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BLTCR helps you negotiate the maze of regulations and reimbursement, staffing, and quality issues affecting the long-term care industry.

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Briefings on Long-Term Care

Issue 7, July 21, 2002

• Know the latest RAI Q&A set

  The Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI)-it's the driver of resident care, reimbursement, and...

Issue 6, May 10, 2002

• Find out what they really think

  Find out what they really think

• Empower employees with coaching

  Here’s a retention idea that doesn’t cost any money, won’t make frontline workers...

Issue 3, March 4, 2002

• Get more bang for your buck with nontraditional benefits

  Get more bang for your buck with nontraditional benefits

Issue 12, December 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month's column was written by Julian Rich, president and chief executive officer of Penacook...

• Elder abuse: Prevention and damage control.

  Best practices to handle charges of resident abuse or neglect“Legal Matters” is...

• Get your arms around the QMs

  Take advantage of the resources for the quality initiativeSince the Nursing Home Quality...

• The ABCs of HIPAA, a primer on the privacy rule.

  One of the most important sections of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of...

• Time for a nursing home makeover.

  Alternative methods of care focus on resident choiceIt raises Steve Shields’ hackles when...

Issue 11, November 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Good customer service reduces the risk of lawsuits

  Good customer service reduces the risk of lawsuits

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month's column was written by Kitt Wakeley, MHA, CNHA, senior consultant with the Pinnacle...

• Is therapy costing you too much?

  As a long-term care administrator, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day concerns of...

• It’s October 1: Do you know where your reimbursement is?

  October rolls by and SNFs roll off the Medicare cliffThere’s no doubt skilled nursing...

• OIG gives nursing homes the hairy eyeball in 2003

  Though nursing homes have never been ignored in the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG...

• Prosecution of quality of care under the FCA

  A federal prosecutor’s take on consent orders and compliance programs “Legal...

• Your best practices for the QMs

  Know what the public will see when they go liveThe Nursing Home Quality Initiative (NHQI) becomes...

Issue 10, October 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• R-E-S-P-E-C-T . . . means a lot to your residents and surveyors

  R-E-S-P-E-C-T . . . means a lot to your residents and surveyors

• Consider these new JCAHO standards for long-term care

  Consider these new JCAHO standards for long-term care

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month's column was written by Julian Rich, president and chief executive officer of Penacook...

• CMS calls for 'standing orders' vaccination program for nursing home residents

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) wants you to vaccinate your residents...

• Don't take reimbursement cuts lying down

  is not your typical nursing home administrator. Helfrich-Will regularly writes and publishes...

• Get an inside track on FCA prosecution

  "Legal Matters" is written by Ronald H. Levine, Esq., a partner at the Philadelphia-based law firm...

• How to make a bad situation worse

  You work in a place in which a good portion of your residents will live out the rest of their...

Issue 9, September 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month’s column was written by Kitt Wakeley, MHA, CNHA, senior consultant with the...

• Demystifying the quality measures

  The facts you need to know to get ahead in qualityNow that October is just around the corner...

• How defensive documentation works in real-life scenarios

  Editor’s note: This article is the second in a two-part series on defensive documentation...

• The feds are coming! The feds are coming!

  One facility’s double-whammy survey experienceIf you think a state survey is as stressful as...

• The next ‘new thing’—quality of care

  “Legal Matters” is written by Ronald H. Levine, Esq., a partner at...

Issue 8, August 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Does your quality assessment and assurance committee measure up?

  Does your quality assessment and assurance committee measure up?

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month's column was written by Julian Rich, president and chief executive officer of Penacook...

• Forget about reality orientation for residents with Alzheimer’s, dementi

  New approaches don’t force residents to live in the presentBarbara, a resident who suffers...

• The truth about unions—pass it on

  If a union organizer comes sniffing around your nursing home, do you know how to handle it? Some...

• Use defensive documentation to nip lawsuits, citations in the bud

  This article constitutes part one of a two-part series dealing with defensive documentation...

Issue 7, July 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month’s column was written by Kitt Wakeley, MHA, CNHA, senior consultant with the...

• CMS wants more muscle to conduct federal surveys of nursing homes

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is looking for the best and the...

• Don’t let admission date confusion pollute your billing

  Using correct admission dates is a critical part of accurate billing for skilled...

• Looking for referral sources in all the right places

  Fill the gaps in your census with these four tips on milking new referral sourcesWhen you take a...

• Recruit nurses with some old methods and new tricks, too

  There are enough recruitment ideas out there to fill a tome the size of War and Peace, and...

• SNFs: Watch out for whistleblowers

  If you don’t think a whistleblower lawsuit could ever happen in your nursing home, think...

• Legal Matters: The skinny on nutrition and hydration issues

  Legal Matters was written by Mitchell A. Cohen, an associate at the Philadelphia-based law...

Issue 6, June 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Are you ready to act as a backup for hospitals?

  In times of disaster, local hospitals can get flooded with patients needing emergency treatment...

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month’s column was written by Julian Rich, president and chief executive officer of...

• Don’t fall victim to the dangers of CHOW

  Legal Matters was written by Mitchell A. Cohen, an associate at the Philadelphia-based law firm of...

• Ergonomics rears its head again for nursing homes

  The federal government is serious about reducing ergonomics-related injuries in nursing home...

• How HIPAA is changing the way you do business

  The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)—complex, cumbersome...

• Nursing home quality is lead story

  Nursing home administrators in six states anxiously awaited ratings of their quality in late...

• Take steps to stabilize your falls prevention program

  Anytime you have a group of people who are unsteady on their feet, some falls...

Issue 5, May 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month’s column was written by Kitt Wakeley, MHA, CNHA, senior consultant with the...

• Find out what your residents really think

  Essential elements to effective resident satisfaction surveysExperts say using resident...

• Resident abuse in the spotlight

  Changes afoot for the way facilities handle allegationsAlready reeling from staffing shortages and...

• Try a new sick-day policy to beat your critical staffing crunches

  Every long-term care administrator has faced critical staffing shortages somewhere along the...

• Up your census with a smart admission policy

  If you’ve got holes in your census, you know you could be missing out on hundreds of dollars...

Issue 4, April 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month’s column was written by Julian Rich, president and chief executive officer of...

• Get your facility in the game with a great activities program

  Imagine how long a resident’s day might be without activities such as church services...

• Good customer service reduces the risk of lawsuits

  It’s often a disgruntled family member’s complaints to government authorities or...

• Legal Matters: It’s no secret—the privacy standards are here

  How to keep your residents’ information away from prying eyesLegal Matters was written by...

• Survey spotlight: Providing properly for resident needs and preferences

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Tag #F246 can be difficult to...

• The quality-of-life project from CMS

  What’s down the road for staffing and facility enhancementsAlthough everyone’s talking...

• Try ESL and GED programs to ensure your staff stick around

  When leaders at Goodwin House, Inc., were faced with how to curb turnover in the early 1990s, they...

Issue 3, March 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month’s column was written by Kitt Wakeley, MHA, CNHA, senior consultant with Pinnacle...

• Can your therapy billing withstand review?

  Make sure you avoid these seven common therapy billing errorsThe Centers for Medicare &...

• Does your quality assessment and assurance committee measure up?

  Your quality assessment and assurance committee can go a long way toward helping your facility...

• Legal Matters: Don’t let restraint use tie you in knots

  Try these best practices for reducing restraints safely in your...

• Get more bang for your buck with nontraditional benefits

  The cost of turnover at a long-term care facility—the time, re sources, training, and money...

• MedPAC edges SNFs closer to Medicare cliff

  When the federal Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) made its recommendations to Congress...

• New QIs on the horizon for SNFs

  What you need to do to prepare for the QI projectThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...

Issue 2, February 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Restorative nursing: How to get reimbursed

  Restorative nursing: How to get reimbursed

• Are you earning what you're worth as a long-term care administrator?

  Are you earning what you’re worth as a long-term care administrator?

• BLTCR Q&A

  BLTCR Q&A

• You may be missing out on these skilled services

  You may be missing out on these skilled services

• Handling the crazy or dangerous family member

  Handling the crazy or dangerous family member

• Heavy consequences

  Heavy consequences

• Incomplete disaster plans can be dangerous to resident health

  Incomplete disaster plans can be dangerous to resident health

• Some simple strategies to make staff stay

  Some simple strategies to make staff stay

• Try these inexpensive tips for food service success

  Try these inexpensive tips for food service success

Issue 1, January 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Risk management: An effective program can uncover problems, prevent lawsuits

  Risk management: An effective program can uncover problems, prevent lawsuits

• Don't ask hypothetical questions

  Catch them caring for retention success Mark Hemingway, BA, BS, vice...

• BLTCR Q&A

  BLTCR Q&A

• BLTCR 2001 Index

  BLTCR 2001 Index

• Know the hot spots to prepare for future surveys

  Know the hot spots to prepare for future surveys

• Getting paid when the FI says no

  1. Have billing staff keep a log of all correspondence with FIs 2. Appoint a staff member as a...

• Hot tip: The scoop on motorized scooters

  Hot tip: The scoop on motorized scooters

• Inadequate pain management can hurt your SNF

  Inadequate pain management can hurt your SNF

• Restorative nursing: How to get reimbursed

  Restorative nursing: How to get reimbursed

• Legal Matters: Risk management: An effective program can uncover problems, preve

  - trend analysis - credentialing activity - staff education - frequency and severity data...

• What works in the retention game

  What works in the retention game