Category: Health Care
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Nursing Shortages Require Better Oversight of Virginia Nursing Homes – Part One – The Problem
By James C Sherlock We have some great nursing facilities in Virginia. We also have far more than our share of bad ones. Virginia has a decision to make about the latter. The federal government sets standards for those that are paid with federal funds. It both levies fines and denies payments as it feels…
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Profound Registered Nurse Shortages in a Virginia Beach Nursing Home
By James C. Sherlock Registered nurses (RNs) both supervise medical treatment and are the primary medical care providers in nursing homes. Physicians are on call but generally are not present. One Virginia nursing home is currently advertising: RN’s Now hiring All Shifts! Pick your shift. Perhaps not good news for those patients. Some of the…
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Predatory Virginia Nursing Home Owners
by James C. Sherlock Merriam Webster: Pred*a*tor: (noun) one who injures or exploits others for personal gain or profit. The most medically vulnerable of us reside in skilled nursing facilities (SNF). Nobody plans to be there, but that is where about thirty thousand Virginians find themselves at any one time. People who are moved from hospitals…
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Past Time for Serious Sanctions for the Commonwealth’s Worst Nursing Homes
by James C. Sherlock Effective May 1 of this year, Karen Shelton M.D. became Virginia’s Health Commissioner. Dr. Shelton is now the licensor and regulator of Virginia’s nursing homes. By law, state-licensed nursing homes must comply with federal and state laws and standards. By regulation, the Health Commissioner “may impose such administrative sanctions or take such…
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No Clarity In This Process
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Here is another example of the utter inanity of this country’s medical care system and its financing. First, some background. I am covered by Medicare. I also have a Medicare supplement insurance policy issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia for retirees, administered by Anthem. (Good deal, by the way.) I chose to…
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Virginia’s Best Nursing Facilities
by James C. Sherlock This is part 4 of a series on nursing homes in Virginia. Part 1 here Part 2 here, Part 3 here. Medicare.gov curates and publishes a system of nursing home assessments that is outstanding in both design and execution. As discussed in earlier parts of this series, Virginia has far more…
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Virginia Nursing Home Regulations and Inspections – A Strategic Improvement Recommendation
By James C. Sherlock Those who read this blog know that Virginia has far more than its share of bad nursing homes. They just do not know what can or should be done about it. This third in a current series on Virginia nursing homes will take on a problem that is self-inflicted – the…
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A Supplement to James Sherlock’s Post
by Dick Hall-Sizemore James Sherlock has done yeoman’s work on this blog with his pointing out the failure of state government to adequately regulate the nursing homes in the Commonwealth. I commend him for his perseverance on this issue. In doing some research on the budget issues related to this topic, I encountered enough additional…
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No New Law or Regulation is Needed for VDH to Sanction Bad Nursing Homes
By James C. Sherlock This is Part 2 of this series. Part 1 is here. I will offer here a deeper sense of Virginia’s bad nursing homes. And of the historic lack of adequate regulation by the state. Start with the fact that even the worst of them are still open. Centers for Medicare &…
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Scandal in Plain Sight – Virginia’s Failed Regulation of Law-Avoiding Nursing Home Owners
by James C. Sherlock One of the most important and heart-wrenching decisions families make for their elderly loved ones is whether they are able to keep them in their homes as they get older and sicker. Sometimes that is not feasible for a long list of reasons in each case. More than 30,000 Virginians live…
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Sentara Does a Very Good Thing
by James C. Sherlock Sentara brass will not believe that I wrote that headline. We have a history. But right is right. A Sentara mobile care unit will start June 1 to provide primary care service two days a week in two separate locations in Petersburg. The people of Petersburg desperately need it. That city…
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Leapfrog Group Safety Scores for Virginia Hospitals
by James C. Sherlock The latest Leapfrog Group safety grades are out for 72 of Virginia’s hospitals. The Leapfrog Hospital surveys are the next-best source to the ratings based on broader data offered by Medicare Compare. Leapfrog Group data accuracy measures are explained here. The grades represent cumulative scores of hospital safety, quality, and efficiency…
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Virginia Lacks Regulations for the Safe, Scientific and Effective Diagnosis and Treatment of Transgender Youth
by James C. Sherlock To get this out of the way, I personally support qualified diagnosis and psychological treatment for gender dysphoria in children and adolescents. I oppose puberty suppression, cross-gender hormonal treatments and transgender surgical procedures in minors. That said, transgender individuals, like everyone, deserve skilled, safe and standards-based medical care. Virginia laws and…
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Glen Allen Va’s “Do No Harm” Doing a Great Deal of Good
by James C. Sherlock Do you assume that Virginia’s medical schools are strict meritocracies, taking only the most well prepared and accomplished applicants? And that their efforts are then focused entirely on creating the most skilled physicians possible? If so, you are mistaken. The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), written by the American Medical Association…
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Primary Care for Underserved Virginians
by James C. Sherlock It is an old story for Virginia: shortages of primary care providers in inner cities and rural areas. Perhaps the best article I have ever seen on the unique value of primary care and payment reforms to reflect its value was published in 2021 in the Harvard Business Review. I recommend…