Buoyed by astonishingly low expectations and a reimbursement system that literally pays them for making their patients sicker and weaker, nursing homes represent the one part of our health care system that has seen little substantive change in more than a half a century.
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One of my favorite principles of “enlightened leadership” is called “Expect the Best” — a principle that is ignored with alarming regularity in long-term care, on both the provider and the regulator sides.
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Things are heating up in the race to reduce antipsychotic use. Three weeks ago, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released new statistics ranking Tennessee as one of the top five states to significantly reduce the use of antipsychotics. Spurred by CMS’ National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes, Tennessee claims a 16.5% reduction in antipsychotic use between 2011 and 2013.
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Recently, I was honored to speak at the Michigan LANE (Local Area Network for Excellence) conference in East Lansing that was attended by close to 300 dedicated leaders of skilled nursing facilities. It was there that I was reminded of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Triple Aim – 1.) Improve the persons’… read more >>
Continue ReadingA press release issued today by the Tennessee Department of Health states that the Office of Health Care Facilities has secured a CMP grant totaling more than $370,000 to provide training for 749 people including nursing home direct care staff members, state surveyors and managers, State Long-Term Care Ombudsmen and members of the Tennessee Advancing Excellence […]
Continue ReadingDrs. Judah Ronch, Dean of the Erickson School of Aging, and Dr. William Thomas, founder of the Eden Alternative and Green House Project, have coined a new term and developed a new concept called surplus safety. The first-ever Surplus Safety Symposium was held on September 12 – 13, 2012 in Baltimore. Approximately 50 stakeholders from a diverse group of constituencies discussed the current state of the safety landscape.
Continue ReadingThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched a national action plan aimed at reducing the use of antipsychotics by raising public awareness, increasing public reporting, regulatory oversight and research and assistance. The Eden Alternative has responded by launching two new groundbreaking programs to help reduce the off-label use of antipsychotic drugs: Reframing Dementia and Dementia Beyond Drugs.
Continue ReadingRecently, CMS announced important life safety regulatory changes that will support the creation of home in long-term care settings. All of these changes have been approved by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and are effective immediately. It is important … Continue reading →
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