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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 12, December 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Six ways Florida nursing homes helped cut the risk of lawsuits

  A dramatic decrease in the number of nursing home-related lawsuits filed in Florida during the past...

• A key to Part D: What medications PDPs will cover, possible appeals

  As nursing homes struggle to understand the ins and outs of the Medicare Part D prescription drug...

• Consider residents’ safety, dignity to comply with HIPAA privacy requirements

  When it comes to long-term care, the rules for HIPAA compliance can be even more complicated than...

• BLTCR Q&A

  Editor’s note: This month’s column was written by Julian Rich, president and CEO of...

Issue 11, November 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CMS plans to link nursing home performance to reimbursement

  In the not too distant future, CMS will tie Medicare reimbursement to a nursing home’s...

• CNAs share their tips on how to care for residents with dementia

  With more elderly people developing dementia and eventually needing nursing home care, the staff in...

• BLTCR Q&A

  Editor’s note: This month’s column was written by Kitt Wakeley, MPA, MHA, LNHA, owner...

Issue 10, October 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Short-term rehab can be a new revenue source for nursing homes

  You’ve been hearing it for a while now: There’s a new frontier for skilled nursing...

• A basic lesson in the complex rules of consolidated billing

  Consolidated billing is nothing new to long-term care, but the rules for reimbursement can still...

• BLTCR Q&A

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

Issue 9, September 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Facilities may find good and bad news in the SNF PPS Final Rule

  Nursing home administrators will need to take a close look at the skilled nursing facility (SNF...

• CMS begins testing of new computer-assisted survey process

  In October, CMS will begin testing a new computer-assisted survey process for nursing homes...

• Nursing home quality reports have a different look

  Without much fanfare, CMS has come out with something new--the merged quality measure (QM)/quality...

• Reeducate your staff about fire safety

  A rash of recent nursing home fires serves as a reminder to administrators about the need for...

• BLTCR Q&A

  Editor’s note: This month’s column was written by Kitt Wakeley, MHA, CNHA, owner and...

Issue 8, August 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Know the ins and outs of the new Medicare notice of noncoverage

  It could be costly if you don’t understand the new two-step process from CMS that provides an...

• Three ways nursing homes solved their staffing problems

  A government study highlighted best practices that you can adapt to solve staffing problems in your...

• BLTCR Q&A

  Editor’s note: This month’s column was written by Julian Rich, president and CEO of...

Issue 7, July 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Prepare now: Surveyors to focus on the role of medical directors

  Starting in July, nursing homes will need to comply with new interpretive guidelines for their...

• Look to the future: Get ready for the electronic health record

  Start your facility on the road to electronic health records (EHR) by updating your computer...

• ’C. dif’ a more worrisome infection control problem

  Healthcare facilities are seeing an increase in C. difficile infections. With a more toxic strain...

• Home sweet (nursing) home is the wave of the future

  In the coming years, successful managers will make their facilities homier, give residents more...

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month’s column was written by Kitt Wakeley, MHA, CNHA, owner and cofounder of Valir...

Issue 6, June 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Big continence care changes ahead

  The advance copy of the incontinence guidelines, which will take effect June 27, are in the hands...

• Remember the rules of resident trusts

  Make sure your staff know they must promptly refund money in the resident trust when a resident...

• Here’s what you need to know to offer hospice

  Most often the hospice organization classifies and bills this care as routine and continuous...

• New nursing home payment rule: Loss or wash?

  CMS added nine new Resource Utilization Group (RUG) categories, eliminated the $1.4 billion in...

• BLTCR Q&A

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

Issue 5, May 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Know what's in your medical records

  Properly documenting the care your facility gives its residents is a bit like being on the high...

• Choose the right electronic health record technology for your facility

  Remember when you first got your home computer? It may have seem ed like the most complicated...

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month's column was written by Kitt Wakeley, MHA, CNHA, senior consultant with Valir Health in...

Issue 4, April 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Prepare now for Medicare Part D

  The final changes are in and it's official: The Medicare Part D prescription drug plan won't to be...

• So long, DAVE, says CMS

  Much fanfare followed CMS' launch of the Data Assessment and Verification (DAVE) project early last...

• Stay fresh: Some ideas to stay sane on the job

  If you manage a nursing home, there's a lot to worry about. You have to keep residents and families...

• Establish a smoking policy that's fair for everyone

  Some nursing homes have smoking policies that are too strict, according to a spokesperson for the...

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month's column was written by Julian Rich, president and CEO of Penacook Place Nursing and...

Issue 3, March 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Bush's budget would put Medicaid funding on the chopping block

  If President Bush's budget passes, you'll be saying goodbye to some already-scarce Medicaid...

• New sprinkler requirements to rain down on nursing homes

  If your nursing home does not have automatic sprinklers protecting your facility, prepare to...

• Avoid lawsuits by devising an English-language policy that is clear and fair

  With more workers who are not native English speakers employed in long-term care, one challenge for...

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month's column was written by Kitt Wakeley, MHA, CNHA, senior consultant with Valir Health in...

Issue 2, February 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Control incontinence, control costs

  Incontinence affects about half of all nursing home residents and can lead to serious health and...

• What you can do to fluff a flat census

  For nursing home administrators, the aging of the Baby Boom generation has been a comforting...

• Easing residents' pain doesn't have to hurt your budget

  Eight nursing home corporations eased pain in their long-stay residents by 45%, bettering the 38...

• Research and plan to fill your building

  Your facility's census is down, and you notice the facility across town has started a new program...

• BLTCR Q&A

  This month's column was written by Julian Rich, president and CEO of Penacook Place Nursing and...

Issue 1, January 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Have no fear: Meet HIPAA head on

  Nursing home administrators have already met deadlines for the HIPAA privacy rule and the...

• Help your residents deal with grief

  When a resident in your facility dies, chances are you provide bereavement support to the family...

• BLTCR Q&A

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