Delirium, Depression and Dementia – Distinguishing the Difference

Angie SzumlinskiUncategorized

  How often have you admitted a resident from an acute care setting with a recent diagnosis of dementia and antipsychotic medication orders? Did you ever wonder how a diagnosis was determined when the acute care stay was only 3 days long? It has always intrigued me as there is a distinct difference between each diagnosis, the risks associated with …

National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel Meets with CMS to Discuss Identification and Treatment of Pressure Injuries

Angie SzumlinskiUncategorized

The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP), which serves as the leading scientific voice for improved patient outcomes in pressure injury prevention and treatment, met with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to discuss their new 2016 Pressure Injury Staging System, initially launched in April 2016. Click the link below to read the full press release: NPUAP_CMS_Meeting_Release_1-2017 Recognizing that …

CMS Appeals the Injunction Halting the Nursing Home Arbitration Ban—Where Will it Go From Here?

Angie SzumlinskiUncategorized

CMS Appeals the Injunction Halting the Nursing Home Arbitration Ban—Where Will it Go From Here? 1/17/2017 by Sean Sullivan   Few things have had the post-acute care industry on the edge of their seats like the ban on arbitration agreements and the subsequent injunction preventing its application. On January 5, 2017, CMS filed a Notice of Appeal with the district court that granted …

Sharp reduction in avoidable hospitalizations among LTC residents

Angie SzumlinskiUncategorized

Over the last several years, with the help from the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid have worked with other federal government agencies, states, patient organizations, and others to identify and prevent those health conditions that have caused long-term care residents to be unnecessarily hospitalized. Because of these efforts, we have seen a dramatic reduction in avoidable hospitalizations over the …

2017 HealthCap Election Results

Andrea HauptUncategorized

Click here to view the 2017 HealthCap Election Results press release reported on January 11, 2017. Read the full release here: Election Press Release

Pre-Dispute Arbitration Rule – Enforcement Delayed

Angie SzumlinskiUncategorized

By: Kally Goodwin-Ratzloff, John Hessburg, & William D. Chaklos Kitch Attorneys and Counselors As you may have heard, the American Health Care Association, the Mississippi Health Care Association, and three long term care facilities (collectively the “plaintiffs”) filed a complaint against the Secretary of Health and Human Services and Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on …

New Requirements for Arbitration Agreements

Angie SzumlinskiUncategorized

New CMS requirements regarding arbitration agreements can greatly impact your organization. Read more about how pre-dispute arbitration agreements in nursing homes, holding Medicaid and Medicare residents, will be banned.  New Requirements for Arbitration Agreements

Brown University Survey on Camera Use – Part 2

Angie SzumlinskiUncategorized

In a blog post from May, 2016 we discussed the Brown University anonymous survey on camera use in long-term care facilities. Brown University has released some interesting statistics from the responses gathered to date. As you can see, this is a hot topic for our members and we will continue to follow the survey results as they are made available. …

Active Shooter – Everyone's Worst Nightmare!

Angie SzumlinskiUncategorized

The unfortunate truth in our industry is that Active Shooter policies, procedures and training are not only necessary but may be required, depending on your community’s levels of care and licensure. There is so much information from FEMA, OSHA, Homeland Security and other validated sources that it can be overwhelming to review. Evolucent suggests beginning with an evaluation of your …