McKnight's Long-Term Care News articles from April 2005

McKnight's Long-Term Care News archives from April 2005

2 bills revoke therapy caps.
April 1, 2005... Senate and House lawmakers have introduced legislation to repeal payment limits for Medicare therapy services. "Action is needed to address the therapy caps this year," said Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), a sponsor. Reps. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and...

'New' AHCA mantra: more political reach.
April 1, 2005... House Speaker Dennis Hastert made a surprise visit to a gathering of nursing home providers last month in Washington. The appearance of the man just "two heartbeats" from the Oval Office sent a sublime message that complemented his brief...

Beverly posts 'for sale' sign.
April 1, 2005... Beverly Enterprises is on the auction block. The company's board unanimously approved a sale after it became clear ir was about to lose control of the nation's largest nursing home operator. An investor consortium led by Formation Capital...

Average year for the flu bug.(NEWS)
April 1, 2005... Average year for the flu bug BY LIZA BERGER While the flu season began dramatically with a vaccine shortage, flu activity this year may have been typical of years past. As of mid-March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said...

Disparities in mental help.(NEWS)
April 1, 2005... Many African-American seniors do not receive treatment for depression, a new study says. About 1 in 5 elderly Medicaid recipients diagnosed with depression get neither psychotherapy nor a prescription for antidepressants, the study said....

Providers back plan to reward good care.(NEWS)
April 1, 2005... New legislation designed to reward good care with higher Medicare payments gained quick support from a coalition of the nation's largest operators. "It makes sense to reward top performers, just as it makes sense to penalize the poorest...

Bush: drug benefit changes OK.(NEWS)
April 1, 2005... President Bush has given change-minded providers a glimmer of hope regarding the new Medicare drug benefit. Bush has clarified that while he would veto efforts to repeal the law that contains the benefit, he would not necessarily oppose...

The Supreme Court.(At deadline)
April 1, 2005... >> The Supreme Court declined the life-support case of Terri Schiavo, and a state judge rejected Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's effort to have her feeding tube reinserted. For more on the issue and its possible implications for providers, see John...

Nursing homes.(At deadline)
April 1, 2005... >> Nursing homes without installed sprinkler systems or hard-wired smoke detectors will be required to install battery-operated detectors, under a CMS-proposed final rule. Fatal facility fires in Connecticut and Tennessee spurred the proposed...

Residents in nursing homes have more physical disabilities and greater cognitive impairment than they did a decade ago, according to a study from Miami (Ohio) University's Scripps Gerontology Center.(At deadline)
April 1, 2005... >> Residents in nursing homes have more physical disabilities and greater cognitive impairment than they did a decade ago, according to a study from Miami (Ohio) University's Scripps Gerontology Center. Researchers examined physical and mental...

States are growing increasingly concerned that "clawback" rules in the new Medicare law will translate to financial losses, especially for medications in nursing homes.(At deadline)
April 1, 2005... States are growing increasingly concerned that "clawback" rules in the new Medicare law will translate to financial losses, especially for medications in nursing homes. The provisions require states to return saved money back to the federal...

60 seconds with ... Kevin Eckert.(NEWS)(Interview)
April 1, 2005... Q: As newly appointed dean, what do you emphasize about this young school? A: As far as I know, there is only one other independent school of aging studies or gerontology: the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at USC. Our school will...

Governors agree to delay Medicaid talks until fall.(NEWS)
April 1, 2005... U.S. governors, who butted heads in recent months with the Bush administration over proposed Medicaid cuts, have agreed with House Republicans to postpone a discussion of Medicaid reform proposals until the fall. House Budget Committee...

Study: more geriatric training required.(NEWS)
April 1, 2005... Medical schools are failing to adequately train specialists in aspects of geriatric care, a new study says. "Until recently, most physician visits by geriatric patients were to primary care providers," said Elizabeth Bragg, of the...

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued an interim final rule implementing major revisions to the Medicare claims appeal process.(Regulatory Update)
April 1, 2005... * The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued an interim final rule implementing major revisions to the Medicare claims appeal process. Comments are due by May 9. The new procedures will be phased in beginning May 1.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee released recommendations Feb. 28.(Regulatory Update)
April 1, 2005... * The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee released recommendations Feb. 28 for policymakers seeking to create mandatory public reporting systems of healthcare-associated...

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) re-introduced the "Long-Term Care Quality Improvement Act," which requires separate reporting of expenditures to direct-care staff.(Bill Watch)
April 1, 2005... * Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) re-introduced the "Long-Term Care Quality Improvement Act," which requires separate reporting of expenditures to direct-care staff. It also mandates that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services develop tested...

Nursing homes and other facilities would be able to accelerate sprinkler-system.(Bill Watch)
April 1, 2005... Nursing homes and other facilities would be able to accelerate sprinkler-system depreciation--a benefit likely to spur greater use--under legislation introduced by Sens. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Curt Weldon (R-PA).

Ask the care expert.(NEWS: Resident Care)
April 1, 2005... We have an unpredictable wanderer. We're worried agitation might get worse. Any quick tips on what we can do to help her? It's useful to view this resident's wandering as undiscovered in cause rather than merely unpredictable. Wandering...

Med errors plague 1 in 10 residents, study suggests.(NEWS: Resident Care)
April 1, 2005... About 1 out of every l0 nursing home residents each month are victims of a medication-related error, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School who examined drug-related problems at two large...

Study: care to dying may come too late.(NEWS: Resident Care)
April 1, 2005... Palliative care might be enlisted too late to be of much use to many residents and their families. A recent survey of 318 Japanese families of cancer patients found that half of the families thought doctors referred their relatives to...

Estrogen may actually harm rather than improve the problem of a leaky bladder in postmenopausal women.(Caregiving Update)
April 1, 2005... * Estrogen may actually harm rather than improve the problem of a leaky bladder in postmenopausal women, according to findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Findings are based on a study of 23,296 healthy postmenopausal...

Exercise may prevent or slow two serious diseases, two studies said.(Caregiving Update)
April 1, 2005... * Exercise may prevent or slow two serious diseases, two studies said. Middle-aged people taking regular exercise at least twice a week could reduce their risks of developing Alzheimer's by 50%, one study said. Men who exercised regularly and...

Access to physician services for Medicare beneficiaries 65 and older improved following a decline between 1997 and 2001.(Caregiving Update)
April 1, 2005... * Access to physician services for Medicare beneficiaries 65 and older improved following a decline between 1997 and 2001, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Changes. About 9.9% of these seniors reported delayed or...

Ask the nursing expert.(NEWS: Nursing)
April 1, 2005... It's very difficult finding a good time to schedule in-services that staff will want to attend. Any ideas? Staff need to know that the person scheduling the continuing education in the facility is committed to reaching all employees on all...

State aide registries rife with problems, IG finds.(NURSING: Nursing)
April 1, 2005... State registries put in place to prevent aides with a troubled past from fleeing to another state are often inadequate, according to a federal report. "At least 24 of the 38 states that we analyzed in detail did not meet federal...

Free staff vaccines lead to greater use.(NEWS: Nursing)
April 1, 2005... Healthcare workers are much more likely to receive flu vaccinations when they are available for free at work, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although vaccinations have been shown to reduce illness and...

Folate and vitamin B12 reduce the risk of hip fracture resulting from falls.(Medication Update)
April 1, 2005... * Folate and vitamin B12 reduce the risk of hip fracture resulting from falls, according to a study in which 628 elderly stroke patients were given the dietary supplements or placebos. Japanese researchers found that while the number of falls...

An FDA advisory panel has made non-binding recommendations to the FDA stating that COX-2 inhibitor drugs.(Medication Update)
April 1, 2005... * An FDA advisory panel has made non-binding recommendations to the FDA stating that COX-2 inhibitor drugs (i.e., Merck's Vioxx and Pfizer's Celebrex) should remain on the market, but with strong warnings that the drugs increase a patient's...

A hemophilia drug may be a magic bullet for bleeding stroke, according to new findings.(Medication Update)
April 1, 2005... A hemophilia drug may be a magic bullet for bleeding stroke, according to new findings. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Medical College of Wisconsin have already successfully used the hemophilia drug, called...

Ask the payment expert.(NEWS: Payment & Policy)
April 1, 2005... I have new MDS nurses in my facility and I'm having difficulty explaining PPS to them. Do you have an easy explanation for nurses? As I conduct workshops across the country. I find that clinicians need to relate payment to resident needs. I...

Senate budget measure delays cuts, adds panel.(NEWS: Payment & Policy)
April 1, 2005... At press time, the Senate voted 52-to-48 to remove huge Medicaid cuts from the 2006 fiscal year budget. The measure includes an industry-friendly amendment backed by Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) to set up a Medicaid commission. The panel would...

Minimum wage stays put.(NEWS: Payment & Policy)
April 1, 2005... Senate lawmakers rejected two partisan measures that would have raised the minimum wage above $5.15 per hour. A Democratic proposal would have increased the amount to $7.35 over the next 26 months, while a Republican proposal offered a...

Go figure.(NEWS: Payment & Policy)
April 1, 2005... 18.7 Healthcare spending will account for 18.7% of the nation's gross domestic product in 2014, according to a forecast by federal economists appearing on healthaffairs.org. The figure reached 15.3% in 2003. 100 The nation's healthcare...

Kindred Healthcare Inc.(Business Briefs)
April 1, 2005... >> Kindred Healthcare Inc. made a profit of $19 million in fourth quarter 2004, following a loss of $30 million in the same period the previous year. Revenues totaled $903 million, compared with $816 million in 2003. It lost $43 million last...

Beverly Enterprises Inc.(Business Briefs)
April 1, 2005... >> Beverly Enterprises Inc. earned $6 million in the fourth quarter, a decrease of 85% compared with the same quarter last year, reflecting a net loss of $9 million from discontinued operations. Revenues rose 10% to $517 million. Yearly...

Ventas Inc.'s.(Business Briefs)
April 1, 2005... >> Ventas Inc.'s fourth quarter profits fell 39% to $47 million. Income was higher in last year's fourth quarter due to larger gains on the sale of real estate. Quarterly revenues rose to $62 million. For the year, profits slipped to $121...

Extendicare Inc.(Business Briefs)
April 1, 2005... >> Extendicare Inc., of Markham, Ontario, more than tripled its profits in the fourth quarter to (Canadian) $59 million. It benefited from a cash dividend from Crown Life Insurance Company and a tax benefit. Quarterly revenue declined to $426...

National Healthcare Corp.(Business Briefs)
April 1, 2005... >> National Healthcare Corp. earned $9 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 34% compared to a year ago. Revenues expanded to $151 million. For the year, earnings rose to $24 million and revenues improved to $522 million. Strong...

Sun Healthcare Group Inc.(Business Briefs)
April 1, 2005... >> Sun Healthcare Group Inc. lost $4 million in the fourth quarter due to a $9.2 million Ions on discontinued operations. That compares to a loss of $14 million in the quarter last year. Revenues for the quarter rose to $206 million. It...

Beverly buys some time by seeking new bidders.(Companies)
April 1, 2005... Almost from the beginning, Beverly Enterprises' directors did not want to sell the company to an uninvited suitor. Beverly (now BEI) leaders said an unsolicited bid was too low--and backed by questionable financing. Company officials also...

SEIU may bolt from AFL-CI0.(Companies)
April 1, 2005... For an increasingly frustrated Andy Stern, getting the AFL-CIO executive council to consider his plan to shift $35 million in union funds toward organizing efforts was a top priority. The council weighed his request last month, but ultimately...

Tommy Thompson: The former HHS secretary.(Good month)
April 1, 2005... * Tommy Thompson: The former HHS secretary accepted offers from a leading law and consulting firm in Washington.

Aspirin.(Good month)
April 1, 2005... * Aspirin: A daily dose can prevent heart attacks in elderly women, according to the Women's Health Study.

Fire safety.(Good month)
April 1, 2005... * Fire safety: Legislation was introduced that gives nursing homes tax breaks when they install sprinkler systems.

Living longer.(Good month)
April 1, 2005... * Living longer: The average life expectancy in the United States jumped to a record 77.6 years in 2003, the CDC said.

Delaware.(Good month)
April 1, 2005... * Delaware: The state's Economic and Financial Advisory Council predicted annual revenues will be $51 million more than earlier expected.

Social Security overhaul.(Bad month)
April 1, 2005... * Social Security overhaul: Seniors weighed in against a proposal that would allow people to invest some of their funds into personal investment accounts.

Seniors' finances.(Bad month)
April 1, 2005... * Seniors' finances: Not counting home equity, people between the ages of 65 and 69 have a median net worth of less than $28,000, according to a report from the MetLife Mature Market Institute, Westport, CT.

The minimum wage.(Bad month)
April 1, 2005... * The minimum wage: Senate lawmakers rejected two measures that would have raised the minimum wage for the first time since 1996.

Medicaid reform.(Bad month)
April 1, 2005... * Medicaid reform:: The president and the nation's governors failed to reach a quick compromise on improving Medicaid.

Residents and staff.(IT Update)
April 1, 2005... >> Residents and staff with hand tremors can use a mouse more easily, thanks to a new computer mouse adapter from IBM Corp. The mouse adapter filters out the shaking movements of the hand in a way comparable to the image stabilizing system...

A partnered study.(IT Update)
April 1, 2005... >> A partnered study demonstrates a relationship between information technology and the quality of care for people living in long-term care facilities. A yearlong examination of the Matrix product documented declines in nurse-staff turnover,...

Four organizations.(IT Update)
April 1, 2005... >> Four organizations have developed a "crosswalk" to help healthcare organizations map existing security policies and technologies to requirements of the HIPAA security rule. The security rule has a compliance date of April 20. The...

The nation's governors.(IT Update)
April 1, 2005... >> The nation's governors said Congress should enact a National Health Care Innovations Program to support state led demonstrations in five areas, including information technology. The governors propose focusing on 10 to 15 such projects...

Operators cracking down on workers' e-mail habits.(Technology)
April 1, 2005... Harry Stonecipher is the new poster child for inappropriate e-mail use. The CEO at Boeing Co. was recently ousted when the board learned of an e-mail he sent to a co-worker with whom he was having an affair. Stonecipher is hardly alone....

Compromise on 'granny cam' law.(SOUTHEAST)
April 1, 2005... ARKANSAS -- Slight changes in a state bill to allow cameras in nursing homes to monitor patients have helped to appease nursing home operators. Nursing home representatives now "agree in principle" to the bill because it clearly states the...

More worker scrutiny.(OKLAHOMA)
April 1, 2005... The state Senate has unanimously approved Gov. Brad Henry's nursing home reform initiatives that call for closer scrutiny of nursing home facilities and workers on numerous levels. Non-employees would not be spared under the measure. Henry...

Delay in fire response revealed.(OKLAHOMA)
April 1, 2005... TENNESSEE -- Court documents in the trial over a deadly fire at the National HealthCare Corp. nursing home in Nashville in Sept. 2003 indicate there was a 16 minute delay in calling a second alarm. The fire resulted in a total of 25 deaths. ...

Cap on lawsuit awards.(MIDWEST)
April 1, 2005... MISSOURI -- A bill in the Missouri Legislature would place a cap on pain and suffering awards and make it more difficult for residents to sue nursing home operators for neglect and collect for injury and death. Currently, there is no state...

Grand jury indicts executive.(MIDWEST)
April 1, 2005... IOWA -- A federal grand jury has indicted Larry Hinman, the regional director at Care Initiatives Iowa West Des Moines, for allegedly ordering nursing home employees to conceal residents' injuries from state health inspectors. From 1997...

Inspections still inconsistent.(MIDWEST)
April 1, 2005... MINNESOTA -- Results from a legislative auditor's report raises suspicions that state auditors still may be applying federal regulations inconsistently. More than two years ago, it was found that Minnesota Department of Health nursing home...

Union pressures owners.(MIDWEST)
April 1, 2005... ILLINOIS -- An informational picket representing thousands of nursing home employees made big waves in the Chicago area recently, as major media latched onto the story. The picketing came after four months of contract talks between 117...

Nursing home bed shortage.(NORTHEAST)
April 1, 2005... CONNECTICUT -- The state's nursing home industry has witnessed the fastest rate of closings, contributing to the highest occupancy rates since the 1970s, according to industry experts. "The system is imploding," said Toni Fatone, executive...

Union pleads for higher wages.(NORTHEAST)
April 1, 2005... NEW JERSEY -- A union representing more than 4,000 nursing home workers in New Jersey has been pushing for wage increases and standardized wages that it says will cut down on salary variations from facility to facility. The union, whose...

Providers oppose payment cuts.(NORTHEAST)
April 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- The New York Association of Homes & Services for the Aging is urging state lawmakers to reconsider efforts to cut nursing home payments. The organization said that the nearly $500 million in Medicaid cuts New York legislators...

Tax on nursing homes.(NORTHEAST)
April 1, 2005... NEW JERSEY -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have approved a proposal by state Medicaid officials for a nursing home tax. New Jersey nursing homes will pay an estimated $147 million a year as a result of the provider tax,...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2005... A headline for a state news item in our February issue (p, 16) incorrectly referred to "facilities" being let "off the hook," when, in fact, the Arizona regulatory board that was referred to oversees individuals running the facilities, as the...

Ask the legal expert.(NEWS: Legal Matters)
April 1, 2005... If we want to do a background check on a prospective employee, whom should we contact? In the healthcare industry, certain types of background checks are statutorily mandated, such as criminal background checks and licensure. When...

Administrators looking at extra insurance coverage.(NEWS: Legal Matters)
April 1, 2005... Concerned with possible legal exposure, many administrators are considering a new insurance option. Individual administrators' liability insurance is a supplemental policy that helps reduce exposure when facility coverage is inadequate or...

Ant lawsuit costs Mariner $1.8 million.(NEWS: Legal Matters)
April 1, 2005... One of the nation's largest nursing home chains has agreed to pay $1.8 million to the family of a bedridden resident who died after receiving hundreds of ant bites. Earl Dean Griffith, 73, was recuperating from surgery at the Atlantic...

Providers pumping up political muscle: with a political veteran leading, AHCA is mounting a campaign to grow access and influence.(NEWS: Analysis)
April 1, 2005... St. Patrick's Day couldn't have arrived at a more fitting time for nursing home providers this year because that was when they discovered a potential pot of gold. In the face of unlikely odds, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) bucked his own...

How to do it ... build census: "if your admissions people can't sell and don't even know, much less ask, the closing questions, your beds will remain empty.".(Business & Marketing)
April 1, 2005... Building census is surely one of the most important responsibilities of every administrator. The battle for profitability begins and ends with occupancy. It drives the revenue. Serious and chronic census problems, unacceptable numbers of...

Quiet & faithful leader.(Profile)
April 1, 2005... David Horazdovsky CEO, Good Samaritan Society DAVID HORAZDOVSKY KNEW he had found the right line of work after he met Bertha. It was the late 1970s and the somewhat fussy, elderly nursing home resident was always looking for attention from...

To be or not to be: who picks?(THE BIG PICTURE)
April 1, 2005... As this issue went to press, the Supreme Court had just decided not to intervene in the case involving Terri Schiavo. She has spent the past decade and a half in a Florida nursing home. There, she has been "treated" for a condition clinicians...

Most Beverly sale intrigue is probably yet to come.(Editor's DESK)
April 1, 2005... The ultimate winners and losers in the Beverly Enterprises sale event won't probably be known for many months. This spectacle should become only more interesting as time wears on. True, there's a chance that nobody else will bid on the...

Reader Poll: "what's your advice to someone considering a career in long-term care?".(Opinion)
April 1, 2005... "A career in long-term care takes patience and dedication, and the ability to see the person holistically. In an industry where needs are great and resources are spread thin, it takes a strong and sincere person to advocate for the vulnerable...

Comments show lack of respect for DONs?(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... On behalf of NADONA's 6,000+ members who are directors of nursing and assistant directors of nursing in long term care, I need to comment on the association executive interview in your February 2005 issue. Specifically, the article states...

Food for thought on Medicaid.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... Just a note to let you know that I really appreciated the March issue. Excellent format and good articles! What impressed me besides the new format was the crispness and conciseness of the informative articles. Each article was to the...

Praise for new look. .(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... I certainly appreciate the new size of your magazine. I know it was hard to "misplace" the larger size, but the new size is much easier to handle and therefore more enjoyable to read. --Nancy Pryor, administrator, Heritage Manor, Pana, IL

Correction.(Letters)(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2005... Michael Noda's company was incorrectly identified in the story "Capital improvements" on page 30 of our February issue, He is a vice president for CFI.

Ramping up: low-floor buses are a widely popular innovation in long-term care transportation this year, for a variety of resident-friendly reasons.(Transportation)
April 1, 2005... Among the many innovations appearing in long-term care buses, the hottest one is well grounded. Although common in the mass transit sector, low-floor buses are being seen more often at nursing homes and other seniors housing settings. ...

Getting personal: providers can expect greater demands from state surveyors once CMS's new guidance of incontinence care passes final clearance.(Incontinence)
April 1, 2005... By its very nature, incontinence care is one of the most personalized endeavors in healthcare. Well, it's about to get even more personal. New federal guidelines will mandate that state surveyors look to see that individualized...

ALFA-ACHCA 2005.(Showstoppers)
April 1, 2005... Product information is provided by manufacturers. This publication has not independently tested manufacturers' products and cannot assume responsibility for the validity of product claims. SUNRISE MEDICAL LTC Sunrise Medical LTC...