Contemporary Long Term Care articles from August 2000

Contemporary Long Term Care archives from August 2000

Hey! I'm over here!
August 1, 2000... HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED JUST HOW far a little recognition takes us? The littlest thing like a "thank you" can carry us to Everest-like heights in a moment. History is filled with those who never got their due respect. Take English inventor...

JCAHO revises restraints standards.
August 1, 2000... Staff education, usage, and time limits emphasized MAJOR STANDARDS REVISIONS RELEASED recently by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) seek to reduce the use of restraints and seclusion in cases related...

Balanced budget unbalances SNFs.
August 1, 2000... The effects of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) and the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA) on Medicare payments to SNFs have been analyzed by The Lewin Group, a national policy research group. Some of the findings of the report,...

MORE THAN MONEY.
August 1, 2000... President Clinton has sent Congress a proposal that will restore $2 billion worth of Medicare spending for nursing home care. AAHSA is pleased that this important first step is being taken to address their concerns. However, it feels money...

MASS BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION.
August 1, 2000... Genesis Health Ventures' filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection recently brings to almost 23 percent the number of beds involved in bankruptcy proceedings, in Massachusetts since the beginning of last year. This is nearly a quarter of the...

SNF statistics for 1999 are in.
August 1, 2000... There were surprises in last year's numbers THE NURSING HOME STATISTTCAL YEAR-book, 1999 is off the presses and the report contains some surprising data. Published by AAHSA, the yearbook is an annual collection of nursing home statistics....

Alzheimer's still teeming.
August 1, 2000... Scientists' predictions a grim warning IF NOTHING IS DONE To STEM THE RISING tide of Alzheimer's disease cases, in 25 years 22 million people around the globe will suffer from the disease, scientists at a recent Alzheimer's meeting warned....

Unison Cypress.
August 1, 2000... Unison Cypress, a workflow solutions product for the post-acute health care industry from SHS.com, received an endorsement from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The system's functionality encompasses time management, resource...

NYSHFA to Congress: OSHA ergonomics standard not a good fit.
August 1, 2000... Association says it could damage quality of care SPEAKING TO CONGRESS IN APRIL, NEW York State Health Facilities Association (NYSHFA) Treasurer, Leonard Russ, said that the ergonomics standard proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health...

Pilot project combines vouchers, waivers.
August 1, 2000... U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Bloomfield Township) recently announced a pilot project in Oakland County, a suburb of Detroit, which would combine a federal Medicaid Waiver and a housing voucher from the Department of Housing and Urban...

Weinberg Village overhauls meal services.
August 1, 2000... A 75-bed assisted living facility housed on the campus of the Tampa (Florida) Jewish Community Center (JCC), the Weinberg Village has improved food quality and service while saving money. "I found the residents very dissatisfied with the...

New service.
August 1, 2000... "The first thing I did was to change the service structure," Brown says. All food preparation continued in the JCG main kitchen, but he added two to three cooks per meal. "Now the orders are read, the food is plated and delivered to Weinberg...

Costs cut.
August 1, 2000... "We're a completely kosher facility and kosher meats are expensive," Brown explains. "But with these new options, I found I've actually cut my costs." Per-day food-costs at the facility are now $6.75 per resident. "One of the complaints of...

Florida court tailors abuse suits.
August 1, 2000... The Sunshine State has long been known to long term care providers as a hotbed of litigation (see "Through the roof," May 2000 CLTC, page 40)--but a Florida appeals court has reined in the state when it comes to lawsuits over nursing home...

Washington State yanks 2nd Ameripark license.
August 1, 2000... The Washington state Department of Social and Health Services revoked the operating license of a Centralia, Wash., AmeriPark assisted living facility. The agency also restricted the facility from accepting new patients while AmeriPark appeals...

SHOW TIME.
August 1, 2000... THE CHARM AND PLUSH FAIRWAYS of the Pinehurst Resort, a golf and country club in Pinehurst, N.C., served as the backdrop to this year's LTC 100, the exclusive annual convocation of leading administrators in the long term care industry. ...

Taking it 'personally'.
August 1, 2000... We are consumers as well as providers of long term care MY LONG TERM CARE ADMINISTRATOR CAREER SPANS MORE than two decades. The death of my mother and father during the past few years, along with my father's stay at a nursing facility, have...

The agony and the ecstasy.
August 1, 2000... How to prepare for an assisted living launch LIKE A SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH AT CAPE CANAVERAL, AN ASSISTED living project launch can represent the most critical, high-risk phase of the entire development process. The cost of preparation and...

Up where they belong.
August 1, 2000... Invest in your CNAs as a work in progress At most facilities, loss of front-line staff is a critical problem. Shortages are so severe that some have suspended admissions. Since bare-bones reimbursement precludes payroll hikes, desperate...

The booming business of elder law.
August 1, 2000... Attorney David Ferber draws potential clients to the elder law seminars he holds in the basement auditorium of a Manchester, N.H., public library with newspaper ads promising that attendees will "learn the startling truth about nursing homes...

Acquisition financing.
August 1, 2000... Transactions will continue to be "high and tight," but how "high" and how "tight"? AT A BREAKOUT SESSION ON ACQUISITION FINANCING DURING ALFA's spring show in Orlando, moderator Mel Garazon, president of Senior Housing Investment Advisors,...

Painful truths.
August 1, 2000... Treating chronic pain in residents can cure many industry ills ONE OF THE MOST PERVASIVE AND COSTLY PROBLEMS IN long term care is also one of the most neglected. The vast majority of chronic pain remains untreated, overlooked, or mistakenly...

CORPORATE LADDER.
August 1, 2000... Gregory D. Bearce has been named senior vice president of operations and chief operating officer, and Benjamin Beckler III vice president of project development for Glendale, Calif-based Southern California Presbyterian Homes, which operates...

Vencor amends DIP financing, extends maturity to September.
August 1, 2000... Vencor, based in Louisville, Ky., has agreed with its lenders to amend (the "Amendment") the company's debtor-in-possession financing (the "DIP Financing") to extend the maturity until Sept. 30, 2000. The Amendment also revises certain...

Advocat posts 1st quarter results.
August 1, 2000... Reporting increased earnings, Franklin, Tenn.-based Advocat recently made public its operating and financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2000. The company enjoyed earnings of $85,000 compared with a loss of $983,000 for...

Radius Management Services created.
August 1, 2000... Roush & Associates has formed Radius Management Services to provide comprehensive long-term management services to post-acute care and senior service organizations. Also offering transitional, a la carte and ad hoc management services, the...

Growing family.
August 1, 2000... Johnson & Johnson Medical introduces ADAPTIG X Xeroform Gauze and ADAPTIC*PG Petrolatum Gauze to its line of non-adherent wound dressing products.

Honeycomb products get personal.
August 1, 2000... The Stimulite Honeycomb Loofah, the first personal care product in Supracor's Stimulite honeycomb line, exfoliates dead skin while stimulating tissues.

Maintain heel elevation without restraints.
August 1, 2000... Biomedical Systems added a Slip-Guard to their Heeler Inflatable Heel Protector. The new feature keeps the foot elevated without restricting movements during sleep.

Wound care to sleep on.
August 1, 2000... Direct Supply's Panacea mattress features a nylon-covered area of variable density for pressure wound management.

Spray-on anesthetic.
August 1, 2000... Spray Medix DermaFreeze on skin to anesthetize in seconds.

Allergy-free tape.
August 1, 2000... The Original Pink Tape surgical tape is now hypoallergenic. Hy-Tape Corporation announces its improved product line, Hy-Tape Latex-Free.

Ramblin' Rose.
August 1, 2000... Rose is the picture of independence. She lives on her own, is not afraid to eat out by herself at local restaurants, and drives herself wherever she needs to go. She is an independent thinker and is full of energy and wit. Recently,...

Seniors living single: a woman's world.
August 1, 2000... Seventy-five percent of nursing home residents mid two thirds of home care consumers are women. But because of the impact of marital status on income level, paying for long term care out of pocket is out of reach for millions of them. The...