Facility management

Embracing the young blood in long-term care leadership

I believe those of us who have been around for years have an obligation to work with young professionals to ensure that our industry remains in good hands. What lasting mark will you leave on the young blood? Read More »

How to maximize reimbursement in turbulent times

Skilled nursing facilities must smartly adapt to monumental changes in order to capture market share, maximize reimbursement based on meeting patient needs and accurately capture all funding. Read More »

A nursing home’s ‘secret’ to making list of ‘Best Nursing Homes’

Bethany Health Care Center, Framingham, Mass., has made U.S. News & World Report's annual list of top-rated nursing homes three times. Its administrator explains the simple formula for her community's success. Read More »

The impact of ‘never events’ on post-acute care

The current Medicare payment policy for hospital “never events” has created risks for unassuming post-acute providers. Nursing homes, assisted living facilities and CCRCs need to prepare for the coming impact. Read More »

Assisted living marketing directors see salary increase

An analysis of those reporting bonuses for director of marketing showed an average annual salary of $46,872, with an average bonus of $9,354, or 19.96 percent of salary. Read More »

Kitchen safety in long-term care

From a safety and risk perspective, the kitchen provides us with an immediate opportunity to develop a workforce that is “cultured” to prevent potential hazards and losses. Deviation from procedures is usually when an incident occurs. Read More »

3 steps to starting your own senior care internship program

An internship program is a great way to find qualified staff, raise resident morale, generate new ideas and give back to the community by helping college students. The key is fostering positive relationships with local colleges. Read More »

5 competencies of successful sales/marketing professionals

The simple truth is that successful sales and marketing professionals are made, not born. Here are the five areas of skill and knowledge your team members must have to be successful in healthcare sales and marketing. Read More »

5 reasons why you should run a senior care internship program

Find qualified staff, raise resident morale, generate new ideas, market your community relations, save money—it's a no-brainer, really. Just ask yourself: "Can we start an internship program of our own?" Read More »

5 secrets your line staff doesn’t want you to know

Do you wish you could be a fly on the wall, observing without changing the behavior of the people you’re watching? Wonder no more, as this nursing home psychologist reveals the secrets they don’t want you to know. Read More »

Abandon ‘the help’ and recognize your staff

Beyond verbal communication, I wondered how else we may be devaluing our team members who work so closely with residents. Consider these questions about the design of your environments—and the messages they send to employees. Read More »

Vacuuming protects indoor air quality

Are your hard-surface floors making you—and your residents—sick? Brush up on these current best practices for cleanliness and maintenance with January's Focus On. Read More »

Reflections on a life in long-term care

Long-Term Living contributor Eli Pick’s account of a life in long-term care offers valuable insights and lessons learned from failures and successes along the way. "This was very difficult for me in the beginning," he writes. Read More »

In the long-term care resident’s shoes—or wheelchair

To experience just one of the many challenges a LTC resident experiences on a daily basis can be sobering and eye-opening. And, it just might make you reconsider your facility's approach to resident care. Read More »

How to leverage word of mouth in senior living

For senior living communities, social media is a “brand” new world adding a new dimension to the marketing mix and a “brave” new world for communities to share their stories. Read More »

HHS rule on electronic funds transfers in healthcare to save $4.5 billion

New standards build upon regulations published earlier this year that set industry-wide standards for how health providers use electronic systems to determine a patient’s eligibility for health coverage and check on the status of a health claim. Read More »

Remembering Alzheimer’s

Job’s Way is Kirby Pines Retirement Community's award-winning Alzheimer’s and dementia residence—winner of more than six national and international awards. The unique circular facility is designed to minimize confusion and frustration as residents move about during their daily activities. Read More »

A provider’s journey to adopt HIT

Golden Living transitioned its corporate-wide information technology from multiple, disparate silos into a unified, easily accessed and intuitive new platform. Here’s how they did it. Read More »

NLRB final rule accelerates union elections

Providers contend final rule will shorten the time employees may learn about union membership before an election, grant the NLRB latitude to decide election issues and limit an employer’s ability to appeal initial election hearing findings. Read More »

NCPA: Changes to LTC pharmacy consultants ‘jeopardize rural healthcare’

CMS has proposed changes to LTC pharmacy consultants that the NCPA says could imperil independent community pharmacies. Read More »

Navigator to form biggest long-term care GPO after Extendicare acquisition

Navigator agrees to $56 million acquisition of UHF Purchasing Services and Star Purchasing Services, LLC. Read More »

5 holiday life safety tips you might have overlooked

Please, for the love of your residents, staff and all visitors, employ some common sense this holiday season. Read More »

4 steps to overcoming a negative reputation

First, you must understand the nature of reputations and how they develop. Negative reputations can happen catastrophically or gradually over an extended period of time. Read More »

What to do with sex offenders in long-term care?

One of the first stories I tackled when joining Long-Term Living three years ago was a Q&A interview with patient care advocate Wes Bledsoe, who at Read More »

Foresight vs. hindsight: Interesting perspectives for those in senior living

As an architect and designer, I am encouraged to gather input from clients as we begin the planning and design process. In the senior living world, Read More »

The bumpy journey to adopt HIT

Tiankai Wang, PhD Health information technology (HIT) is not a new concept to the long-term care industry. Since the late 1990s, HIT functions Read More »

Nurse delegation in LTC and assisted living

Nurses in today's LTC and assisted living settings act in a variety of roles, both clinical and nonclinical. Nurses assist with or administer Read More »

Results of ‘Coaching Approach’ project show improved jobs, care

In 2006, PHI launched the Center for Coaching Supervision and Leadership. Funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Atlantic Philanthropies, Read More »

A family in crisis needs compassion, direction and resources

I was witness yesterday to the turmoil, frustration and confusion that countless families experience when faced with the crisis of an elder parent’s Read More »

Home health billing practices under fire from multiple flanks

Three recent developments indicate sharp scrutiny being placed on the home health industry. Stemming from Congress, the courts and the Office of Read More »