AHT partners with COMS Interactive for combined clinical workflow
American HealthTech (AHT) is partnering with COMS Interactive to integrate the COMS disease management solution with AHT’s clinical system. Users will be able to access the COMS application from the...
View ArticleFla. judge says resident death is manslaughter
A Florida assisted living licensed practical nurse (LPN) has been charged with aggravated manslaughter for inadequately treating a resident’s pressure ulcers, resulting in the resident’s 2013 death....
View ArticleAdvancing wound care technology
Wound care is complex, time-intensive and crucial to reimbursements. Wounds need to be measured and documented on a regular basis to track changes in size and condition. These days, the wound care...
View ArticleHow the RAI Manual changes encourage collaboration
As payment across healthcare and in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) shifts from a volume- to value-based system, a lot is changing. Despite the challenges, these changes also usher in opportunity. In...
View ArticleTop 10 dementia care rules for nursing homes
In early November, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) outlined revisions to State Operations Manual (SOM) regulations, effective November 28, 2016, in a survey & certification...
View ArticleDecoding the mixed messages about psychiatric care in SNFs
Increasingly, resident populations at skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) include a large number of individuals with mental health conditions—from mood disorders and post-traumatic stress to...
View ArticleWill RUGs be swept under the rug?
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released an advance notice of proposed rule-making that could change everything about RUG billing in nursing homes. In particular, CMS is...
View ArticleCare planning and assessments a lengthy process, AANAC reports
On average, it takes five hours and five minutes to complete one Minimum Data Set (MDS). Nurse assessment coordinators (NACs) spend an average of 80 minutes on the OBRA Comprehensive Assessment, 54...
View Article2017 RAI User’s Manual updates: The new survey era
With the MDS driving so much in long-term care—from survey success to reimbursement, from Quality Measures to Nursing Home Compare reports and from Five-Star ratings to the SNF Quality Reporting...
View ArticleAANAC, AADNS founder and CEO to retire in 2018
Diane Carter, MSN, RN, RAC-CT, DNS-CT, FAAN, founder, president and CEO, of the American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordination (AANAC) and the American Association of Directors of Nursing...
View ArticleStudy: Best SNF care teams involve primary care physicians and pharmacists
Care teams that include the primary care physician and a pharmacist will have the best outcomes for those in long-term care, concludes a study published in the July 2013 issue of Journal of the...
View Article‘Spy-cams’ in Ohio nursing homes unearth abuse, yet raise legal questions
Ohio’s attorney general has made his stance clear: Nursing home abuse will be discovered, even if it takes state-installed cameras. Ohio’s Attorney General Michael DeWine closed a Zanesville, Ohio,...
View ArticleNew TeamSTEPPS program tackles safety & communication issues in LTC
Connecticut’s new long-term care training program is modeled on the safety and decision-making protocols of some formidable examples—including air-traffic controllers, firefighters and the military....
View ArticleIs a C. diff vaccine really on the horizon?
Clinical trials on a possible vaccine for Clostridium difficile have been underway for at least a year, and everyone in the long-term care (LTC) industry is watching closely. The clinical trial efforts...
View ArticleTrends in resident care services and infection control
The annual readership survey results are in: Long-Term Living’s readers shared their new initiatives for delivering quality resident care, controlling infections, upgrading their patient-transfer...
View Article3-day hospital stays, hospice surveys under scrutiny
The issue of Medicare coverage for nursing home care after patients leave the hospital continues to draw attention in Washington as former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)...
View Article4 technology trends in post-acute and long-term care
Larry Wolf, health information technology strategist with post-acute service provider Kindred Healthcare, recently spoke with Long-Term Living about emerging trends related to technology in post-acute...
View ArticleSurvey survival: Fall scene investigation
When it comes to documenting infections, falls and other adverse events, what you don't know can hurt you at survey time. "Between staff costs, investigation costs and possible litigation, it can be...
View Article6 tips to fight osteoporosis
The bone degeneration caused by osteoporosis affects 200 million women worldwide, and is the #1 contributor to length of stay in hospitals for women over age 45, notes the International Osteoporosis...
View ArticleIs it rejection of care or resident choice?
Mrs. Smith, a resident at Sleepy Acres Nursing Home, had severe dementia. She could not voice her wishes and preferences and was dependent on staff for her activities of daily living. Her assigned...
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