In our new “Ask The Reader” feature, each month Provider will pose a question related to a key issue in the long term and post-acute care field. Selected answers will appear in the next issue of the magazine, while additional

responses will be posted online.

What keeps you up at night regarding your job?

 

 “What’s keeping me up at night recently is PBJ—not peanut butter and jelly, but rather Payroll Based Journal, a new requirement from CMS that will require quarterly submission of staffing from payroll and all contract and agency. This new rule requires mandatory reporting effective in July 2016. Major payroll solutions vendors are just now beginning to develop software to accommodate these changes. It will be interesting to see how this is implemented.”

 

 

 

 

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“What keeps me awake at night, as a professional development coach to our members, is that we continue to have such high turnover, especially among certified nurse assistants (CNAs). A contributing factor across the board continues to be the need for education and training related to dementia care and mental health. Having been a CNA for 20 years myself, I understand the desire to be fully prepared to care for those I serve.

What helps me to sleep at night is the knowledge that my association, NAHCA, works diligently to provide education and training that is designed to help our members achieve their fullest potential as professional caregivers.”

 

 

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“We live in a world with tools that make it easier than ever to communicate the value of skilled nursing care. However, increasingly complex health care regulations make it difficult to tell our powerful story of lives changed in a way that’s relatable and understandable. Walking this tightrope and making the best use of new and old media causes me to toss and turn after the lights are off.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“There have been shifts in how we care for the elderly. People are living longer, and their health care needs continue to rise in acuity in the nursing facility setting. Medicaid and Medicare programs are constantly changing. With the implementation of dual demonstration programs, Medicaid-managed care, and increased state and federal oversight of health care, I remain concerned about the erosion of health care programs and the instability in our environment and how that affects quality outcomes and resources needed to train our workforce so they are equipped to care for our frail and aging.”