Many LTC providers mistakenly believe that they have given great customer service when they successfully resolve a family's concern or complaint. Nothing could be further from the truth. The only way to offer truly great customer service is for your customer to never have to contact with you with a concern or complaint in the first place.

Residents whose conditions require physical and/or occupational therapy receive special care plans targeted to improving their individual conditions. Whether they are enthusiastic participants or just resigned to the necessity of rehabilitation, when therapy is indicated, results are achieved. What happens, however, when rehab is completed? Do residents continue to practice the principles they learned in therapy and exercise independently, or do they revert to their previous sedentary lifestyles?

Post-acute providers, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities and continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) need to prepare for the impact of Medicare and Medicaid policies that prohibit payment for so-called “never events.” The current Medicare payment policy for hospital never events has created risks for unassuming post-acute providers. Recent regulations that will allow states to apply Medicaid nonpayment policies for other provider preventable conditions likewise will pose potential issues for the unwary.

There is no doubt that the kitchen is one of the most dynamic areas in your LTC facility vulnerable to a fire or other mishaps. Think about it for a moment: You have several employees working quickly in a well-defined space during specific times when meals are being prepared. Open flames, steam and hot surfaces dot the environment.

While it is universally understood that internships are good for students, there is far less information out there that demonstrates the benefits of internship programs to employers, and long-term care is no different. This article describes a step-by-step process on how to start your own senior care internship program; to learn more about the benefits of running your own program, click here.

This spring, tens of thousands of college students will scramble to find an internship. From Wall Street to Main Street, students will settle in for a few months of learning and contributing, hoping to gain experience, a letter of recommendation and, in some cases, a job. While it is universally understood that internships are good for students, there is far less information out there that demonstrates the benefits of internship programs to employers, and long-term care is no different.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is considering recommending to Congress that Medicare payments to skilled nursing facilities be rebased and reduced, contending that free-standing SNFs are making a killing on Medicare with Medicare margins averaging 18.5 percent in 2010.

As dramatic images of the Costa Concordia tragedy were broadcasted on media outlets worldwide, people appeared to be stunned by the enormity of this maritime disaster and allegations that people on board the now infamous cruise ship were unprepared for such an event.

Click-clack. Click-clack. The administrator’s shoes made a sound distinctly different than the rubber-soled heels of the nursing staff, alerting everyone to a foreign presence. Forced smiles and stiff greetings ensued. As the elevator doors closed, and the administrator disappeared behind them, the line staff heaved a collective sigh of relief and got back to business as usual.

Sunday, April 29, 2012
9:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.

Across the largest 31 metropolitan markets, the supply of operational nursing care beds has been declining an average of 0.3 percent annually during the past five years. This phenomenon is the result of both the closing of properties as well as a shift from semi-private to private rooms.

Properties that are renovating semi-private rooms into private rooms may not necessarily be decreasing their number of licensed beds. With the conversion to private rooms, however, the operational bed supply of those properties does decline.

It is currently estimated that the floor coverings in most long-term-care facilities are about 60 percent hard surfaces and 40 percent carpeting. Although that estimate varies and changes frequently, cleaning and maintaining these hard-surface floors is so important that it should be viewed as a health issue