Demystifying the Discharge Function Score for Post-Acute Care

By Greg Seiple Navigating the complexities of healthcare, especially in post-acute care, can often feel daunting. For professionals involved in skilled nursing facilities, understanding the metrics that influence patient care is crucial. One of these key metrics is the Discharge Function Score (DFS), a valuable tool that helps gauge a …

How to Advance Your Career as a Nurse Assessment Coordinator (NAC) – Part Two: Competent 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 …

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 …

The Art of Delegation for the Director of Nursing Services: Safe Practices and Strategies to Overcome Common Challenges

The role of the director of nursing services (DNS) in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) can be stressful due to the number of competing priorities in each day. Delegation, when done properly, can help relieve some stressors while ensuring tasks are completed. In contrast, failure to delegate can lead to …

Need Behavioral Health Training Help? Check Out the COE-NF

The Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities (COE-NF), which opened its online doors in December 2022 thanks to a three-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is a centralized hub where any Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing home can access trainings, tools, and …

What Role Should the NAC Sign Up for in iQIES?

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that MDS assessment submissions and reporting will transition to the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) on April 17, 2023. To prepare for this transition, skilled nursing facilities must register for an account in the HCQIS Access Roles and …

Tell Your LTC Story: What Brought You to Long-Term Care (LTC) and Why Do You Love It?

AAPACN asked members to share their long-term care (LTC) story – what brought them to LTC and why they love it. Below is a collection of stories from AAPACN members who are passionate about their careers and wanted to spread their love for caring for the elderly and everything in-between …

Five Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining MDS Coordinators

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 …