McKnight's Podcast

McKnights

Conversations with industry newsmakers in the Homecare, Long Term Care, and Senior Living market.

  1. Chasing a Marshall Plan for skilled nursing

    Jun 16

    Chasing a Marshall Plan for skilled nursing

    As the skilled nursing sector continues its march toward recovery, providers need a more comprehensive plan for long-term workforce and payment stability. That’s why Michael Bassett, senior vice president of government relations for the American Health Care Association, wants an all-of-Congress approach that takes into account the ground-level realities nursing homes are facing as Americans get older and sicker. “If Congress doesn't look at this soon, because of a lag in training doctors and nurses and CNAs and LPNs, then this is going to be a real big problem in 10 years,” Bassett tells McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Senior Editor Kimberly Marselas in this episode. “It's bigger than us,” he says. “The whole Congress needs to kind of have a new Marshall plan to get workers into these fields, or else … with 11,000 people each day turning 65 … we’re not going to have enough people to care for them.” Bassett leads AHCA’s work on Capitol Hill and earlier this month had nearly 700 helpers, as members, frontline staff and vendors met with elected officials to help illustrate providers’ pain points. Workforce has recovered to near the sector’s pre-pandemic baseline, allowing other issues to rise to the top of the skilled nursing wishlist. Most important, and maybe most possible this session, is Medicare Advantage reform. Listen to this episode recorded in Washington, DC, to learn three major MA areas Basset believes Congress could address to reduce friction between providers and private insurers, why bipartisan support for change is growing, and what it all means for post-acute and long-term care patients. Come for political insights and a little prognostication and stick around for insights on claims denials, Medicare’s three-day stay requirement and CNA lockout legislation. It’s all in this McKnight’s exclusive interview. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    19 min
  2. More than a piece of paper: How advanced credentials are transforming skilled nursing therapy

    Jun 9

    More than a piece of paper: How advanced credentials are transforming skilled nursing therapy

    The medical complexity driving significant change in skilled nursing care approaches doesn’t stop at the door to therapy. With demand for speech-language pathology greater than ever, one North Carolina-based provider organization is looking to expand its therapists’ knowledge and encourage the use of advanced staff training to help patients regain function. Michele Hass, regional therapy consultant for Principle LTC, recently became one of the first SLPs in the nation to earn a dysphagia certification from Accelerated Care Plus. The highly specialized credential focuses on swallowing disorders, aspiration prevention and patient safety — and Haas plans to use what she’s learned to encourage others to use the techniques she picked up and pursue their own advanced credentials. ”These certifications, they're more than just a piece of paper,” Haas tells McKnight’s Long-Term Care News in this episode. “I think they represent a commitment to patient care and staying engaged in the profession.” Principle wants to leverage Haas’ interest in the ACP training — focused on advanced biofeedback technology— to enhance care capabilities across its regional footprint. It’s just one way the operator of 38 facilities is responding to the clinical shift from compensatory care to modern rehabilitation, according to DeLaine Rice-White, Principle’s senior vice president of therapy services. She emphasized that supporting advanced credentials can dramatically boost employee satisfaction and stabilize staffing levels, protecting facilities from the steep costs of turnover. Professional development, she added, is essential measure to protect against clinical stagnation. "If we don't do this, and we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we always got,” she tells McKnight’s Senior Editor Kimberly Marselas. “Our outcomes will not keep pace with the evolution of science and innovation if we go down that road." Listen to the full episode to learn more about ACP’s approach to dysphagia care and why Principle views certifications and other training opportunities as critical investments for skilled nursing providers. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    20 min
  3. New CareWorks Project aims to reimagine long-term care for private sector, government

    May 28

    New CareWorks Project aims to reimagine long-term care for private sector, government

    The CareWorks Project provides technical expertise on issues such as workforce, caregiving, aging, and long-term services and supports financing. It also supports leaders around issues related to narrative change and strategic communications. And it helps design programs and initiatives related to long-term care, and assists with leadership and organizational development. While wages and benefits are a top need of direct care workers, they also need strong training programs that reflect today's competencies, along with honest career pathways, a wide range of workforce supports from transportation to child care, and respect, Espinoza said. Direct care workers remain largely invisible and society. There was a temporary moving of the needle during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was a surge of appreciation for work that direct care workers do, but it did not lead to sound policy changes that materially improve their lives. If he had a magic wand, he’d create a long-term care financing system, along with the creation of policy and structural arrangements that allow people to age in place in their homes and communities. What concerns Espinoza most is the pervasive belief that care is a private burden as opposed to a public responsibility. Follow us on social media: X: @McKHomeCare Facebook: McKnight's Home Care LinkedIn: McKnight's Home Care Instagram: mcknights_homecare Follow The CareWorks Project on social media: Show contributors:McKnight’s Home Care Editor Liza Berger and Robert Espinoza, founder and CEO of The CareWorks Project Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    22 min
  4. Moratorium ‘casts a pall’ over home health field, two New York stakeholders say

    May 21

    Moratorium ‘casts a pall’ over home health field, two New York stakeholders say

    In addition to facing the Medicare home health and hospice moratorium, New York home care providers have been grappling with the federal government’s scrutiny of its Medicaid personal care program. The state defended the program appropriately, including pointing out that some of its data was off the mark, noted Al Cardillo, president and CEO of the Home Care Association of New York State. It’s important not to paint the whole program with a broad brush of fraud and abuse when it might be an administrative problem, he pointed out. New York’s Medicaid personal care program has a lot of anti-fraud protections, and the state actually rolled out Electronic Visit Verification before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services took it to a national scale, commented Mordechai Wolhendler, founder and CEO of GlattHealth. One of the reasons the Medicaid personal care program has attracted so much national attention is it consumes most of the nation’s Medicaid personal care dollars, Cardillo said. And now most of the program is the Consumer-Directed Personal Care Program (CDPAP), which allows the consumer to choose their caregiver who can be a family member. Internally, CDPAP has been dealing with a major transformation, moving more than 600 fiscal intermediaries to one. The lesson from this fraught experience is that stakeholders and the state are in it together, Wolhendler said. Follow us on social media: X: @McKHomeCare Facebook: McKnight's Home Care LinkedIn: McKnight's Home Care Instagram: mcknights_homecare Follow Home Care Association of New York on social media: X: @HCANYS Facebook: Home Care Association of New York State LinkedIn: HCANYS - Home Care Association of New York State Instagram: hcanys Follow GlattHealth on social media: LinkedIn: GlattHealth Consulting Group Show contributors:McKnight’s Home Care Editor Liza Berger; Al Cardillo, president and CEO of the Home Care Association of New York State; and Mordechai Wolhendler, founder and CEO of GlattHealth, a New York-based consulting group     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    25 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

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Conversations with industry newsmakers in the Homecare, Long Term Care, and Senior Living market.

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