News for MDS Experts
Check out our insightful articles and current social feed of news that’s important to MDS Coordinators.
Our Latest Articles
From Coding to Compliance: Avoiding Pitfalls in the 2026 MDS Landscape
With the numerous regulatory bodies that govern long term care (LTC) and skilled nursing facilities (SNF), it is easy to feel like there is no end to the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) and...
Keeping Up with Quality Measures in 2026
Quality measures (QM) that are driven by MDS data are currently utilized for long term care (LTC) facilities and skilled nursing facilities (SNF) in several ways. These QMs are publicly reported via...
The Latest in the Lineup: The Skilled Nursing Facility Validation Program
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) audits of skilled nursing facility (SNF) Minimum Data Set (MDS) data are nothing new. The MDS 3.0 was implemented in 2010, and in 2014 CMS piloted MDS...
𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝗽: Restorative Nursing vs. Therapy: Clarifying Roles and Documentation Requirements
📅 January 13 | 1:00 PM ET
🎓 Free Public Webinar
𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹:
✅Therapy and restorative nursing regulatory requirements
✅Key MDS components impacted by therapy and restorative nursing
✅Ways to maximize collaborative processes between therapy and nursing to support compliance and resident outcomes
📬 𝗔𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆: our latest newsletter, From Coding to Compliance: Avoiding Pitfalls in the 2026 MDS Landscape, explores how overlapping regulations, internal policies, and evolving expectations impact MDS accuracy—and what facilities can do now to stay ahead.
Watch the Tuesday Tip video, read today’s newsletter, and join us tomorrow for practical guidance your IDT can use right away.
👉 Join us tomorrow: cstu.io/1b480a
#TuesdayTip #MDS #RestorativeNursing #TherapyDocumentation #SNFCompliance #LongTermCare #MDSConsultants ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
🚨The Five-Star rating preview reports for nursing homes were available in iQIES on January 7, 2026. Nursing Home Care Compare will update with the December Five-Star data on or around January 14, 2026.
cstu.io/29f891 ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁:
Restorative nursing programs were added to the MDS to capture the nursing work that maintains or improves function after therapy ends — because CMS recognized that progress doesn’t stop when therapy does.
🎉 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 • 𝗝𝗮𝗻 𝟭𝟯
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗡𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆
🌟 Special guest: Julie Bellucci (Premier Therapy)
👉 Save your spot: mdsexpert.com/webinars-training
#RestorativeNursing #MDS #RAIManual #SkilledNursing #LTC #Compliance #NurseLeadership #IDT ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
🎉 We’re kicking off our 2026 Education Year with AAPACN!
MDS Consultants is proud to begin our 2026 education year as an AAPACN Training Partner, starting with the QAPI Certified Professional (QCP®) Workshop in April 2026.
This nationally recognized workshop is designed to help facilities move beyond compliance and strengthen meaningful QAPI programs that truly impact resident care.
📅 QCP® | April 14–17, 2026
🖥️ Virtual | Eastern Time
🎓 15 Continuing Education Credits
🔗 Register at cstu.io/5568d2
Follow us for additional AAPACN certification opportunities throughout 2026.
#AAPACN #AAPACNTrainingPartner #QCP #QAPI #MDSConsultants #SNFEducation #LongTermCare #NurseLeadership #Compliance #QualityImprovement ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
🎉 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿! 🎉
This is our FIRST webinar of the year — and you’re invited.
📅 Jan 13 | Restorative Nursing vs. Therapy: Clarifying Roles & Documentation Requirements
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱: “𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆?” 𝗼𝗿 “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄?” — 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂.
Attendees of this seminar will:
• Review therapy and restorative nursing regulatory requirements
• Discuss key MDS components that can be impacted by therapy and restorative nursing
• Delve into maximizing collaborative processes between therapy and nursing
𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱: Administrators, DNS, NACs/MDS Coordinators, Clinical Nurse Managers, Therapy Staff, and IDT members.
𝗟𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗗𝗦 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀: Jessica Stucin, RN, BSN, LNHA, RAC-MT, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, QCP; Kristine Martinez, RN, BSN, DNS-CT, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, QCP
Featuring a special guest speaker from our partners at Premier Therapy: Julie Bellucci, MS, CCC-SLP, DCP
𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: cstu.io/4f197d
Registration is required to receive your personal login link.
#MDS #RestorativeNursing #Therapy #SNF #LongTermCare #Documentation #IDT #Compliance ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
"With the numerous regulatory bodies that govern long term care (LTC) and skilled nursing facilities (SNF), it is easy to feel like there is no end to the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) and Minimum Data Set (MDS) “rules.” There are Federal, State, and sometimes local regulations. There are facility policies that may be in place (in response to a survey deficiency, as an extension of a corporate requirements, or simply “because we have always done it this way”)." Click on the link below to read the entire blog for Successful Regulatory Compliance. cstu.io/26c96c
cstu.io/4eafe1 ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
The Internet Quality Improvement & Evaluation System (iQIES) User Roles Matrix has been updated and posted on 12/22/2025. This job aid outlines the user roles and privileges in iQIES. All users must have a role in iQIES. Follow the user tables in this job aid to help select the correct user role. Review the privileges you need, then select the corresponding role.
cstu.io/da2c9c
cstu.io/9f8073 ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Effective December 16, 2025, Errata V4.00.2 updated the fatal edit -4019 in data specification versions 2.00.0, 2.00.3, and 4.00.0. Previously, optional hire and termination dates could not exceed December 31, 2025. This restriction has been extended to December 31, 2050. Additional information and examples can be found on QTSO at cstu.io/84b326
cstu.io/7b3c3b ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Happy Friday! 🎉
Day 2 of the New Year and we’re already back to doing what we do best: keeping residents safe and the documentation tight. 💚❤️
#HappyFriday #SNF #LongTermCare #MDS #ChartingLife #HealthcareHumor ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook