Will Work For Laws

Sometimes when doing presentations for health providers, I joke about over-regulation of health care by asking that before participants decide to suggest new laws– they close their eyes and imagine hordes of lawyers running through the Halls of Congress holding cardboard signs that say: Will Work For Laws. I may be joking but the reality [...]

Pitfalls of Pain Management

You all know that Pain Management is a quality of care concern for DADS. Facilities have been cited for failing to adequately and systemically deal with pain being suffered by residents. Nursing facilities must, of course, obtain physician’s orders for pain medication and increasing dosages and types of medications. Today, there was a column in [...]

Written Statements for Incident Reports

Lately, several people have asked me about the advisability of having employees write statements to accompany reports of incidents sent to DADS. It is my position that having your employees write such statements is neither advisable or required. Thus, the next question is–how do you conduct your investigation if you don’t have your employees write [...]

Criminal Checks of Nursing Home Residents?

On November 15, 2004, CBS news reported on an incident involving alleged resident-on- resident sexual abuse in a Florida nursing home. The resident-suspect, a man in his 80′s, had been found wandering the streets by Florida law enforcement. A Florida court declared him a “vulnerable adult … in need of protective services.” Thus, the officials [...]

Reforming Adult Protective Services

On November 15, 2004, HHSC released its report relating to reforming Adult Protective Services in accordance with Executive Order RP33. The report is linked here. According to the press release: The reform plan recommends adding an additional 63 caseworkers over the next biennium – for a total of 144 new caseworkers by fiscal year 2007. [...]

The Flu And You!

The flu season is upon us and many of you in long-term-care have been concerned about obtaining flu shots for your vulnerable populations. The Texas Department of State Health Services issued a news release on November 9, 2004 indicating: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced that the distribution of some [...]

JUDICIAL REVIEW FOR LEVEL OF NEED CASES

In a recent article, Understanding the Anatomy of a Level of Need Appeal, I said that recourse beyond the administrative process was non-existent at worst and uncertain at best. We now have good news on that issue from the Texas Supreme Court. In September, the Texas Supreme Court ruled on a case involving the question [...]