Showing appreciation for nursing staff doesn’t have to be defined by the size of an organization’s budget. What’s important is the thoughtfulness behind the recognition. In a profession characterized by long shifts, emotional demands, and constant change, meaningful acknowledgment has a lasting positive effect on morale, retention, and team culture. …
Resident care observations and staff interviews are both core components of the long-term care survey process, so surveyors have multiple opportunities to interact with all levels of nursing staff, says Denise Winzeler, BSN, RN, LNHA, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, NHA-MT, director of education and certification strategy for AAPACN. “Teaching staff the survey …
A newly admitted resident with dementia exhibits some challenging behaviors: exit seeking, refusing care, and lashing out at caregivers when approached. Helping this resident has become so problematic that some staff suggested sending him to the hospital for treatment of these behaviors. Does this scenario sound familiar? Residents may display …
In this LTC DON Chat podcast episode, Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, chief nursing officer for AAPACN, and Michelle Stuercke, RN, MSN, DNP, MPA, LNHA, QCP, chief clinical officer with TCM consulting and management, discuss how to manage behavioral health issues in the nursing home.
Podcast (ltc_don_chat): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:19 — 9.2MB) | Embed
The October 1, 2026 diagnosis code update files are now available. Use these files for discharges occurring from October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 and for patient encounters occurring from October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027. The 2027 ICD-10-CM & PCS files section below contains information on the …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a one-page resource that clarifies when an OBRA Discharge assessment is required under the MDS 3.0 RAI User’s Manual (Chapter 2). This resource outlines the primary discharge criteria, including hospital admissions, observation stays greater than 24 hours, and discharges to other care …
New Online Toolkit Helps Clinicians Put Food is Medicine into Practice Resource offers practical guidance for all aspects of integrating nutrition-based care into health systems Press release: Newswise — A new online resource aims to help health care providers turn a growing body of research on nutrition and health into effective care for …
The June 2026 Quarterly Confidential Feedback Reports for the FY 2027 SNF VBP Program are now available for download via the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES). These reports provide SNFs their facility-level measure results for all eight quality measures during their FY 2027 SNF VBP Program performance period: Note: …
May 2026 Updates Analysis and Report Resources From https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/ltc/covid19/rpv-resources.html
May 2026 Updates Long-Term Care Respiratory Pathogens Person-Level – Data Collection Forms and Instructions LTCF Resident Optional Person Level Reporting for Long Term Care Residents (Form 57.216) [PDF – 264 KB] – January 2026 Person-Level – CSV Data Import Person-Level Vaccination Form for Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities: How to Guide [PDF – 2 …
