N.J. Read how he turned adult day care service into a brand new business avenue. 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 »

4 ways technology enhances employee learning and resident care

Learning management systems can improve training for employees and ease the documentation headaches for administrators during accreditation site visits by automating the training schedules and tracking course completion. 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 »

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 »

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 »