2 Tips to STOP Revenue Drains

I just heard this story from a partner SNF that's keeping $23k more in their budget with one smart move.

At their facility, 2 residents came in with similar infections—both were carefully placed in single rooms. But this SNF took their coding seriously. For one resident, the team pulled together everything: infection control logs, solid nurse notes, and proof that a regular roommate just wasn’t safe. Once they met all the MDS isolation criteria, they coded isolation right on the MDS, no hesitation.

For the other resident, documentation didn’t support coding isolation, so they left it blank. The numbers tell the story: the coded isolation brought in a higher Nursing CMG—ES1 at $916.28 per day. The other stayed at PBC1 and only saw $679.56 per day.

Over a 100-day stay, just one code made a $23,672 difference for that SNF’s bottom line. That’s dollars they can put right back into care and staffing—without a single extra therapy minute or service.

The SNF team said their key to success is all about collaboration (between nursing, MDS, and infection control) and nailing down their documentation before submission.