US Department of Labor 2024 Injury, Illness Data, Including SNFs/NFs

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released 2024 workplace injury and illness data collected from its Injury Tracking Application. Under federal recordkeeping rules, employers are required to electronically submit injury and illness data to OSHA. The data comes from 370,000 reports submitted on OSHA Form 300A Summary …

The Facility Assessment: What It Takes to Create an ‘Operational Care Plan’

The revised surveyor guidance in Appendix PP of the State Operations Manual that goes into effect on April 28, 2025, does not include any updates to F-tag 838 (Facility Assessment), says Robin Hillier, CPA, STNA, LNHA, RAC-MT, president of RLH Consulting in Westerville, OH. “Revised F838 guidance already went into …

Enhancing DNS Leadership Skills for Team Resiliency

In this podcast, Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, chief nursing officer for AAPACN, and Lauren Stenson, MSN, RN, CNDLTC, QCP, DNS-CT, curriculum development specialist for AAPACN, discuss how directors of nursing services can advance their leadership skills to help their teams be more resilient to the evolving …

Bolster the DNS/NAC Relationship to Boost Outcomes Across the Board

Nursing homes that achieve successful operational, clinical, and regulatory outcomes tend to share at least one common characteristic, says Stacy Grondel, RN, BSN, RAC-MT, CMAC, QCP, vice president of clinical reimbursement at Brickyard Healthcare in Indianapolis, IN. “The director of nursing services (DNS) and the nurse assessment coordinator (NAC) usually …

How to Advance Your Career as a Director of Nursing Services (DNS) – Part One: Novice Level

The career path of a director of nursing services (DNS) is both challenging and rewarding. Long-term care nurses who choose to take on the DNS role can have success with the right resources. Part one of this blog series will focus on tips for the new DNS and how to …

Mock Substance Overdose Toolkit

When a substance overdose situation occurs, staff must know how to respond. Nurse leadership should provide staff opportunities to practice and perfect their response to these events. The Mock Substance Overdose Toolkit will assist nurse managers in setting up the mock drill, evaluating staff compliance with procedural steps, and facilitating …

Stop Assuming and Start Assessing: How to Improve Critical Thinking in Nurses

Identifying and dealing with a suspected change in condition before a clinical crisis occurs is a critical aspect of caring for fragile, elderly nursing home residents. To achieve that goal, nursing staff must think critically about the residents in their care. The director of nursing services (DNS) can take steps …

Nursing Orientation and Onboarding Done Right Can Boost Retention

Working as a nurse in a nursing home can be overwhelming, especially if the director of nursing services (DNS) and executive leadership expect nurses to learn on the job and fail to set up a comprehensive program that includes adequate orientation (short-term training and support) and onboarding (longer-term training and …

How to Advance Your Career as a Nurse Assessment Coordinator (NAC) – Part One: Novice Level

Long-term care nurses who follow the path of becoming nurse assessment coordinators (NACs) can advance their careers and skill levels through experience and gained knowledge over time. At every stage of professional development, NACs can take steps to boost their knowledge to be prepared and access resources for success. Part …