PATHTalks

The upcoming round of updates to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) State Operations Manual includes significant revisions such as Updated QSO, Effective Date, Advanced Copy, F-Tag consolidation, Updates to IG, Updates to Critical Element Pathways, and Survey Tool Updates. 

For long-term care leaders and team members, preparedness is key to ensure a successful implementation of the changes, including identifying...

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Value-Based Purchasing Program awards incentive payments to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to encourage SNFs to improve the quality of care they provide to patients. The Value-Based Purchasing Program incentive is based on the Medicare Part A rehospitalization rates. The SNF VBP Program currently uses the SNF 30-Day All-Cause Readmission Measure (SNFRM), which evaluates the ...

In a world where finding talented individuals is scarce, you must be ready to look within for who can be developed and is up for the challenge of something more. Beyond using it as a recruitment and retention strategy, investing in individuals within your organization makes them more engaged, working harder, and most importantly, happier. Engagement means better financial outcomes, clinical outcomes, resident satisfaction, and so m...

Business development is key to ensuring future growth in all aspects of your senior living community or organization simply because having a plan in place helps us stay on track and move forward as one. A business development plan encompasses innovations with the changing times to build a good reputation and leverage an organization’s mission and core values.

But what are some practical ways to go about creating such a plan? How ...

Preparedness is vitally important for a successful survey. Being prepared and organized helps a survey go well, and nursing homes should be survey-ready every day. But how do you do that? If you still need ideas on being an informed leader and implementing effective surveys, we’ve got you covered.

Tune in to this episode PATHTalks to hear from Robin Davis, Director of Reimbursement and Regulatory Services, and Chandler Hulke, Dir...

A risk assessment is a proactive compliance tool used to detect, prevent, and correct risk while identifying inappropriate practices. It can be used in a clinical setting, financial setting, or both.

But how do leaders identify risk? Is identifying risk the same as a regulatory review or a mock survey? What is the difference? And most importantly, what should you look for when identifying potential risks?

Get the answers to the...

Professional or talent development plans are key to an organization’s recruitment and retention strategy. This internal process positions employees for career development and advancement opportunities, setting them up for successful careers within the organization. It also helps the organization better navigate its succession plan as employees move up the ladder.

What is the key to creating successful talent development plans? It’s...

Learning is a crucial component of becoming a better, more well-rounded person. Without it, we simply wouldn’t be able to be successful in our respective fields — but that fact is perhaps heightened in the health care landscape more so than any other.

Find out why proper learning design is so vital in this episode of PATHTalks featuring Pathway Health experts Dr. Doug Olson, President and CEO of Vision Centre, and Christopher Fangb...

Whether you are a leader in skilled nursing, assisted living, or any other long-term care environment, it is imperative that your team has the educational preparation to demonstrate knowledge and expertise in the mandatory education requirements and other skill sets that will support quality outcomes.

In this episode of PATHTalks, Pathway Health experts Sue LaGrange, Chief Nursing Officer, and Chris Fangboner, Vice President of Cor...

Electronic Health Records (EHR) play an essential role in health care, making optimizing such an investment pivotal. From establishing the right digital solutions to customizing your EHR platform, properly training staff, and more, you, too, can optimize your EHR investment. 

In today’s episode of PATHTalks, Pathway Health experts Daniel Billings, Chief Development Officer, and Keri Wlaschin, Director of Project Management, will pr...

Having a process in place to nurture leaders and implement a talent development plan for your team is a top retention and recruitment strategy for healthcare organizations.

Listen to this episode of PATHTalks, Emerging Leaders: How to Support and Where to Begin, featuring Doug Olson, Pathway Health Senior Advisor, and CEO and President of the Vision Center and Pathway Health’s Director of Leadership Services, Chandler Hulke, as t...

Because of the MDS change effective October 1, 2023, with Section G being removed and replaced with Section GG, some of the Quality Measures (QMs) were impacted. With these changes, you may have questions — and we have your answers.

In this episode of PATHTalks, you’ll learn about Quality Measure changes impacting organization outcomes for 2024, and you’ll also get a sneak peek into the future with insights on upcoming changes in p...

In this episode of PATHTalks, our experts delve into the significant adjustments happening in the realm of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Join us as we unpack the removal of Section GG discharge goal column and the integration of COVID vaccination status in Section O, both pivotal components stemming from the FY2024 SNF PPS Final Rule.

Why do these changes matter? How will they directly impact your facility’s Medicare Annual Pe...

In this episode of PATHTalks, health care leaders will learn about the many changes to the MDS 2023 Updates and their impact in 2024. 

Tune in to hear Pathway Health experts Robin Davis, Director of Regulatory and Reimbursement Services, and Colleen Toebe, Director of Consulting Services, discuss important MDS 2023 Updates and leadership considerations to support your team.

Listen to more PATHTalks episodes for important hot topics...

Individualized Service Plans (ISPs) play an important role in assisted living. More than just a clinical tool, ISPs are used to engage the whole team involved starting at the sales process and even including family. Taking it a step further, we can see where there are gaps and use them as a tool to provide education and ongoing training to staff.

ISPs are core to everything that is done in an assisted living community, serving as...

All career paths require some sort of competency understanding, but one could argue that it matters most in the health care industry. Competency-based education is essential in order for organizations to feel confident that employees have the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform their job and to provide quality care.

Learn more on this important topic and leadership considerations from Lisa Thomson and Susan LaGrange, Chief...

Infection control continues to be in the top regulatory citations in each state and on a national level. Having an effective and comprehensive IPC program is critical for all health care organizations, and leaders have a key role in ensuring proper implementation and outcomes. For more insights on this topic, tune into our latest episode, where Susan LaGrange, Chief Nursing Officer for Pathway Health, shares her insights.

Learn mor...