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Long-Term Care Survey Alert

Abuse Investigation:
Detect Injuries That Need To Be Investigated Now Rather Than Too Late
Hone your forensic wound identification skills to protect residents.When assessing a resid... Read more
Sexual Abuse:
Don't Ignore A Cognitively Impaired Resident's Claim Of Rape Or Sexual Abuse
Investigating unnecessarily is much better than missing a case of abuse. Just because a re... Read more
Medication Management:
Target The Top 4 Reasons Facilities Get Tagged For Antipsychotic Meds
Expect surveyors to be paying closer attention to use of these drugs ... here's why.Crack ... Read more
Survey Guidance:
Take A Big Hint From Added Language In Draft Survey Interpretive Guidelines For Unnecessary Drugs
Learn what every facility that uses anticonvulsant drugs for behavior management should kn... Read more
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Not Reducing A Resident's Antipsychotics? Surveys Will Want To See Your Reasoning
Use this form to put interdisciplinary staff and surveyors on the same pageRoyal Manor Hea... Read more
Risk Management:
Don't Let Staffing Or Monitoring Shortfalls Pull You Up Short In Court
Preempt the F tags that are land mines for providers - and gold mines for plaintiffsJust w... Read more
Risk Management:
Follow These 2 Risk Management Must-Do's
In the world of risk management, there's only one thing worse than not doing a fall risk a... Read more
Survey Compliance:
Work On These Hot Spots Before Surveyors Get Their Marching Orders
Care plans and residents' rights top the OIG's Work Plan list.The best time to comply is w... Read more
Survey & Clinical News To Use
CMS has signed off on electronic signatures on the MDS, but you'd better have hard copies ... Read more
NEWS FLASH
The Pressure Is On With Revised F314 Tag. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services... Read more
Reader Question:
Do Survey Interpretive Guidelines = Regulations?
Not exactly ... here's the 'rest of the story.'Question: Are the interpretive guidelines s... Read more
Survey Management:
Don't Let The Feds Shred Your Survey Record Into F Tags
A good state survey doesn't mean you're out of the woods ... here's what you need to know.... Read more
Quality of Care:
Use Evidence-Based Practices - Or Risk Having Them Used As evidence Against Your Quality Of Care
Best practices can translate into better resident and survey outcomes ... and help lawsuit... Read more
Resources:
Check Out New CMS-Sponsored Repository Of Clinical Standards And Guidelines
Heads up: If CMS posts it, you can bet the agency expects you to use it.If you have questi... Read more
Case Study:
'Talking The Talk, Walking The Walk' Hits Repeated Home Runs With Surveyors For This Facility
The inside secrets to a perfect survey record may be simpler than you think.Getting throug... Read more
Regulatory Compliance:
To Report Or Not To Report An Incident to The State: Err On The Right Side Of This Difficult Decision
Weigh whether telling on the facility pays.Talk about one of those doomed if you do or don... Read more
Infection Control:
Stave Off Infections And Related Adverse Outcomes With These 3 Tips
These strategies will protect your residents, caregivers - and staffing ratios.'Tis the se... Read more
What Do You Think?
Should nursing and other health care staff receive pneumococcal vaccination to prevent tra... Read more
Survey & Clinical News To Use
If you want to entice a resident with advanced Alzheimer's to eat and drink more, try usin... Read more
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Resident Got The Flu? Here's What The CDC Says To Do
Know when you or the patient should wear a face mask.Standard Precautions During the care ... Read more
Survey Preparation:
Conduct Mock Surveys That Knock Out Your Survey Woes
5 rules of thumb can give your facility a 'thumbs up' on its next survey.Think of a mock s... Read more
Quality Improvement:
Check Out This Inside Secret To Risk Management And Survey Success
Hint: Don't miss seeing the forest for the trees - or the trees for the forest. If you wan... Read more
Resident Assessment:
Beat This Dementia-Related Assessment Trap
Beware these common causes of mental status and behavior changes.Problem: Nursing and medi... Read more
Abuse Prevention:
7 Ways To Help Caregivers Keep Their Therapeutic Cool Under Verbal Attack
Don't let residents who levy racial epithets or other insults open the door to resident ne... Read more
Management Strategies:
Care For Your Caregivers: Shore Up Staff's Ability To Deal With Verbally Abusive Residents
These 2 strategies can help prevent resident neglect or abuse.Abuse can beget abuse, espec... Read more
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Time For A Time Out? 5 Warning Signs That A Resident's Abuse May Be Driving A Caregiver Over The Edge
Teach staff to use this quick checklist to assess whether a resident is "getting to them" ... Read more
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Perform A Cultural Assessment To Determine Residents' Practices And Need For An Interpreter
This form can help you deal with a culturally diverse resident population.Cultural Assessm... Read more
Survey & Clinical News To Use
Get ready for a 'zero tolerance' stance from surveyors for skin-related issues in both wou... Read more
Reader Question:
Does Potential Harm Open The Door To Immediate Jeopardy?
Question: Our facility got cited for immediate jeopardy for a situation that didn't involv... Read more
Survey Management:
7 Syndromes That Will Wreck Your Survey
Starve - don't feed - the F tags by eliminating these common survey ills.If your facility ... Read more
Case Study:
Are Staffing Shortfalls Landing Your Facility With A Long CMS 2567?
Find out how this facility went from 'famine to feast' with its pool of nursing applicants... Read more
Resident Assessment:
Get To The Bottom Of These Surprising Psychotic Symptoms In Residents With Parkinson's
Be an assessment detective to help residents regain their hold on reality.Imagine this sce... Read more
Survey Appeals:
Don't Let Lack Of Survey Sanctions Leave You Stranded With A Serious Deficiency Or Double G
Here's how to work around a lack of appeal rights.You've heard of no harm, no foul, right?... Read more
Survey-Related Litigation:
A Prosecutor Or Plaintiff's Attorney Tries To Introduce Penalty-Free Survey Deficiencies Against Your Facility ... Now What?
Here are the arguments your facility should consider making.Think penalty-free deficiencie... Read more
Survey & Clinical News To Use
The JCAHO national 2005 patient safety goals for long-term care facilities include falls, ... Read more
Reader Question:
Will The GAO Nursing Home Fire Safety Report Fan The
Question: Our facility read a General Accounting Office report (GAO-04-660) that ties rece... Read more
Survey Trends:
Will The Revised F Tags Be A Fork In The Road Toward Better Care - Or A Wrong Turn For Your Next Survey?
Heads up: Fine-tune your incontinence and skin care programs before surveyors beat you to ... Read more
Resident Assessment:
Get To The Root Cause Of Falls:Follow This Decision-Making Tree When You Find A Resident On The Floor
Remember: Not all falls are created equal -- and some incidents aren't even considered a f... Read more
Care Planning:
Help Fall-Proof Your Parkinson's Residents With These Therapy And Restorative Approaches
Here are some tricks from a pro. What's the most common reason people with Parkinson's dis... Read more
Fall Prevention - Park Your Misconceptions:
You Can Manage Fall Risk In Residents With Parkinson's Disease
5 strategies to help residents with this common neuro condition keep moving without getti... Read more
Drug Management:
Is A Resident's Antipsychotic Medication Going To Pass Muster Under OBRA?
Use this checklist of assessment questions to find out. Antipsychotic medications not onl... Read more
Survey & Clinical News To Use
Don't mount those alcohol-based hand rubs in corridors yet. Although the National Fire Pro... Read more
Care Planning:
Follow These ABCs Of Preventing ADL Loss And F309 Tags
3 tips to keep staff on their toes and residents in tip-top shape. Assessment is everythi... Read more
Practice Tip:
Get On The Same Page As Therapy To Promote ADL Functioning
Here's a tip to help rehab therapy residents attain and maintain the highest level of "pra... Read more
What Do You Think?
How can you make a solid case to surveyors that a resident's ADL decline was unavoidable? ... Read more
Quality of Care:
Top 7 Ways Physicians Can Get Your Facility In Trouble With Surveyors
Protect yourself by helping docs get with the OBRA program. You might think of the physic... Read more
Self Test:
How Physician-Friendly Is Your Facility?
Answer these 5 questions and find out. Nursing facilities can go a long way toward develo... Read more
Risk Management:
4 Risk Management Strategies That Can Save Your Next Survey
Hint: What's good for the employee is good for the resident. Facilities that take a proac... Read more
Case Study:
Find Out How This Facility's 'No-Lift'Policy Reduces Residents'Falls And Behavioral Symptoms
Tip: To get your own program off the ground, work around the obstacles until you realize ... Read more
Survey & Clinical News To Use
Providers recently took the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to task on whethe... Read more
Kitchen Sanitation:
Produce Safe Food - Not F Tags That Are Hard To Swallow
7 ways to translate a clean kitchen into a clean survey.What's the number one F tag nation... Read more
Survey Citation:
Check Out This F371 Deficiency Excerpt
Surveyors view F371 violations as the ticket to helping prevent food-borne illness in nurs... Read more
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Survey Checklist
... Read more
Behavior Management:
Think Through Your 'Time Out' Procedures Before You End Up On The Outs With Surveyors
Here's what you definitely want to avoid when using this crisis-management technique. Whe... Read more
Risk Management:
When Fists Start Flying: You Need A Plan And Practice To Intervene
Otherwise, staff are more likely to accidentally injure residents in breaking up the melee... Read more
Crisis Intervention:
Break It Up Safely: 7 Steps To Separate Residents Involved In A Physical Altercation
Physical altercations between residents require a plan and fast action. Here's what to do:... Read more
Medical Record Documentation:
8 Things You Never Want To Chart
Read this before you next put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.They say the devil is in... Read more
Quality Assurance:
Audit Charts For These 4 Survey Hot Spots
Ask these key questions before surveyors beat you to the draw.Use this checklist of questi... Read more
Survey & Clinical News To Use:
Survey & Clinical News To Use:
Check out the latest round of revisions to the RAI user's manual. The Centers for Medicare... Read more
Reader Question:
What to Do When Families Demand Residents Be Hospitalized
Question: How should our facility handle situations in which a resident's family member in... Read more
Survey Management:
Know When To Draw The Line In The Sand With Surveyors
3 scenarios where you're on more solid ground than you might think in challenging F tags.S... Read more
Case Study:
Find Out How This Facility Beat An Unreasonable G-Level Deficiency
Sometimes it pays to enlist CMS' assistance.Fair is fair - and G-level tags for potential ... Read more
What Do You Think?
Here's the answer to last month's question: Should a facility that's doing bad quality ass... Read more
Medication Management:
Keep Your Coumadin Patients In The Safety Zone
Learn the in's and out's to managing this lifesaving but dangerous drug.If you don't follo... Read more
Care Planning:
Don't Let Residents' Disruptive Behaviors Disrupt Your Survey Record
Read between the lines of behavioral symptoms -- and rewrite the outcomes.If you are at yo... Read more
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Considering Antipsychotic Medication For A Resident?
Here's one physician note likely to fly with surveyors. Ever worry physician documentation... Read more
Behavior Management:
4 Easy Ways To Prevent Bath-Time From Becoming Battle Time
Do some of your residents with dementia turn into combatants during bath-time? These simpl... Read more
Survey & Clinical News To Use
Ready for more new quality measures? The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says... Read more
Notable Quote:
What A Public Appeals Process Could Do For The Survey Process
Christopher Lucas, JD, in Mechanicsburg, PA, offers this month's "notable quote." Read wha... Read more
Survey Management:
Don't Let Surveyors Use Your QA Documentation Against You
6 ways to prevent F tags based on your quality improvement efforts.Want to make your QI ef... Read more
Survey Tip:
Act Now To Protect Yourself Later
Your QAC may stave off a tag for deficiencies you've fixed.In some cases, the best defense... Read more
Survey Appeals:
A Tale Of Two Survey Appeals Offers Lessons For Battling F Tags
How care planning can work for or against you in a court of law. Sometimes surveyors are w... Read more
TEST YOURSELF:
YOU BE THE SURVEYOR
How Would You Have Cited The Following Real-Life Scenario? Read the following verbati... Read more
HOW COULD YOU HANDLE IT?
Read the situation below and decide how you would handle it before you compare it to exper... Read more
Care Planning:
Wow Surveyors And Consumers With This Novel Approach To Dementia Care
Turn your thinking about cognitive impairment on its head with these 4 tips.Ever wish some... Read more
Check Out Indicators Of Delirium On MDS Section B5
Use Section B5 of the MDS to detect signs of delirium in residents -- even those with deme... Read more
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Quality Of Life - 5 Simple Ways To Really Improve Quality Of Life In Your Facility
Want to make an instantaneous improvement in how residents and staff enjoy life in your fa... Read more
Notable Quote:
The Myth About Nursing Homes
Paul Hollings, executive director for Neville Center at Fresh Pond in Cambridge, MA, offer... Read more
Survey & Clinical News To Use
Check out CMS' proposed rule on facility requirements for posting direct-care staffing inf... Read more
Risk Management:
Don't Let Residents' 'Exiting Behaviors' Land You On The Fast Track To Decertification
10 ways to keep IJ at bayIf a resident "exits" undetected, your facility will likely be un... Read more
Resident Assessment:
5 Reasons Why Residents Attempt To Elope
Use this handy taxonomy to target your interventions.A word to the wise: "One size fits al... Read more
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Use This Assessment Form To Get To The Bottom Of Exiting Behaviors
They say all behavior has meaning. So to find out why a resident might be trying to leave ... Read more
Survey Preparation:
What To Say When Surveyors Call You On The Carpet
Staff should know how to answer surveyors' questions without burying the facility under a ... Read more
Quality Measures - Special Report:
Don't Trip Over Risk-Adjustment Pitfalls To New Pressure Ulcer Quality Measures
The pressure is on with implementation of the new set of publicly reported quality measure... Read more
Quality Reporting - Special Report:
Prevent Your Pressure Ulcer Scores From Becoming A Sore Point With Surveyors And Consumers
5 steps to head off a survey or PR disaster.The formula for managing your pressure ulcer q... Read more
LTC Trends:
Facilities Get An 'A' For Pain And 'Needs Improving' For Pressure Ulcer Scores
The national report cards are out, and while nursing homes are looking good on pain and ph... Read more
Survey Compliance - Beware:
OIG Audit May Hold Lesson For All Facilities Providing Restorative Nursing
Is your facility meeting federal and state staff training requirements for restorative nur... Read more
Survey & Clinical News To Use
Expect closer inspection of your policies on deposit fees and promissory notes. The Center... Read more
Reader Question:
Fashion Customer Satisfaction Surveys To Help, Not Hurt, Your Facility
Question: Are survey findings allowed as evidence in malpractice actions? What about custo... Read more
Survey Management:
Don't Let Emergent-Care Shortfalls Turn Your Next Survey Into A 911
6 strategies to keep your acute-care management on track.When it comes to meeting resident... Read more
Program Development:
Develop A Surefire 911 Policy
Know when to let your fingers do the lifesaving.You'd think that deciding to dial 911 woul... Read more
Clinical Management:
Here's One Drug List You'd Better Check Twice
Use updated Beers criteria to stave off F329 and F429 tags. Don't be surprised if surveyor... Read more
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Watch Out For These Drugs On Updated Beers List
The updated Beers list of potentially dangerous drugs in the elderly contains a number of ... Read more
Medicare Reform:
Check Out Survey-Friendly Provisions In New Medicare Reform Law
Congress recognizes need for faster appeals in certain cases.You have to dig a bit to find... Read more
Accreditation News:
JCAHO Plans To Seek Collaboration With CMS To Improve Nursing Home Quality
Call it government oversight meets private sector QI. The Joint Commission on Accredi... Read more
Survey Trends:
Keep Your Eyes On Texas Deemed Status Proposal
CMS is weighing whether to give pilot the green light.Texas wants to give a group of accre... Read more
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Don't Let These Abbreviations Be A Shortcut To Patient Safety Disasters
 Is your facility using these acronyms or symbols on the JCAHO 'Do Not Use' list?&nbs... Read more
News Briefs:
Survey & Clinical News To Use
CMS unveils details about DAVE rollout. DAVE was on the agenda at the Centers for Medicare... Read more
Reader Questions:
Fight Flu And F Tags
The flu epidemic has been big news this season, and Long-Term Care Survey Alert has receiv... Read more
QUALITY MEASURES:
Get A Jumpstart On The New Quality Measures
This 4-point plan will put your facility ahead of the pack.Your facility will soon be faci... Read more
Resident Nutrition:
Keep Dietary Tags Off Your Plate
Take this approach and let your outcomes speak for themselves.Dietary-related tags include... Read more
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6 Expert Tips To Tackle Swallowing Problems
Residents with swallowing problems require a juggling act to ensure they eat and drink saf... Read more
Resident Nutrition:
Hungry For Better Outcomes? Target Your Meal Intake Assessment
Otherwise you're wasting time and setting yourself up for survey woes.Do your meal intake ... Read more
Survey Appeals:
Develop A Game Plan For Your Next IDR Meeting
Follow these tips to victory.An IDR meeting is like your day in court: You want to select ... Read more
What Do You Think?
Here's the answer to last month's question: Do surveyors have a basis for citing or c... Read more
Resident Privacy:
Protect Residents' Privacy Rights Against Overzealous Ombudsmen
Here's what OBRA requires you to do.In their quest to protect residents, ombudsmen sometim... Read more
News Briefs:
Survey & Clinical News To Use
Are you following the revised rules spelling out when physician extenders may certify/rece... Read more
Environmental Hazards:
4 Steps To Banish Bugs And Related F Tags
It's not enough to just have a pest control program.Pests such as roaches, flies and ants ... Read more
Clip -n- Save:
Rout Out Pests With These 5 Insider Tips
Facilities can help prevent or eliminate pests by using these simple tactics, according to... Read more
Best Practices:
Check Out The Ins And Outs Of Caring For Residents With MS
New guidelines for nursing homes offer invaluable practical care strategies.Ever wish some... Read more
Available Years:  2004  2003  2002