Hospital Observation Stays Impacting Medicare SNF Admissions

An issue that I am fielding a fair number of inquiries about lately involves Medicare patients spending more than three days in a hospital, subsequently ‘discharged’ to a SNF and the SNF learning later that the patient was never technically admitted to the hospital.  Mostly, the inquiries I am getting are along the line of “what’s … Read more

Hospice Contract Reminders for SNFs

On a fairly routine basis, I run across SNF Administrators and Directors of Nursing that continue to have issues with hospice patients in their facilities but not from the standpoint of the patient typically; from the standpoint of dealing with the Hospice and the terms of the contract between the Hospice and the SNF.  In … Read more

Non-Profit Health Care Outlook for 2010

Moody’s Investor Service released their annual sector outlook today for not-for-profit health care organizations, stating that they (Moody’s) continue to maintain a “negative” outlook on the industry.  Important to note in this report is that the focus is principally on hospitals and since the report is produced by Moody’s, its primary perspective is on credit … Read more

Sharpen the Sales and Marketing Efforts in 2010

I lost track this past year of how many people I talked to that told me that, “organizationally, we are kind of stalled in developing new business because of the economy and health care reform”.  I know that in down economic periods, promotion budgets (advertising, sponsorships,etc.) are some of the first line items trimmed but … Read more

Better Productivity, Better Retention: Labor Strategy for 2010

For the vast majority of providers, productivity and retention are ongoing labor hassles.  Salaries and benefits are typically, the single largest expense item for health care providers and when analyzed by all of the components, a surprising percentage is allocated for labor related expenses that can and should be, reduced.  Expenses such as Worker’s Compensation, recruitment, turnover, … Read more

Affordable Health Care for America Act: Implications for SNFs

This weekend, the House is reportedly set to vote on their version of healthcare reform – H.R. 3962.  The bill is a “monster”; nearly 2,000 pages long.  The title belies the fact that the Bill doesn’t just attempt to create “affordable health care” – it goes much, much further.  For example, embedded within the hundreds of … Read more

Getting Risks Under Control: Improving Organizational Prosperity

Healthcare is a risky business; particularly in heavily regulated environments such as nursing homes and home health and hospice.  The fact that a certain level of risk is omnipresent means that the opportunity constantly exists for an organization that improperly identifies and manages its risks, to suffer expensive damages ranging from financial loss to loss … Read more

Skilled Nursing Facilities, Healthcare Reform and Gloomy Propsects

On October 1, the SNF industry received a 1.1% reduction in Medicare payments.  On October 13th, the Senate Finance Committee passed its version of Healthcare Reform, commonly known as the Baucus Bill.  While the Baucus Bill is the least penalizing to the industry, of the major health reform bills waiting in Congress, it is destined for the Senate shredder … Read more

Holding onto Your D.O.N.

In our annual Healthcare Leadership Labor Market Report released in July, we presented some rather alarming trends regarding the long-term care and post-acute care industry’s retention of nursing executives.  For example, we noted that 71% of the Directors of Nursing in nursing homes leave their positions each year.  We also noted that the average tenure … Read more