Contemporary Long Term Care articles from June 2001

Contemporary Long Term Care archives from June 2001

Naming names.
June 1, 2001... ALLAN COHEN (JOURNALIST AND adjunct professor at C.W. Post); Groucho Marx; Liz Taub (Freeport High School student, class of '78); Barbara Bertaccini (Freeport High School English teacher); Oscar Wilde (Irish writer); Neil Simon (American...

IN BOX.
June 1, 2001... Another black eye for the survey process? Who could argue in favor of a provider whose facility has a history of substandard-care deficiencies? (See "Surviving the survey process... or hiding behind it?" April 2001 CLTC, page 16.)...

Safety in numbers.
June 1, 2001... We've all heard it before. There's safety in numbers. Never has that been more true than in the long term care facility. No, it's not that the seniors are banding together in "wilding" sprees, or that teams of rogue CNAs are...

Who's monitoring resident health?
June 1, 2001... I'M SO GLAD WE WERE ABLE TO GET MOTHER ADMITTED HERE," says the daughter of a newly admitted resident. "I was so worried about her living alone. She wasn't eating right and I don't think she was taking her medication correctly. She's probably...

Who's watching the wanderers?
June 1, 2001... CNAs must be well trained for their critical role in dementia care MARY, AN 81-YEAR-OLD RESIDENT OF YOUR FACIUTY'S ALZHEIMER'S unit, wanders aimlessly up and down the hail, ambling slowly, peering into other resident rooms. She enters...

INCREASING SAFETY, MANAGING RISK.
June 1, 2001... The four-letter word that makes every provider shudder, risk diminishes only with safety awareness heightened to the max BEFORE CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS BECAME STANDARD INDUSTRY PRACTICE, A LONG TERM CARE administrator in Illinois paid...

Safe passages.
June 1, 2001... Lose the institutional look without sacrificing safety WITH THE PRACTICE OF CLUSTER PLANNING, THE TRADITIONAL floor plans of senior living facilities are evolving into innovative arrangements of Main Streets, neighborhoods, and...

THE STRIKE IS ON!
June 1, 2001... About 1,600 SNF workers in the New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199, at 16 nursing homes walked off the job in the first two days of an open-ended strike. By the third day of the strike, those numbers could swell to more...

SNF chains in turmoil.
June 1, 2001... States seize troubled nursing homes TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA HAVE TAKEN over several nursing homes owned by Oklahoma-based Crescent HealthCare and TLC Healthcare, while Oklahoma is monitoring facilities owned by the two companies. State...

A call for long term care authors.
June 1, 2001... As part of their joint Seniors Housing & Care Program, The National Investment Center for the Seniors housing & Care Industries (NIC) and Johns Hopkins University have issued a "call for papers" for the 2001 Seniors Housing & Care Journal....

Bush taps Scully for top HCFA post.
June 1, 2001... AHCA applauds nomination PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH HAS NOMinated Thomas A. Scully as administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). Scully is president and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, a trade...

American Seniors Housing Association.
June 1, 2001... IN BRIEF Percentage of assisted living residents needing help with ADLs: 1998/1999 ALFA 99 NCAL 98 NIC 98 Eating ...

Corrections & amplifications.
June 1, 2001... In the May 2001 CLTC "Newsfronts" section, we erroneously cited nurses in the headline of an article about how "...CNAs, dietary and maintenance workers at 40 Connecticut nursing homes..." were being investigated for sabotaging a facility and...

Okla. to hire more surveyors.
June 1, 2001... Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating has signed a general appropriations bill that gives the state's Department of Health $200,000 to hire 34 additional nursing home inspectors. Health department officials and nursing home operators agree that the...

A restaurateur's approach.
June 1, 2001... Don't just hope for a good dining experience--create one! HOW MANY OF YOU CAN'T WAIT TO INVITE FRIENDS OVER for a private dinner party at your facility featuring the cuisine that is served to your residents? Or, if you were served food at...

Is this really a nursing home?
June 1, 2001... Innovative models focus on enhancing quality of life LONG TERM CARE RECEIVES SO MUCH NEGATIVE PRESS THESE days that we tend to overlook the positives. Yet, one need not look far. Positives include innovative models with residents and...

Ingenuity encounters incontinence.
June 1, 2001... CAREGIVERS' CREATIVITY MAY BE THE KEY TO PRESERVING RESIDENTS' DIGNITY AND SAFETY In the Saul Alzheimer's Unit at the 816-bed Bronx Division of the Jewish Home & Hospital, aide Daphne Bartley knew firsthand the repetitive behavior of a...

OUR ANNUAL TRIBUTE TO PEOPLE WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
June 1, 2001... It is a privilege to recognize those in the industry whose advocacy, attention to detail, innovation, leadership, and understanding serve as an inspiration to others in long term care. This year's five honorees have set new standards in the...

Medicare decision reversed.
June 1, 2001... Landmark decision raises serious questions about surveys IN WHAT APPEARS TO BE THE FIRST DECISION OF ITS TYPE, A FEDeral administrative law judge (ALJ) has overruled the termination of a skilled nursing facility from the Medicare Program...

Vencor sheds bankruptcy cocoon.
June 1, 2001... The former Vencor Inc. has emerged from more than a year and a half in bankruptcy with $120 million in operating credit and a new name. The Louisville, Ky.-based chain, which operates 313 nursing homes and 56 long term care hospitals in 46...

Benchmark buys eight communities.
June 1, 2001... With the purchase of eight properties, Benchmark Assisted Living, Wellesley Hills, Mass., has boosted its portfolio to 23 assisted living communities. According to Benchmark, this acquisition makes it the largest company of its kind in New...

CORPORATE LADDER.
June 1, 2001... Stuart Ostfeld has been promoted to executive director for Aegis of Laguna Niguel, a Redmond, Wash.-based Aegis Assisted Living facility. The Rev. Dr. Dale G. Gatz joined The Wartburg Adult Care Community in Mt. Vernon, N.Y., as president...

Personal medication dispensing system.
June 1, 2001... Interactive Medical Developments' MD.2 Personal Medication System organizes, dispenses, and monitors solid, oral medications.

Medication carts.
June 1, 2001... Lionville Med Carts readily adapt to virtually every medication distribution system and feature several security options.

New med carts.
June 1, 2001... Direct Supply offers a full line of newly designed medication carts, specially built to stand up to the heaviest day-to-day use.

Automated medication dispenser.
June 1, 2001... MedReady dispenser sounds an audible alarm, its sliding door closes, and the cup of medications to be taken advances. Alarm sounds until door is opened to take medications.

Lightweight carts.
June 1, 2001... Armstrong Medical's aluminum A-Smart Premier Cart offers customized locking system so drawers can be locked in any combination. Also available with a Keyless locking system.

Automate LTC pharmacies.
June 1, 2001... AutoMed Technologies Inc.'s QuickPik LTC automates filling prescription orders for patients in LTC facilities. The system utilizes barcode technology to manage inventory and help minimize the potential of medication dispensing errors.

Personal med packs.
June 1, 2001... Medicine-On-Time prescription packaging system custom packages medications into dosage bubbles on a color-coded calendar card.