By Greg Seiple Discharge planning is an essential component of patient care in skilled nursing facilities. But how do healthcare professionals determine when a resident is ready to leave and manage daily activities independently? Enter the Discharge Function Score—a critical tool in evaluating a resident’s ability to function outside of …
Written by Michelle Olear, RHIT, BSN Director of Documentation Analysis and Professional Coding Services Minimum Data Set Consultants, LLC The physician’s role in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) is essential to delivering skilled, quality care for skilled and long-term care residents. Physicians are the facility’s lead in providing clinical decision-making and properly …
As of Oct. 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has retired the A0300 Optional State Assessment (OSA) from the federally required MDS 3.0 v1.18.11 that is submitted by nursing facilities. The OSA is now a separate optional MDS assessment that may be completed at the discretion …
Written by: Jessica Stucin, RN, BSN, LNHA, RAC-CT, Assistant Director of Education, MDS Consultants On Jan. 18, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced they will be conducting offsite audits in nursing homes for assessment accuracy and coding of residents with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Along with …
by Michele Mummert, RN, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, DNS-CT, Director of Research and Development, The Compliance Store Care planning is the foundation of resident care in the long-term care setting. Everything done to care for the resident rests in the care plan. Inadequate care plans that do not appropriately address the resident’s …
Written by Michael Daniels, RN, DNS-CT, QCP, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA All one needs to do is peruse the long-term care (LTC)/skilled nursing facility (SNF) job openings online for a few minutes to realize that something is amiss. Frenzied healthcare staffing recruiters seem to crawl from the woodwork as they compete to …
By Melanie Tribe-Scott, BSN, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, QCP The U.S. Surgeon General recently issued an advisory highlighting the urgent need to address the health worker burnout crisis across the country (Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, 2022). In a press release, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated …
By Faith Carini-Graves, Director of Skill Development, MDS Consultants The problem: What does an MDS coordinator, DON, CNA, therapist, nursing home administrator, RN, LPN, activities professional, social worker, and dietitian all have in common? They are all exhausted! All long-term and post-acute care staff can benefit from improved self-care. Better …
By Liz Barlow, RN, CRRN, RAC-CT, DNS-CT, AVP Clinical Innovation, Synchrony Rehab At the end of August, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) held a National Provider Stakeholder call to review some of the recent COVID updates. CMS commented that data collected, along with nursing home surveys, are …
By Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA Have you ever stopped to ask, “How did life amidst a pandemic affect my ability to be a good nurse leader in post-acute care or any healthcare setting?” It’s very possible that the stress of the pandemic impacted how you approached …
