1585 Route 146, Rexford, NY 12148
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Category: General

female medical professional

Infection Control: Good Leadership Wins Tough Battles

Infection prevention and control is one responsibility skilled nursing facilities can better manage when leadership takes a proactive stance. Here are some key points: Understand your staff’s needs. Purchase effective cleaners and disinfectants that can be employed easily and efficiently. Choose easy-to-use products with a tolerable odor and low toxicity to kill a broad range…
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5 Stars

Urgent Update: New Nursing Home Posting Requirement Effective Dec. 26th

Mandated by a NYS law enacted in Sept. 2024, as of Dec. 26, 2024, nursing homes will be required to post their CMS Five-Star ratings in each of the three domains (health inspections, staffing, and quality measures) in addition to the overall rating currently required to be publicly posted. All Five-Star ratings are required to be…
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reporting

2025 NHSN Reporting Changes for Nursing Homes

Scheduled to take effect January 1, 2025, National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) plans to make permanent more time-consuming data collection from SNFs. Although Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a boost of 1.3% in 2025 Medicare payments to skilled nursing facilities, that same proposed home health pay rule will also make permanent…
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Are you ready?

Revised Long-Term Care (LTC) Surveyor Guidance for 2025

Significant Revisions to Enhance Quality and Oversight of the LTC Survey Process – Summary of Revised Surveyor Guidance – Admission, Transfer, and Discharge:  Chemical Restraints/Unnecessary Psychotropic Medication:  Professional Standards and Medical Director: Accuracy/Coordination/Certification: Other areas of change include: Coretactics recommends you review of the QSO memo for complete details. An Advance copy of Appendix PP and the…
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compliance

Medicaid Reimbursement Update

NYS Nursing Home CMI Project – Due to recent federal changes to the MDS 3.0, Resource Utilization Group (RUG) based case mix adjustment is no longer feasible. The NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) held an initial briefing on October 30, 2024 to discuss that change. The consulting firm, Myers and Stauffer has been contracted by…
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bed rail

NYSDOH Reports a Rise in Bed Rail Citations

Although a bed rail is not a QM consideration, it is a potentially serious survey issue under entrapment and quality of life. A facility must attempt to use appropriate alternatives prior to installing a side or bed rail and have this clearly documented. If a bedside rail is used, the facility must ensure the correct installation, use…
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medication handling

Proper Handling of Medication

As SNF consultants, we often see medication mis-handling and storage issues that can lead to non-compliance. For example, nurses handling medications with bare hands and expired stock in med rooms and supply closets. We share a few basic competencies below. If you see violations to the following, so will the surveyor on your next survey!…
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Resident w/Care giver

Understanding CMS Latest Five Star Quality Rating Methodology

With the recent July 2024 refresh to Care Compare, CMS has changed the staffing case mix adjustment to a model based on the PDPM, essentially using the nursing case mix groups to adjust for acuity. Other important changes include: The gap period used in defining termed staff has increased from 60 days to 90 days…
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