Ted McDonald and John Bowblis discussed strategies for defending “understaffing” claims in long-term care litigation.  In addition to examining the raw data and challenging the plaintiff’s formulas and methodology, providers and their counsel must be able to demonstrate the quality and quantity of care provided to patients and residents to refute plaintiffs’ allegations. In the Excelas Care Calendar, with the click of a mouse defense counsel can easily:

• quantify every time a caregiver interacted with a patient/resident through the calendar format.
• know the type of care provided, and how often.
• access the exact page where the documentation exists.
• illustrate the total number of “touches” through an interactive calendar format.

Several presentations stressed the importance of early case assessment.  As Leah Nollenberger highlighted in the panel discussion on Recent Trends in Aging Services, John Lowry noted in the presentation on Defending Damages in the Post-COVID Era, and Joe Bianculli observed in the Regulatory Update, quickly reviewing and analyzing the records for early case assessment can reduce costs and improve outcomes.  Excelas offers cost-effective tools to facilitate your legal team’s prompt response to claims, suits, surveys, and administrative appeals.

Katie Matsoukas addressed the Potential Ethical Pitfalls in Defending Sexual Assault/Abuse/Neglect Claims with Criminal Investigations.  When defendants need to conduct a thorough investigation involving multiple patients or residents or want to identify each interaction with a specific provider, Excelas can efficiently review multiple charts and generate a Provider of Care report to facilitate interviews, responsive pleadings, and discovery.

Dr. Leigh Vaughan of Medical University of South Carolina and J. Richard Moore of Bleeke, Dillon, Crandall PC provided an in-depth discussion on decisions related to palliative and hospice care from a physician’s perspective.  They also discussed the increase in claims related to the appropriateness of admission to palliative care or hospice.  Internal audits can assist facilities in ensuring documentation in the medical records supports admission to these services.

Tara Clayton of Marsh, Tom Goodwin of Brookdale Senior Living, and Bree Williams of Ventas, comprised an informative panel to discuss the “Silver Tsunami.”  Inventory of senior living options is not expected to meet demand in the next several years, and the acuity of residents is increasing.  Challenges to providers include, but are not limited to, new expectations by consumers, regulatory changes, and technology.

Between the educational sessions and networking opportunities, Excelas had the opportunity to hear directly from end users about how our innovative tools support counsel in preparing defense strategies in complex long-term care cases.  Excelas always appreciates the opportunity to sponsor the DRI Senior Living and Long-Term Care Seminar.