PointClickCare, already long-term care’s largest health records and technology platform, has expanded its footprint by acquiring American HealthTech, the companies announced Wednesday morning.

The move continues a trend, said industry expert Majd Alwan, PhD, the chief strategy and growth officer for Thrivewell Tech, a digital transformation agent that helps providers. He was not involved in the deal.

“It’s another step in the consolidation of the market and the acquisition of smaller players who have not been able to grow,” Alwan said. “It has been going on for quite some time.”

He said that AHT clients are among the winners because they will gain access to a platform that is “continuing to grow and evolve.”

“I’m really impressed with the level of integrations and add-on software that’s available” under the PCC umbrella, he added.

It also marks the end of an era for AHT, a “home-grown” platform that originated with a single provider and grew into a commercial offering as peers adopted the platform. Alwan said he originally encountered AHT as the long-time former leader of LeadingAge’s Center for Aging Services Technologies, or CAST.

A database he created with that group most recently showed that AHT had 3,300 skilled nursing, assisted living and continuing care retirement / life plan community clients as of 2023. PointClickCare counts more than 30,000 healthcare entities as clients, spanning the SNF, assisted living, independent living, CCRC and rehab sectors, along with a minority of acute-care partners.

PCC co-founder and CEO Dave Wessinger declined to disclose financial terms of the deal, nor how many providers might be affected. But he told McKnight’s that almost 40 AHT employees will be joining the privately held PCC.

“We are acquiring American HealthTech because we see great growth potential together,” he said. 

“Thanks to our robust and most-comprehensive data set, we will be able to provide AHT’s customers’ care teams with important updates to products and solutions they will need as care delivery continues to evolve, and as the needs of their patients become more complex — including access to technology that can provide deeper connectivity with acute care settings through a more comprehensive network,” he added in a statement.

More than 27,000 long-term and post-acute care providers, more than 100 hospitals and health systems, more than 3,600 ambulatory clinics, every major US health plan and more than 70 state and government agencies currently use PointClickCare, the company said.

AHT was a wholly owned subsidiary of Computer Programs and Systems Inc., or CPSI, which provides electronic health records systems and related services to post-acute providers.

“As part of our ongoing business transformation, we have decided to divest AHT and therefore discontinue development of the AHT product,” explained CPSI President and CEO Chris Fowler in a joint statement from the companies. Fowler said the two companies “share similar cultures and values,” making the merger an “ideal fit for AHT, its clients and employees.”

Wessinger told McKnight’s that the transaction comes at a pivotal time in PCC’s evolution.

“In 2024, we are laser-focused on addressing critical gaps in healthcare to better serve high-needs populations through an expanding care collaboration network,” he noted. “Through this acquisition, we continue to fulfill the mission of modernizing healthcare by helping an expanding number of providers improve patient outcomes across care settings, including skilled nursing and senior living communities.” 

PointClickCare’s integrated platform delivers real-time, actionable insights at the point of care to ease transitions and foster better post-discharge outcomes, the company said. It added that it possesses the industry’s “most expansive dataset.”

“PointClickCare’s mission has always been, and continues to be, addressing critical gaps in healthcare to better serve high-needs populations through a robust care collaboration network,” Wessinger added.

While still a state legislator in the mid-1990s, Parkinson and his wife, Stacy, founded the first of their 10 eldercare communities in Kansas and Missouri, an assisted living community. 

The lanky lawyer particularly distinguished himself in recent years as the most visible spokesperson for the long-term care sector — the segment of society most devastated by infections and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been the president and CEO of the 14,000-member American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living since 2011, the year after he declined to run for another term as governor of Kansas.

“Mark doesn’t just talk the talk. He walks the walk. During his years at the helm of AHCA/NCAL, he has helped guide the industry through some of the most challenging times we’ve ever faced,” said McKnight’s Editorial Director and Associate Publisher John O’Connor in making the announcement of Parkinson as this year’s top Pinnacle honoree. “This he has done with amazing skill, wisdom, grit and grace. He is deserving of this honor, and we are truly fortunate to have him among us.”

When not touring the country to visit members and affiliates, Parkinson spends most of his time lobbying on senior living and care operators’ behalf from his home in Washington, DC. 

He and his wife started their chain of facilities in 1996 while still working in their private law practice.

A Republican state legislator dating back to 1991, he switched parties in 2006 to become Kathleen Sebelius’ running mate when she ran for governor of Kansas. They won, and in 2009, he became governor after Sebelius became secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration. He declined to seek another term and instead accepted the top AHCA/NCAL post before he left office in January 2011.

In 2020, McKnight’s named him one of long-term care’s most notable figures of the past 40 years.

Before becoming especially prominent as an industry point person during the pandemic, one of his biggest accomplishments was stitching back together a fractious AHCA/NCAL constituency, convincing major chains that had set up their own alliance to come back into the fold. The number of AHCA and NCAL state affiliates also has grown under his guidance.

Recognition is not a stranger to Parkinson. He also has been selected as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare multiple times and was named a Top CEO in the Washington Post’s 2019 Top Workplace survey in the small-employer category. He was named a Top Association CEO by CEO Update in 2013 and has appeared on The Hill’s list of top lobbyists every year since 2013.

A former No. 1 graduate of the University of Kansas Law School and champion college debater, he leads a list of 31 McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards honorees who will be celebrated at a gala ceremony open to all March 21 at the Ivy Room in Chicago.

A full list of 2024 winners, spanning the senior living, skilled nursing and home care professions, can be found at the McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards website. The program honors industry veterans who are setting standards, driving change and providing guidance to others in their field.

The McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards are a joint effort of McKnight’s Senior Living and sister media brands McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Home Care.

The sector veterans earned recognition for driving change, setting new standards and inspiring others. They were nominated by peers and selected by an independent, national panel of judges.

Honorees include an array of veteran operators, caregivers and affiliated professionals who have enjoyed careers of 20 years or longer, performing at the highest levels in senior living, skilled nursing and home care.

“This is an incredible collection of veterans who have made lasting marks on their fields. Such a group of outstanding professionals may gather only once a year,” McKnight’s Vice President and Publisher Craig Roth said in announcing the winners. “We’re looking forward to seeing them all together in March to honor them in person.”

The McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards are a joint effort of McKnight’s Senior Living and sister media brands McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Home Care.

Winners will be celebrated March 21 at a gala awards ceremony at the Ivy Room in Chicago. The event is open to all friends, family, colleagues and other supporters. Coverage will appear both online and in print.

McKnight’s Pinnacle Award honorees are recognized in six categories. Winners were chosen by senior living, skilled nursing and home care leaders who assessed nominees across four major criteria groupings.

As part of the program, organizers in January will announce a Career Achievement Award winner, who also will be feted at the March ceremony.

The program website, mcknightspinnacleawards.com, features a gallery of winners and more information about the McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards, including details about the awards ceremony and dinner.

The 2024 McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards winners:

Agent of Change Award

• Vassar Byrd, incoming CEO, The Kendal Corp.
• Deke Cateau, CEO, A.G. Rhodes
• Kristen Duell, Executive Vice President of Experience & Innovation, FirstLight Home Care
• Phillip Hill, Administrator, Principle Long Term Care
• Colleen Kamin, Executive Director, Anthem Memory Care
• Marianne Longo, Chief Clinical Officer, Help at Home
• David Totaro, Chief Marketing and Government Affairs Officer, BAYADA Home Health Care

Industry Ally Award

• Andrew Carle, Lead Faculty, Senior Living Administration, Georgetown University
• Clifton Porter II, Senior Vice President of Government Relations, American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living

Inspiration Award

• Mark Baiada, Chairman and Founder, BAYADA Home Health Care
• Esther Kamara-Conteh, Vice President Care Management Operations, VNS Health
• Esmerelda Lee, Chief Operating Officer / EVP, Century Park Associates
• Roberto Muñiz, President & CEO, Parker Health Group
• Cathy Williams, CEO, Winslow Campus of Care

Setting the Standard Award

• Sheila Davis, Senior Executive Vice President, Area Operations, Always Best Care Senior Services
• Jamie Dlatt, Chief Operating Officer, Legacy Healthcare
• Charles “Chuck” Hastings, Chief Financial Officer / Vice President of Finance and Business Development, Juniper Communities
• Kurt Merkelz, Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Compassus
• John Swanson, CEO, Willow Valley Development Corp.
• Raeann Voorhies, CEO, Vanda Health

Thought Leader Award

• Joan DiPaola, Director, Dementia Program Development, Harmony Village at CareOne Paramus
• Jessica Fear, Senior Vice President, Behavioral Health, VNS Health
• R. Tamara Konetzka, PhD, Louis Block Professor of Public Health Sciences Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago
• E. Joseph “Joe” Steier III, President / CEO, Signature HealthCARE

Unsung Hero Award

• Wendy Blackman, Director of Reflections, The Bristal at North Woodmere
• Orah Burack, Senior Research Associate, The New Jewish Home

Business Partner Award

• Tim Hadley, CEO, Evive Brands
• Steven Littlehale, Chief Innovation Officer, Zimmet Healthcare Services Group
• Cindy Smith, Director, Professional Services, Omnicare
• Wendy Strain, Director of Consulting Services, Polaris Group

Editor’s note: This article has been modified from its original version to update the overall number of honorees.

Ignite Medical Resorts completed the acquisition of two Northwest Indiana skilled nursing facilities Tuesday, swelling its total holdings to 21.

The pick-ups are previous Symphony Care Network facilities in Dyer and Crown Point, IN, far southeastern Chicago suburbs. They both were built approximately eight years ago, when Ignite co-founder and CEO Tim Fields was Symphony’s president.

“They’re both modern buildings and will offer our typical Ignite luxury and rapid rehab services,” Fields told McKnight’s. “They’ll be getting some slight upgrades but are already ready to shine.”

Ignite started easing into the Indiana facilities’ operations several weeks ago, allowing for a smooth, final transition. The expansion adds to the company’s other holdings in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. The firm has increased the size of its portfolio steadily through a mix of new construction and existing buildings since its founding in 2017 and now employs more than 3,000 people.

Specialized short-term rehab and nursing care conducted in a concierge-like environment the company calls LuxeRehab are Ignite’s calling cards. The firm emphasizes clinical programming for orthopedics, stroke, cardiac and respiratory care. Its therapists all are employed in-house.

“We’re excited to build on the culture and vision of Dyer and Crown Point with the leadership teams, as we share the same vision of offering top-tier hospitality and care to our guests and an unmatched culture for our employees,” Fields said in a statement announcing the transactions Wednesday. 

The two newly acquired facilities feature private rooms and have 100 and 68 beds, and currently rate 1 and 4 stars in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Five-Star rating system, respectively. 

Fields said that Ignite plans to add clinical and therapeutic advancements, robotics equipment and a LuxeCafe at each location.

“We look forward to bringing our enhanced environment of engaged employee culture, a hospitality-centered focus and superior rehabilitative nursing and therapy care to Indiana,” he said.

The Longevity-Humana partnership will provide special needs health plan offerings for Medicare-eligible individuals in skilled nursing facilities and senior living communities. The companies plan to launch their initiative in a handful of additional states in 2024 and add others in 2025.

“It’s a very big deal,” Marc Hudak told McKnight’s Friday in announcing the new joint venture. “We are leveraging Humana’s license, their H-contract with [the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services], their network, their infrastructure and their scale. They serve 5 million people every day, so there’s a lot of value there. What Longevity brings is we create these value-based trusted partners like the Touchstones of the world.”

He said that Longevity pursues a unique, value-based model that allows providers to be “rewarded for the value they are creating through the clinical side.”

As part of the Touchstone pact, Longevity will hire and manage specially trained care teams including advanced practice clinicians such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, in addition to medical directors, pharmacy experts, medical assistants and others. Those teams will work on-site in Touchstone communities to care for Humana’s enrolled members.

Beneficiaries will receive services such as no copays for primary care and behavioral health visits, transportation to medical appointments, an over-the counter benefit for health products, preventive and hearing aid coverage and other supplemental benefits.

Humana’s Medicare Advantage plans in Texas cover more than 440,000 people, according to Humana Texas Medicare President Bill White.

“Our partnership with Longevity enables us to expand our reach as this new Institutional special needs plan (ISNP) helps meet the specific needs of high-acuity members who live in senior living settings,” he said.

Riding a wave

Special needs plans are Medicare Advantage plans that bundle the benefits of Medicare parts A and B with Part D prescription drug coverage. They often are designed for needy beneficiaries in long-term care facilities who may have dual eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid.

The Longevity-Humana partnership originally was announced in May and is expected to cover more than a dozen states initially.

“We have the 13-state partnership (with Humana), and we also have a partnership with Aetna that is quite large in scope, and we’re already up and running with Aetna in Pennsylvania,” Hudak explained. “And we’re launching in a handful of additional markets with both Aetna and Humana in the next 45 days.”

Longevity prides itself on creating skilled nursing-centered plans, whereas others may center on primary care, hospitals and other, acute-care providers, Hudak said. Longevity currently serves 6,000 people in eight states, is the fastest-growing ISNP in the country and may be the second or third largest, he added.

“What’s unique about this is, now we’re playing the convener role because the Humanas of the world, the Aetnas of the world, they are the health plan partners. So we’re facilitating conversations that haven’t happened before between the health plan, Longevity and the SNF operator and talking differently about how we want to work in a value-based partnership,” Hudak said. “That is different, and we’re just getting started. It’s going to be a busy five years. There is so much need and opportunity in this space. We’re growing at a multiple of what we have before.”

Hudak said that large national plans started contacting Longevity about a year and a half ago. They told Longevity that they “really believe in the ISNP space” and wanted to be able to provide continuity of services for people who may be with them for 20 years or more and eventually need skilled nursing care, he recalled.

Hudak said that providers need to realize the inevitability of Medicare Advantage grabbing even more market share.

“Medicare Advantage is real, and it’s here to stay,” he said. “Every year, 2% to 3% more of my population are enrolled. SNF operators need to proactively approach health plans with a strategy of ‘Here’s how we’re going to work together to increase value and health outcomes.’ This model uniquely places us at the intersection to be that convener, to help facilitate these conversations. We believe there’s a lot of runway to grow and expand.”

Carolina Meadows in Chapel Hill, NC, was the grand prize winner Wednesday at the McKnight’s Tech Awards & Summit.

The 800-resident continuing care retirement community earned the Best of Show designation after being presented with the Gold Award in the Building Bridges category of the Senior Living track during the afternoon online awards ceremony.

More than 40 medalists were recognized across the Skilled Nursing, Senior Living and Home Care tracks of the competition.

Carolina Meadows won with the entry “Building a Mobile Community with AI Assessments.” The winning entry centered on its use of VirtuSense Technology’s artificial intelligence-powered fall risk assessment tool, VSTBalance. The tool has helped improve resident mobility, function and gait, Carolina Meadows leaders noted. 

Articles summarizing the Skilled Nursing, Senior Living and Home Care track winners can be found now on each of their respective McKnight’s websites.

An independent, national judging panel of 23 key stakeholders adjudicated entries, which were submitted in late spring. Entries were assessed on their overall value in improving resident care and services, impact, relevance, execution and creativity.

Finalists were announced in August in separate Skilled Nursing– , Senior Living– and Home Care-focused articles.

Submissions extolled providers’ growing use of artificial intelligence and other helpful applications of technology, both high-tech and low-tech in nature. Entries revealed a wide range of creativity across various facility departments to increase operators’ efficiency and outcomes.

Winners were feted during the Wednesday afternoon ceremony, which will remain available for online viewing in the archive for the next 12 months. They also will be celebrated at an in-person ceremony Oct. 2 in Denver, which is open to anyone interested. Those planning to attend can RSVP here.

In addition, each Gold winner will be featured in upcoming McKnight’s newsletter coverage.

Wednesday’s announcements concluded a full day of activity. Three thought-leadership webinars preceded the ceremony at the McKnight’s Technology Summit. Session titles were: “How emerging technologies and AI are transforming senior care,” “Staffing in the automation era: Right and wrong ways to use AI,” and “Creating senior living communities that flourish.”

They also will be available for online viewing in archive for a year.

Nursing titles enjoyed the highest average annual pay increases — all above 4.1% — among all communities responding in the 26th annual CCRC Salary & Benefits Report, which was released Monday by the Hospital and Health Compensation Service. 

Certified nurse aides (4.6%), licensed practical nurses (4.1%) and registered nurses (4.0%) led the pace over top-level executives (3.8%) and management (3.7%).

When comparing the same communities participating from a year earlier, however, top execs made up ground. Executive director pay rose an average of 4.2%, to $196,666, and the increase for chief financial officers was almost identical, with a 4.3% rise to $177,522.

Among the senior living ranks, salaries for assisted living/personal care managers increased just 3%, to $84,460, whereas salaries for directors of resident services/independent living rose 3.7% to $80,605.

On the increasingly challenged skilled nursing side of the CCRC equation, nursing home administrator salaries increased 3.2% to an annual $131,554, and director of nursing salaries lept 4.5%, to $112,603. MDS coordinator (RN) saw the biggest skilled nursing rise (5.99%, to $82,367).

“The data shows that while jobs are still seeing large wage increases, the increases are getting smaller,” said Rosanne Zabka, director of reports for HCS, in an email to McKnight’s. “And while turnover rates continue to increase, the rates are only increasing by 1% or 2% now and are not spiking up dramatically as they have previously. It seems all the positive steps CCRCs have been taking to attract new employees and stabilize their existing workforce are working.”

The largest salary survey of its kind, the 2023-2024 CCRC Salary & Benefits Report is published in cooperation with LeadingAge and includes feedback from for-profit and nonprofit operators. It includes data from 477 CCRCs, covering almost 79,000 employees, or 13,000 more than last year, Zabka said. Responses cover 46 management and 54 non-management positions.

The 265-page report is available for purchase and includes data on hot topics such as turnover, vacancy rates, sign-on bonuses and much more, broken down into national and nine regional averages. Information on salary and hourly pay, as well as 19 fringe benefits, is included.

Bonuses, vacancies impress

Some of the most eye-opening findings came in this year’s newly included categories, sign-on bonuses and vacancy rates, said one compensation expert.

“What really jumped out at me was the sign-on bonuses,” noted Matt Leach, principal and senior consultant for Total Compensation Solutions. “For RNs, more than half of the organizations are offering sign-on bonuses, and the three ‘big’ — RNs, LPNs and CNAs — are all over 50%.”

In actual terms, that level equals an average bonus of $4,578 for RNs, “a pretty big chunk of change,” Leach said. LPNs ($3,353) and CNAs ($2,247) also saw hefty average sign-on bonuses rise. 

Directors of nursing (RNs) had the highest average, with more than 30% of respondents offering a bonus, averaging $7,423. On the other end of the pay scale, at least one-fourth of all respondents offered sign-on bonuses of at least $1,100 to certified medication technicians, dining staff, kitchen staff, dietary aides and housekeeping/laundry employees.

“When organizations are hard-pressed on the money side and they’re offering this amount of money to potential employees, that jumps out at me,” Leach said. “There aren’t enough people in some of these organizations to do these jobs.”

That last point would not surprise anyone familiar with the business. But even though employee turnover rates have moderated, vacancy rates still grabbed Leach. RNs (19.8%), LPNs (17.4%) and CNAs (17.3%) had the highest rates, but it was the top management’s number that really caught his attention.

“Top-level or senior executives might be a little lower,” he said of job-vacancy rates, year to year. “But we’re still talking 13.5%, and that’s really high for management. For all levels of management across the board, we’re seeing so many retirements and so much turnover.”

Leach said that although average pay raises revealed in the report “were not astronomical,” they’re still outpacing all-industry norms and are worrisome.

“These increases are not sustainable,” he said, quickly adding that “at least in theory,” CCRCs are in the best position among senior living and care operators to handle rising labor costs, because they can increase resident fees.

The other “silver lining” for governing boards and other operating heads dealing with labor pay, Leach said, is that “you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody who hasn’t heard about how much salaries are increasing.” Inflation and staff shortages are the two biggest influencers, especially for lower level employees, he explained.

The ‘numbers game’

“It’s a numbers game. If CNAs aren’t able to afford their bills, they’re forced to look elsewhere,” Leach said. “You have to be competitive [as an operator offering compensation]. That’s what these numbers are saying. If you’re not being competitive, there are other organizations that have open slots that will be competitive and poach your talent.”

The annual turnover rate for all CCRC employees among respondents was 43.8%, led by dining services (52%), CNAs (48.6%), RNs (42.5%) and LPNs (39.7%). Top-level execs had the lowest turnover rate, at 19.3%.

Among same-participating communities (from 2022 to 2023), caregivers also fared well, with CNAs given the highest average raise among hourly employees. Nursing facility CNA salaries rose an eye-popping 9.44% (to $18.96 per hour), whereas LPN wages leaped 5.92% (to $29.78). Pay for staff nurses (RNs), meanwhile, jumped 5.75% — down from a 7.7% increase a year earlier — to $37.88 per hour.

On the assisted living side, CNAs also saw a huge jump in pay (7.8%, to $18.55 per hour), and resident assistant wages rose 7.4% to $16.22.

By comparison, therapy titles experienced some of the most modest pay raises among hourly employees. Speech language pathologist salaries went up 3.1% (to $51.07), whereas physical therapists (3.6%, to $48.97) and occupational therapists (3.7%, to $47.21) saw slightly bigger bumps.

Nursing homes and home health providers too often have been receiving patients with conditions they are not properly prepared for, putting both care providers and patients at risk, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services official said in a note to state survey agency directors.

“CMS has identified areas of concern related to missing or inaccurate patient information when a patient is discharged from a hospital,” wrote David R. Wright, the CMS director of the Quality, Safety & Oversight Group. 

“[Post-acute care] providers may not be equipped or trained to care for certain conditions that apply to patients whose information they were not previously informed of by the hospital and have accepted for transfer and admission,” the memo added. “Not only can this place the patient’s health at risk, it can also put the health and safety of other residents (in the patient’s home or in a SNF), as well as provider staff, at risk. These situations can cause avoidable readmissions, complications, and other adverse events.”

Long-term care stakeholders embraced the memo’s focus. Meanwhile, a hospital industry spokesman suggested SNFs should be doing more to enable better exchange of information and CMS should be focusing more on other matters.

Some specific “areas of concern” for CMS are “missing or inaccurate information” related to patients with serious mental illness, complex behavioral needs or substance abuse problems.

Underlying diagnoses related to the mental illness or substance abuse sometimes have not been included, regulators found. In addition, there may be incomplete information passed along about specific treatments a hospital undertook, such as additional supervision needed during a patient’s stay.

Medication lists also have been incomplete. Common omissions include patient diagnoses or problem lists, clinical indications, lab results, and/or clear orders for the post-discharge medication regimen. Information omissions have been most commonly reported for psychotropic medications and hard-copy narcotics prescriptions, CMS said.

CMS said other hospital-discharge information failures have occurred regarding:

• Treatment of skin tears, pressure ulcers, bruising or lacerations, or other skin conditions.
• Durable medical equipment, such as Trilogy, CPAP/BiPap or high-flow oxygen which are used for respiratory treatments; also skin healing equipment such as mattresses, wound vacuum machinery
• Patients’ goals for care and preferences for things such as advance directives and end-of-life care
• Needs at a patient’s home, including caregiving involvement and environmental safety needs.

Overdue action?

“It’s curious that CMS would be sending this out now. It’s about 3 years too late,” Gravity Healthcare Consulting Chief Operating OfficerMelissa Brown told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. “Before PDPM, it was common to only receive a discharge summary and a list of medications. These packets were often only 10 pages long and didn’t include a comprehensive report of the patient’s status, needs and goals. 

“Now, because of PDPM, hospitals send a fairly thorough discharge packet because the hospital documentation can be used to increase the accuracy of PDPM per diem rates. We recently reviewed a resident case with over 700 pages in the hospital discharge packet!”

She acknowledged, however, that some of the memo points “are relevant, and apply at least some of the time.”

“Often the MAR (Medication Administration Record) is not included in the hospital discharge packet,” she noted. “This is important documentation for SNFs and home health agencies to receive because it may demonstrate diagnoses or other clinical indicators that can impact care and reimbursement under PDPM and PDGM.”

She, and others, also noted that all levels of care — SNFs, home health agencies and hospitals alike — are challenged to understand and retrieve any information on the patient from before the hospital stay. 

“It often relies on the ability of the patient to provide the necessary information,” Brown observed. “This information retrieval and sharing is anemic at best and can be improved at all levels of care.”

She also added that “most” of the important patient preferences are relayed to nursing homes, “especially about end-of-life care.” Preferred discharge destination, and some other preferences, however, are not always in hospital records.

“The best bet for providers is to partner with the hospital systems in their area to establish electronic record sharing of the entire hospital medical record, including any outpatient visits that may shed light on mental health concerns, substance abuse disorders, and behaviors,” Brown said.

CMS should be commended for “recognizing this important issue,” said Denise Winzeler, RN, BSN, LNHA, a curriculum development specialist for the American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing.

“Too often, facilities are caught off guard when pertinent information is not relayed from the hospital for new admissions,” she told McKnight’s. “This frequently impacts the quality of care the SNF can deliver to the resident. AAPACN hopes this reminder from CMS will decrease the amount of hospital readmissions and other complications that could be avoided with increased oversight regarding the transfer of comprehensive health information.”

Recommendations, resources

A leader with the American Hospital Association said hospitals have invested heavily in discharge summary reports, often with the use of electronic medical record systems or health information exchanges, where available.

“Our members will continue to emphasize the critical importance of the discharge process and hope that post-acute facilities continue to take steps to make the process more efficient and patient focused,” said Mark Howell, AHA’s director of policy and patient safety, in an email to McKnight’s.

“Moving forward, we think there are improvements that can be made to CMS discharge planning requirements that would provide for a more individualized, patient-specific approach,” he added. “We look forward to working with the agency on advancing those proposed changes.”

CMS closed its memo by reminding state agencies (SAs), accrediting organizations (AOs) and hospitals themselves of obligations to provide discharge or transferring patients and their subsequent caregivers with complete information.

“When conducting surveys, SAs and AOs should be alert to the common issues identified … and ensure these discharges are occurring in a compliant and safe manner,” it said. 

Hospitals have discretion to develop their own policies and procedures to meet discharge requirements. But CMS also offered recommendations and resources that could make the job easier.

Hospitals can use, for example, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Re-Engineered Discharge (RED) Toolkit. They also can agree on standardized processes, information or forms with downstream providers. Regulators also encouraged hospitals to review past cases in order to improve future outcomes, and enable PAC providers to access electronic health records to ensure smooth, broad exchange of information.

Organizers opened the portal Wednesday for senior living and care’s most celebrated tech-oriented showcase and educational event. Entrants and attendees are encouraged to act quickly, as the deadline for submissions is June 23.

Finalists in each category will be announced Aug. 23, with a virtual summit and awards ceremony to follow Sept. 20. An in-person celebration will take place the first week of October in Denver.

McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Award entries are being accepted in four categories in each track: senior living, skilled nursing and home care. Winners will be recognized for technology uses that improve efficiency, demonstrate innovative thinking or harness new tools to benefit residents and staff members.

This annual showcase is a free opportunity for providers to demonstrate leadership and outside-the-box thinking when it comes to today’s tech. Submissions don’t have to involve complicated or costly devices or programs. The national, independent panel of judges is interested in clever approaches that lead to smarter workflows and better quality of life. 

Also back again is the Technology Partner of the Year award, which will encompass an all-division umbrella competition for senior living, skilled nursing and home care.

Entries will be accepted through June 23 in Quality, Innovator of the Year, KISS (Keep It Super Simple), Building Bridges and Tech Partner of the Year categories. More details are available at www.mcknightstechawards.com.

Also see the entry site for more details on categories and rules. Vendors are eligible to enter only the Tech Partner of the Year category.

In September, the Summit will feature educational panels. A full agenda will be announced at a later date.

Winners will be recognized across McKnight’s Senior Living, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Home Care and all their social and traditional media platforms.

Learn more about last year’s Senior Living track winners and the technology revolutionizing how they care for residents.

A co-founder, past president / CEO and current strategic adviser to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, Kramer now serves as a virtual ambassador at-large in the long-term care continuum. He also is the co-founder of Nexus Insights, a think tank with the goal of promoting a transformation in attitudes about age and models for aging well.

The Maryland native has given his all to creating better aging environments over the past four decades.

“For more than 35 years, Bob has been a transformational figure in the seniors housing and care field,” McKnight’s Vice President and Editorial Director John O’Connor said in announcing Kramer as the McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards’ top honoree. “He is universally recognized as one of our deep thinkers and innovators. His vision, creativity and wisdom have helped this sector move forward in ways that have helped us all. We are honored to recognize a true original.”

The Ivy League graduate heads a list of 31 Pinnacle Awards honorees who will be feted at a gala ceremony March 7 at the Ivy Room in Chicago. 

A full list of winners, spanning the skilled nursing, senior living and home care professions, can be found at the McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards website. The program honors industry veterans who are setting standards, driving change and providing guidance to others in their field. 

Directly after graduating Harvard University with a degree in political theory, Kramer set off to Oxford University to study theology. He subsequently earned a master’s degree in divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary and preached to full houses for two years before deciding a change was in order. Eventually, he wound up in politics and was elected to the Maryland General Assembly for four years.

Many saw it as a natural progression, given his family tree. His father served in the Eisenhower administration as an assistant attorney general, and his grandfather was both a speechwriter for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and assistant secretary to the treasury. 

But yet more detours were in store once Kramer became more familiar with senior housing and care. In 1991, he and some colleagues founded NIC, which has become the pre-eminent group for connecting capital seekers and capital providers in long-term care. As its top executive, Kramer led the drive to establish research and data engines so the field could emulate other successful real estate- and care-related sectors.

“This career award is incredibly fitting for Bob Kramer. He is clearly one of the giants of our field,” said current NIC President and CEO Ray Braun, a former president of Health Care REIT (now Welltower). “We are indebted to Bob for his vision for NIC and his industry leadership. He has impacted thousands. I’m glad to have known him for so many years, and worked beside him, first as an NIC board member and then board chair.” 

In 2020, Kramer formally unveiled Nexus Insights, an idea he had been formulating for years. He describes it as a think tank to help leaders in the senior living and skilled nursing sectors, and beyond, emerge from COVID-era conditions to more successfully create environments for better aging.

A frequent contributor to McKnight’s websites, podcasts, publications and other programs, Kramer is a much sought-after speaker who regularly participates in professional and mainstream conferences and symposia throughout the US and abroad.

For more information about the McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards, tickets to the dinner and awards ceremony, and other information, visit the program website, mcknightspinnacleawards.com.