Red Nose Day: We bet you heard someone talking about it yesterday. Whether you saw a friend with a red nose on Facebook, purchased a red nose, snapchatted one onto yourself with a filter or simply heard someone talking about it, it seems everyone was in on raising awareness about kids’ poverty with the red nose theme.

Congratulations to our own OT Becky Finni, who was recently elected President-Elect of the Ohio Occupational Therapy Association!

In late April 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued proposed rules for several post-acute settings including Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) and Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) to establish Medicare payment rates and other initiatives effective October 1, 2016 – the start of fiscal year 2017.

The Q4FY15 release of the skilled nursing facility (SNF) Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER) with statistics through September 2015 is now available for download through the PEPPER Resources Portal.

The tenth annual McKnight’s Online Expo kicks off tomorrow and will feature five free webinars with crucial info for providers. The event starts tomorrow at 10 AM ET, so sign up now! Free registration is currently under way.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) yesterday announced that it will test a new payment model for nursing facilities in an effort to reduce avoidable rehospitalizations, lower combined Medicare and Medicaid spending and improve care quality.

Studies have repeatedly proven that there is a link between movement and longevity. Just last month a new study of 3,000 50-79 year olds showed that the least active among the participants were five times more likely to die than the most active (via Medical News Today).

Due to obesity and other lifestyle factors, the incidence of stroke among young people is increasing rapidly. 10% of strokes now occur in those aged 18-50, and some suggest that the percentage of young victims may be even higher. What are the implications for rehab providers?

The results of a recent study at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine found that freezing nerves through cryoneurolysis before knee replacement surgery led to better outcomes.

Functional status is a frequently overlooked risk factor for readmissions and is a more valuable predictor of readmission risk than medical comorbidities in the medically complex inpatient rehabilitation population. The results of this study add to the growing body of evidence that functional status is an important predictor of readmissions.