Strengthening Abuse Prevention: A Leadership Perspective
Insights from Lisa Thomson, BA, LNHA, HSE, CIM – Chief Operating Officer Abuse prevention continues to be one of the most frequently cited areas in long-term care, consistently appearing in the Top 10 F-Tags nationwide, including F600 – Freedom from Abuse and Neglect. While most organizations have policies and training in place, we continue to...
Strengthening Your First Line of Defense: Leadership Strategies for Claims Review in Today’s Audit Environment
Insights from Scott Heichel, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-CTA, DNS-CT, IPCO, QCP, ICC – Director of Reimbursement and Education, Pathway Health In today’s regulatory environment, nursing home leaders cannot afford to take a passive approach to claims review. CMS has intensified external audit activity—from Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE) reviews to RAC audits—and organizations are seeing significant...
Falls in Nursing Homes: A Regulatory, Clinical, and Leadership Priority
Insights from Nancy Foss, RN, BSN, Director of Regulatory and Consulting Services, Pathway Health Falls remain one of the most persistent and complex risks in long-term care. For administrators and directors of nursing, fall prevention is no longer just a clinical initiative—it is a regulatory, legal, and quality-of-care priority. Federal oversight continues to intensify as...
Leadership, Culture, and the Path Forward: A Reflection for Long-Term Care Administrator’s Week
Insights from Douglas Olson, Ph.D., MBA, NHA, FACHC, Senior Advisor, Pathway Health This time of year is when many organizations are actively executing their 2026 plans, priorities, and goals. For some, the year is off to a strong start. For others, progress is meeting expectations—or perhaps falling a bit behind. In reality, these are the...
Section GG: Where Clinical Accuracy Meets Financial Performance
Insights from Scott Heichel, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-CTA, DNS-CT, IPCO, QCP, ICC – Director of Reimbursement and Education, Pathway Health As skilled leaders recognize, the Minimum Data Set (MDS) is foundational to reimbursement accuracy—and Section GG sits at the center of that process. Section GG captures a resident’s functional performance at admission and discharge and directly...
EHR Optimization Is No Longer Optional in Today’s Long-Term Care and Senior Living Organizations
Insights from Keri Wlaschin, LPN, Director of Project Management at Pathway Health Electronic health record optimization is not about changing systems—it’s about making the system you already own work smarter and harder for your organization. Most nursing homes begin with an initial EHR implementation that is out-of-the-box or configured at a basic level, which is...
American Heart Month: Supporting Heart Health in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care
Each February, American Heart Month serves as an important reminder of the impact cardiovascular disease has on individuals, families, and care teams across the country. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, and its prevalence is especially significant among older adults and individuals receiving post-acute and long-term care services. For...
Clinical Competency in Assisted Living
Insights from Colleen Toebe, MSN, CWCN, RAC-MTA, RAC-MT, DNS MT – Vice President of Clinical Services As the senior living landscape rapidly evolves, leaders across assisted living, home and community-based services, and post-acute care are navigating rising expectations and increasingly complex resident needs. Older adults are choosing to age in place, bringing higher acuity, multiple chronic...
How to Stop Ineffective Quick Hiring
Insights from Clint Maun, President and Senior Partner of Maun-Lemke Consulting In today’s post-acute and senior living environments, staffing pressure can push leaders toward fast decisions that feel necessary in the moment but often create long-term consequences. Vacancies, overtime, agency reliance, and staff fatigue make “quick hiring” tempting. Yet, ineffective and rushed hiring is one...
Advance Care Planning in Nursing Homes
Insights from Kathleen T. Unroe, MD, Cornelius and Yvonne Pettinga Professor of Medicine, Research Scientist, Indiana University Center for Aging Research, and Susan Hickman, PhD, Geropsychologist, Director and Senior Investigator, Investigative Science Division, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute In post-acute and long-term care settings, few responsibilities carry as much weight or as much humanity...
