McKnight's Newsmakers Podcast Haymarket Media

Tune in for a special edition of a "Spoonful of Sugar" podcast, broadcasting live from Kansas City during the NADONA conference featuring Robin Arnicar, president, NADONA and TJ Griffin, chief clinical officer, PharMerica.

In this episode, we dive into the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in long-term care. We
demystify AI, exploring practical applications and benefits specific to long-term care. We address
the common apprehensions surrounding AI, particularly its impact on staffing, and illustrate how AI can
work alongside caregivers to improve care and operational efficiency. Discover actionable insights and
real-world examples that showcase the promise of AI in revolutionizing long-term care.

National Skilled Nursing Week is meant to honor workers in America’s nursing homes, and plenty of leaders now roll out the red carpet for staff members with annual celebrations and prizes. But CareRite Centers, operating 33 facilities in four states, might be the standout when it comes to making teams feel a part of something bigger.

The company has made a multimillion-dollar commitment to staff and resident experiences that exceed the norm, draw local and national interest, and keep applicants coming and current workers staying. Its’ 10th annual nursing home celebration this spring was no exception, with each building in its network offering events, vacations and raffles to show appreciation for everyone, from housekeeping to the back office.

In this McKnight’s Newsmaker Podcast episode, CareRite Chief Experience Officer Ashley Romano explains why her Experience Team is committed to staff appreciation with a “wow” factor year round and how preparation for skilled nursing week — and opportunities to be honored or win luxurious prizes — actually starts months beforehand.
“A little bit of fun goes a long way,” Romano says, calling Skilled Nursing Week the “Super Bowl” of CareRite staff experience efforts. “It's a beautiful way to celebrate every single discipline. … We wanted to make sure that every single one of our team members knows just how important and impactful they are, not only to the lives that they serve, but to one another.”
Listen in for Romano’s tips on growing your own employee appreciation event, keeping staff motivated with meaningful incentives throughout the year, and building a better reputation as an employer by involving team member families and the broader community in more activities.

While awareness has grown, a sound understanding of palliative care — specialized medical care for people living with serious illnesses — still lacks among the general public and among physicians and other healthcare professionals. The misconceptions present a barrier to its wider use, according to Brynn Bowman, CEO, and Allison Silvers, chief healthcare transformation officer, of the Center to Advance Palliative Care, who spoke to McKnight’s Home Care in a Newsmakers podcast. Among the many myths is that palliative care is not paid for; it is a service under Medicare Part B, they clarified.

Months before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed federal staffing minimums for nursing homes, the American Health Care Association said it would sue over the rule should it offer providers little hope of compliance.

But when that rule was finalized in May — requiring nursing homes to have RNs on site 24 hours a day and increasing hourly direct care requirements from an earlier proposal — finding providers to carry the legal torch wasn’t necessarily a given.

Many providers might shy away from the possible scrutiny lawsuit involvement would bring, the chance to be pilloried in the mainstream media and have their motives questioned by families. But Derek Prince, CEO and Managing Partner of HMG Healthcare, knew he wanted his company play a major role in the case many now see as a last line of defense for the sector.

When AHCA leaders approached him seeking a Texas provider to share their concerns, Prince told them ‘Hell yes!”

“We instill in all of our folks, ‘Take care of people and we can always defend if you're doing what's right and trying to make stuff better and you're trying to take care of our population,’ ” Prince said. “So in this particular instance, we believe that the lawsuit is what's right.”

The CMS rule is too rigid for the many different kinds of nursing homes in the country and the different patient types they serve, Prince argues.

“It was a fairly easy decision to go, ‘If it’s not us, who,?’ and this is the time to step up. We always tell all of our team members, ‘You've got to get out there and execute, and you've got to be effective.’ And we just thought, ‘We have to walk the walk.’”

In this episode hosted by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Senior Editor Kimberly Marselas, Prince explains his reasoning on the lawsuit, why his company puts quality achievement ahead of staffing stars and what he sees as the best outcome for his patients and the sector.