Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 - 8:34 p.m.

I really want to sit on the couch and read....

Aaahhh...Friday!

It was an ok day on the "getting-things-done" front. I had a staff meeting that involved a lot of details and information, and I had to almost bring out the 'rehab director' fu....there's some things that the therapists need to get a better grip on, details and billing information and ICD-9 coding and Part A treatment minutes....and it's coming to time when these things need to be right. We can only exist on the "we're new, we're just starting up" excuses for so long. Sigh. Hopefully I can finish wading thru the corrections and changes by Monday afternoon, and then we'll be ready to start fresh on Tuesday.

People are interesting, though. I always find it interesting the way people approach their jobs, their managers, and how they have their view of changes and of job requirements. We have a very fast-paced way of working, in skilled nursing-home rehabilitation, and as a therapist, you really have to get on the ball quick and keep up. It's hard for some folks, I know, but I'm hoping I can teach and shepherd everyone along so that we're all working together.

I had to explain that you just couldn't miss a treatment with a patient just because the patient (who may be confused, or is slightly ill/cranky/depressed) tells you to go to hell. Or tells you that they have pneumonia. And if someone is scheduled for dialysis on a particular day, and he or she is on your caseload, you *have to* treat that person before they leave the facility. You can't just skip them and chalk it up to the ubiquitous "OOF" (out of facility). Basic stuff, really, but not basic if you haven't worked in this environment before. Medicare is a complicated, complicated mess of numbers, assessments, treatments, days of skilled services, and Minimum Data Sets. It's crazy. It's a freaking miracle that *anyone* understands the system. personally, I think in their zeal to cut costs and reduce Medicare fraud, the government officials went a little nuts. Either that or they all just got hammered one weekend and thought up this system to torture nursing and therapy professionals.

Anyway. I drove Kira to her dad's this evening, and it is really really cold up there. They're expecting around 6 inches of snow this weekend, so Kira will be happy, I'm sure.

By the way, the Santa Fe is *fabulous* in the snow and ice! Handles smoothly, like the Honda did, only heavier, and a bit more secure.

This weekend is a lot of nothing. I may run a few errands, if I can, but otherwise, I plan to finish The DaVinci Code, maybe start a knitting project (socks!), and maybe do a bit of glasswork. I'm still thinking about the logistics of the Crackheaded Project(tm), and trying to decide on the next Medieval glass avenue. I won't be obtaining *real* paints or stains anytime soon, so I guess I will be sticking to either my "modern, with a period look" paints, or just trying to find a project I like that has very little to no paint/stain at all. Maybe a grisaille window is next....

Anyway, stay warm, have fun, be safe.

Hugs.

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