Here’s a quick and easy reference to find your facility’s historical survey results and see exactly what was cited.   This is especially important as you get close to your nursing home survey window.  If you were cited before, take my word, they’ll look again to see if you’re maintaining compliance. Click here to find the Nursing Home Survey 2567 for your facility.  (Pdf courtesy of cms.gov.) Share...

Typically on the first day of a new job, we are so busy getting orientation, watching hours of videos, and signing a huge packet of forms that we forget to ask some of the basic questions a new nursing home administrator should always know.  I put together a brief list of things I always make sure I ask for on my first day.  That way, it doesn’t drag out 2 weeks with me not knowing where to get what. Click on the picture below to...

Everyone is going to make mistakes.  I certainly have made my fair share.  Especially going into the role of a nursing home administrator which I really didn’t know anything about.  I’m lucky to have survived in this industry!   Here are a few mistakes I made as a rookie nursing home administrator.  Learn from my mistakes so you don’t have to repeat them for yourself. 1.  Not studying the regs everyday. The...

Hey, guys.  I wanted to let you in on a new feature NHP has rolled out.  We now feature job listings for nursing home administrators and other long term care professionals.  Check it out! Just click the green button -> Share this:FacebookShareStumbleUponDiggEmailRedditPrint

One thing I  like to do is to make resources available to my staff to enable them the opportunity to continue to grow and expand their knowledge in longterm care and all the things that go with it. Some of these resources include books and dvds.  When I was starting out, my administrator / preceptor / mentor loaned me some books on leadership and management that he’d been reading.  It opened my eyes that there was a lot left to...

I was recently having a conversation with a family member over nursing home staffing.  He was very frustrated that the facility his mother was in would not put another CNA on her hall during the day.  He said that the staff was leaving because they were overloaded. This is a common concern with many families and many nursing home staff members and administrators as well.  What do you do when your budget doesn’t allow you to add...

There are so many wheelchair cushions out there today it can get a bit confusing on which one is the best for your residents.  You’ve got cushions made with eggcrate foam, memory foam, gel, air, water, sand, and everything in between.  As you know, for your residents who are already at risk for skin breakdown – they’re usually the ones who like to sit up for hours on end – a proper pressure reduction cushion is a...

Sometimes you need a new way to attract more therapy patients.  Sometimes, you just need something positive that you can put in the local newspaper.  Either way, it needs to be inexpensive. One option that is very easy to implement is to incorporate the Nintendo Wii game console into your therapy services. This motion-sensitive gaming system has proven to be quite useful in nursing home rehab departments.  Plus, it’s engaging and...

Vince Lombardi is known as one of the most successful football coaches in the history of the game.  He had a habit of creating winners.  His focus, however, was on fine-tuning each player – helping them become the best they could be.  A lesson can be taken from this as we each have our own team that we coach everyday in the nursing home.  Have your staff become complacent, just meeting the minimums?  What are we doing each day to...