Spring cleaning amid new regs

As most of the United States recovers from one of the worst winters on record, many people are welcoming the chance to shake out the carpets, open the windows and breathe in some fresh air. Likewise, now is the season for many senior living organizations to dive into some serious spring cleaning.

Administrators are revamping their staffing and payroll systems to pay closer attention to pay rates, qualifications, CEUs and certifications in light of new reporting mandates requiring organizations to replace self-reported staffing data with automated payroll data to be submitted year-round.

Many organizations will be doing some extra polishing in their marketing departments to communicate their value to their customers and prospects, especially since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently changed the definition of a five-star rating—dropping many organizations from a shiny A to a B, seemingly overnight.

And from skilled nursing to assisted living to continuing care retirement communities (or whatever we’re going to call them next), everyone is trying to figure out how to expand existing programs—or launch new endeavors—to take advantage of senior care’s biggest service opportunity: memory care.

As you’ll notice, Long-Term Living’s print magazine has received a bit of refreshing, too. Beginning with our upcoming March/April issue, we’ve streamlined the look of our business departments and given our feature articles a bolder, more engaging look. We’ve added a new community page to help our print readers get involved in Long-Term Living’s online activities and conversations. From the sleek, clean front cover to the very last page, we want to improve the reader experience and make Long-Term Living—both the print and online editions—your favorite way to the learn about the topics that are driving service lines and culture change across the senior care continuum.

Our online readers can see the print edition of the magazine right from the website—just click on the March/April digital magazine edition.

As always, our content focuses on the business strategies and clinical innovation that are key to tomorrow’s success in delivering smart business value and quality senior care.

We encourage you and your colleagues to join us in the ongoing conversations of what quality senior services and clinical care are, and what they should become in the future.

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.