Contemporary Long Term Care articles from March 2000

Contemporary Long Term Care archives from March 2000

Change is in the air.
March 1, 2000... IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN. SPRING IS a new start. It's a season of change. Change brings with it many questions. For instance, with the change in seasons I'm prompted to ask: will the bulbs that my wife planted last fall come to full flower...

Will long term care win?
March 1, 2000... Candidates pay lip service to financial reform THE DETAILS OF THEIR SOLUTIONS ARE sketchy, but this much is clear: more than ever, this year's candidates are being called on to tell Americans how they propose to solve the long term care...

CNAP on-line.
March 1, 2000... Web forum for nursing assistants a big bit THE NORTON, OHIO-BASED CAREER NURSing Assistant Programs (CNAP) entered the new year by launching a Web site to provide nursing assistants a forum in which to share ideas and learn from one...

A premium idea.
March 1, 2000... Medical liability coverage is increasingly hard to come by for Texas' 208 not-for-profit nursing homes. To help them out, Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor approved a proposal to allow not-for-profit nursing homes apply for coverage...

Mo' money.
March 1, 2000... The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $450,000 to four aging organizations to improve the quality of nursing home care by empowering communities and families. Recipients are The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, The...

Word spreads on adult day services.
March 1, 2000... Grant supports 'Partners in Caregiving' seminars THE WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY SCHOOL of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry is using a $1.9 million grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to spread the news coast to coast about what it...

Avoid tube feeding.
March 1, 2000... Hand feeding again preferred for patients with dementia SUPPORTING EARLIER PUBLISHED REPORTS, another recently published report has come out in favor of hand feeding over tube feeding in persons with advanced dementia. Dr. Muriel R....

Targeting 100 worst homes.
March 1, 2000... Good idea, but AAHSA questions approach THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION'S MOST recent move to target the "100 worst-performing" nursing homes--two in each state--for additional inspections during evenings and weekends has drawn general support...

GAO: Give all info.
March 1, 2000... Improved disclosure urged at ALFA meeting WHILE MANY ASSISTED LIVING PROVIDERS ARE improving the information they disclose to consumers and the quality of care they offer, some organizations in the industry still are not fully addressing...

Fair payment.
March 1, 2000... Updated data should impact reimbursement GROUPS REPRESENTING HOME HEALTH AGENCIES (HHAs) are urging the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to modify the proposed prospective payment system for HHAs to ensure fair payment and cash...

More nutrition therapy for elderly.
March 1, 2000... IOM report calls for new funding for outpatients and those in home setting THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES INSTITUTE of Medicine is requesting Congress to extend medical nutrition therapy coverage to all Medicare enrollees, not just those...

Tell it to the judge.
March 1, 2000... A provider is vindicated on appeal THIS PAST SPRING, WE REPORTED ON HOW DEFTLY THE Madrid Home went about crisis management when its Sterling reputation was tarnished by a bad survey ("When bad things happen to good providers," May 1999)....

Create meaningful benefits.
March 1, 2000... The right package can improve recruitment and retention JUST A FEW MONTHS INTO MY TENURE AS DIRECTOR OF HUMAN resources for Westminster-Canterbury, a CCRC in Richmond, Va., I was told Susan, a physical therapy aide, needed to talk with me....

Nursing a sick facility.
March 1, 2000... You don't have to write off a troubled community IN TODAY'S MARKET, NO SENIOR HOUSING COMMUNITY IS IMMUNE from the sub-par performance virus. Markets are maturing and competition is intensifying. A better-educated, more demanding consumer...

Evidence-based practice.
March 1, 2000... Use research to improve quality of care TRADITION. AUTHORITY. EXPERIENCE. EACH IS ROUTINELY offered up by your nursing staff in defense of the Status quo. How often have you heard statements such as, "That's the way we've always done it,"...

Middle CLASS ACT Erickson Retirement.
March 1, 2000... Back in the late '70s, when John Erickson owned and operated a string of golf course mobile home parks on Florida's Gulf Coast, it occurred to him that for every person who came south to retire, 20 stayed back in their home states. And most of...

Bright lights, big hallways.
March 1, 2000... Good design can contribute dramatically to life safety. Although building codes are the major determinant of what goes into structural and building safety, which includes fire prevention and containment, the more safety-conscious providers view...

Wireless polling.
March 1, 2000... Keypads encourage candor in stakeholder forums A RECENT STUDY BY CONTEMPORARY SHOWS THAT ABOUT 65 percent of assisted living providers, CCRCs, and other multilevel facilities plan to spend more on marketing this year than they did in 1999...

Common practices that can put you in jeopardy.
March 1, 2000... NURSING HOME PROVIDERS FREQUENTLY BEMOAN THEIR POOR public image. In doing so, they usually blame others for the industry's bad reputation, contending that the public just can't cope with the aging process, or that I government agencies and...

Mariner, IHS file chapter 11.
March 1, 2000... Following in the footsteps of fellow post-acute powerhouses Vencor and Sun Healthcare Group, Integrated Health Services Inc. and Mariner Post- Acute Network each have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Atlanta-based Mariner operates...

Beverly finalizes Medicare settlements.
March 1, 2000... Fort Smith, Ark.-based Beverly Enterprises signed agreements with the Office of Inspector General finalizing tentative settlements of a government investigation into its allocation of nursing labor costs under the Medicare program. Beverly will...

Emeritus closes $40M equity investment.
March 1, 2000... Seattle-based Emeritus Assisted Living has closed a $40 million investment by Saratoga Partners IV LP, and funded the first $30 million of the investment, with the remainder to be funded in the first quarter of 2000. Saratoga's investment...

Capital Senior Living announces initiatives.
March 1, 2000... Dallas-based Capital Senior Living Corporation (CSL) is taking steps to simplify its capital structure, capture 100 percent of the appreciation of its assets, continue its growth, and maximize value to shareholders through enhanced cash flow...

Greenbriar begins buyback of preferred stock.
March 1, 2000... Dallas-based Greenbriar Corporation, an assisted living company, has begun a buyback program of all preferred stock. The company has already used $2.5 million from cash flow to repurchase 189,640 shares Series G Preferred from Lonestar...

Four more at Epoch.
March 1, 2000... Epoch Senior Living, an assisted living and skilled nursing provider, is adding four executives to its corporate management team. Kevin Hogge is the new chief financial officer. Hogge has more than 20 years experience in healthcare finance....

Katie McAlevy.
March 1, 2000... Katie McAlevy has been named administrator of the Wilson Health Care Center, a 285-bed SNF that is part of Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, Md. Towson, Md.-based Hallmark Senior Communities LLC, a regional provider of assisted...

LEADERS AND LAGGARDS.
March 1, 2000... How industry stocks fared from 1/1/00 through 1/31/00 Y2K started off on a negative note for the sector, which fell 0.4 percent in January, compared with the Russell 2000's flat performance. On the other hand, long term care stocks...

Epoch acquires Sun's assisted living portfolio.
March 1, 2000... Waltham, Mass.-based Epoch Senior Living has acquired eight assisted living residences from an affiliate of Sun Healthcare Group Inc. for $85 million. Sale of the high-end communities was approved by the bankruptcy court, which is overseeing...

Summerville buys eight CareMatrix properties.
March 1, 2000... Alexandria, Va.-based Summerville Healthcare Group Inc., an assisted living and independent living provider, has assumed operation of seven operating assisted living communities and one development project in five states as part of an...

Balanced Care completes sale of Missouri operations.
March 1, 2000... Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based assisted living operator Balanced Care Corp. has completed the sale of its Missouri operations to Christian Health Care Services of Missouri Inc. The operations consist of 10 skilled nursing facilities with 1,135 beds...

NHC buys two Florida healthcare centers.
March 1, 2000... Murfreesboro, Tenn.-based National HealthCare Corporation, has purchased two long term care centers in Pensacola and Lake City, Fla. The centers, called Palm Garden, will be renamed HFC Health Care. The seller was Florida Convalescent Centers...

Foundation buys Sartell, Minn., CCRC from HHH Inc.
March 1, 2000... The long Term Care Foundation of Tennessee, a not-for-profit corporation, acquired Country Manor, a CCRC owned by HHH Inc. of Sartell, Minn. The Foundation has retained Health Dimensions of Cambridge, Minn., a member organization of the...

Senior Care Centers buys Our House Adult Day.
March 1, 2000... Cherry Hill, N.J.-based Senior Care Centers of America, a provider of adult day health services, has acquired Our House Adult Day Health Care Center in Long Branch, NJ. The center was formerly a program of Monmouth Medical Center. Senior...

Bathing and lifts.
March 1, 2000... For residents, particularly those with Alzheimer's disease, bathing brings about fond memories and can be very pleasurable. Make the experience spa-like and dignified for residents without risking potential physical strain of staff members by...

His music is his therapy.
March 1, 2000... A former Broadway Musician Orchestrates his own rehabilitation Andrew Asch composes music for family and staff members using the computer in his room at Beth Abraham Health Services, a Bronx, N.Y., skilled nursing facility offering subacute...