Julie Ward, senior executive officer of public policy for The Arc, feels a strong sense of urgency to help protect the Medicaid program and its home- and community-based services (HCBS) from impending cuts. For people with disabilities, she noted, HCBS is a lifeline. If HCBS is cut, it will force people into institutions and cause hardships for families. The HCBS program is currently grappling with challenges including a waiting list of over 711,000 and a workforce shortage. Procedural challenges that ensued with the Medicaid unwinding — the process of refining Medicaid enrollment following the COVID-19 pandemic — may serve as a cautionary tale if the Trump administration enacts work requirements, she said. The need to act to defend Medicaid feels stronger than it ever has been, she noted, as there will not be a divided Congress to serve as a backstop.

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Discover how senior care communities can prioritize resident and staff safety with dedicated emergency response solutions. In this episode, we explore the critical role of highly trained emergency dispatchers in delivering compassionate, reliable support—from elevator safety to risk mitigation—freeing nursing staff to focus on exceptional care while enhancing safety, reliability, and peace of mind for all. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Thanks to monitoring technology, Griswold has learned just how often clients fall when caregivers are not in the home, CEO Michael Slupecki said. This technology also has helped to provide insights into whether caregivers and patients are getting along and whether patients are confused about their medications. This type of data not only helps to improve the experience for patients, it also provides key data for insurance payers like Medicare Advantage. As the number of people aging in place grows and caregiver shortages worsen, AI will help to manage limited resources, he said.

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Remember when the iPhone transformed our understanding of what a phone could be? There's a similar revolution brewing in LTC admissions. Tune in to explore how leading facilities are reimagining the first 24 hours of care—turning a fragmented process into an experience that's beautifully simple, yet remarkably powerful. Ari Shabat, Reside Admissions' CEO, reveals how Admissions 3.0 sets a new standard where compliance feels effortless, staff love their work, and revenue naturally follows. Discover how more than 800 facilities are already achieving higher occupancy rates and staff satisfaction while reducing compliance risks -- all through an intelligent admissions process that's as intuitive as your favorite app and as thorough as your best clinician. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Mary Munoz manages the western region of Ziegler's senior living practice, where she specializes in financing senior living mergers and acquisitions, and in stragegic and capital planning consulting services. On the cusp of her impending retirement from Zieger, Mary shares her unique perspective as both an expert and a consumer, how she's seen the industry change over time, and her predicitons for the future of senior living. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Discover how data analytics are transforming senior living, enhancing resident care, improving operational efficiency and driving innovation. Learn actionable insights that will shape the future of this evolving industry. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Joseph Kitonga, founder & CEO of Vitable Health, joins us from the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s 2024 Conference where he shares how his parents’ experience running a home care agency led him to create Vitable, a company designed to help home care agencies offer affordable health benefits to their employees.

We also dive into why home health care businesses are among the most likely to be audited by the IRS for non-compliance with the Affordable Care Act, what it means to get a penalty notice from the IRS, and how agencies can think about health benefits as part of their overall growth strategy. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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McKnight’s Home Care Staff Writer Adam Healy and Jason Resendez, president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance for Caregiving

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All team members at skilled nursing facilities have a stake in getting the ever-evolving MDS stipulations right. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is collecting more information than ever before, and they’re studying it for patterns more rigorously than ever.

Consider MDS processes another example of high-risk management, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. That’s the view of Leah Klusch, the executive director of The Alliance Training Center, who sat down with McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Executive Editor James M. Berklan recently to discuss all things MDS.

She re-emphasizes the importance of making the data reproducible. She discusses the latest coding changes in version 1.19.1 of the MDS. She warns that not filling out the section on the mood interview could cost providers $40 to $50 per patient day. She dotes over providers’ needs like any 57-year nursing veteran might.

Beyond that, Klusch already has had a peek at a next iteration of the MDS and comments how she thinks it will bring even more crystallization to the nursing home assessment and admissions process. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Not live from the AHCA/NCAL conference in Orlando, FL, where he was to be a speaker, Stan Szpytek, president of Fire and Life Safety Inc., discusses what senior living providers must do to prepare for natural disasters and man-made events. He also shares problems that can occur when communities decorate for the holidays.

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