Is your rehab program truly performing — or just getting by?

In this episode of Gravity Healthcare Hacks, Melissa Brown and Lead Therapy Consultant Carly Chronister unpack what’s really happening inside today’s therapy departments — and why more leaders are requesting independent rehab audits than ever before.

With PDPM Medicaid reshaping financial realities and contract therapy models under pressure, many communities are starting to ask hard questions:

• Are we getting the clinical outcomes we should be?
• Is our therapy team properly supported?
• Are we leaving margins on the table?
• What risks might we not be seeing?

Melissa and Carly walk through what a comprehensive rehab audit actually reveals — from compliance gaps and operational blind spots to functional treatment opportunities and group therapy strategies that most buildings are underutilizing.

They also discuss:
• Why therapist morale has declined in many contract models
• The difference between “staffing a department” and strategically leading one
• Common onboarding failures that set new therapists up to struggle
• Why simply going in-house isn’t enough without the right oversight
• How a hybrid management model can improve margins, outcomes, and retention

If your gut is telling you something isn’t quite right in rehab, this episode will help you understand what to look for — and what to do next.

Because in today’s environment, it’s not enough to assume therapy is working. You need to know.

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Why Everything Is Changing in Therapy — and You Should Too

Gravity Healthcare Hacks | Episode 64

The therapy landscape is shifting—again—and many senior living and skilled nursing operators are still relying on rehab strategies that no longer work.

In this episode of Gravity Healthcare Hacks, Melissa Brown is joined by Carly Chronister, Lead Consultant of Therapy Services at Gravity, to break down what’s really changing in therapy and why now is the time to reassess your approach.

They explore how the transition to PDPM fundamentally altered the role of therapy, why contract therapy models are struggling to deliver meaningful value in today’s reimbursement environment, and how PDPM Medicaid has further reshaped incentives—often in ways operators didn’t anticipate.

This conversation goes beyond theory and gets into what operators should actually be watching inside their buildings, including therapy minutes, outcomes, Section GG accuracy, nursing involvement, and where risk is quietly building under the surface.

If you’re questioning whether your current rehab strategy is still serving your residents—or your organization—this episode will help you understand what to look for, what’s changed, and what to rethink moving forward.

🎧 Subscribe to Gravity Healthcare Hacks for practical insights on operations, reimbursement, and strategy in senior living and post-acute care.

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As home health agencies prepare for 2026, CMS is turning up the heat on fraud, compliance, and enforcement—and the consequences are more serious than ever.

In this episode of Gravity Healthcare Hacks, host Melissa Brown, COO of Gravity Healthcare Consulting, is joined by Devin Kassi, VP of Home Health Operations, for a critical follow-up discussion on the Home Health Final Rule. This time, they dive deep into Medicare’s expanded authority around fraud investigations, retroactive payment recoupment, and why even unintentional missteps can put agencies at risk.

Melissa and Devin unpack:

• How CMS is redefining and enforcing fraud
• Why documentation errors can trigger massive repayment demands
• The growing importance of homebound status documentation
• How weak processes, outdated technology, and lack of education create dangerous blind spots
• What agencies must do now to protect themselves and remain viable

This conversation is a must-listen for home health leaders—especially smaller and single-location agencies—who want to understand what’s coming and how to adapt before it’s too late.

Because in today’s regulatory environment, doing nothing is the biggest risk of all.

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