Aina Malkonian, MHA, RCFE
Lead - Long Term Care
Aina Malkonian leads outreach and partnership with Long Term Care Facilities at Relic Care. She works alongside skilled nursing and residential care administrators, helping them adopt new technology like AI documentation, language-access, and compliance tools without giving up the consent, accountability, and audit trail that surveyors and licensing bodies expect. With close to five years in long-term care, Aina has focused on standing up new facilities and tightening processes around regulatory compliance. Above all, she's driven by making sure residents receive the care in their care plan with empathy and dignity. Outside of work, Aina lives in Glendale, California, with her dog Sheri.
Posts by Aina Malkonian, MHA, RCFE
Does SB 525's July 2026 Wage Hike Actually Apply to Your SNF?
SB 525 raises California health care wages to $23/hour on July 1, 2026 — but only for hospital-affiliated SNFs. Independent facilities are not covered yet.
CMS Now Treats Unsafe Discharge as an Immediate Jeopardy Issue
CMS now treats an unsafe discharge as an Immediate Jeopardy issue, triggering a 3-day survey response instead of 45. Here's what QSO-26-03-NH changed.
The Federal Nurse Staffing Mandate Is Dead — Why California SNFs Barely Notice
CMS repealed the federal nursing home staffing mandate in 2026. Here's why California SNFs are barely affected — and where the real compliance risk lives.
AI Translation vs. Certified Interpreter: What Section 1557 Actually Requires
Can AI translation satisfy Section 1557 language-access rules for SNF residents? Here's exactly when HHS requires a certified human interpreter instead.
AI in Healthcare Compliance: What It Actually Does for SNFs Right Now
What "AI in healthcare compliance" actually covers today, and the one line California and federal regulators keep drawing: AI can inform, never decide.
Interpreter Services in Nursing Homes: What Federal Law (and Your Next Survey) Requires
What Section 1557, Title VI, and CMS's F-tags actually require for nursing home interpreter services — and what the 2025 EO did and didn't change.
AI Documentation Software for Skilled Nursing Facilities: A Buyer's Guide
Evaluating AI documentation software for a skilled nursing facility? Start with the 48-hour and 7-day care-plan deadlines and the F842 audit trail.
Scribe Add-On or Built-In EHR AI?
PointClickCare, MatrixCare, and Netsmart all market built-in AI documentation. Here's what's actually live today, and how AB 3030 changes the calculus.
AI Scribe Apps: Accuracy, Evaluation Studies & Error Rates
Are AI medical scribe apps accurate? No SNF study exists yet — here’s what outpatient evaluations found, and what your review step needs.
Documentation Is Your Best Legal Defense - Case Studies
Two California juries ruled against long-term care operators this year. The smaller $15.75M verdict carries the sharper documentation lesson.
Losing Bilingual Staff to Immigration Enforcement: The Hidden Language-Access Risk
Federal actions have cut LTC's bilingual workforce. Here's why that exposes a compliance gap Section 1557 and F838 already required you to close.
Who's Legally Accountable for an AI-Drafted Nursing Note?
CMS's single-signer model and California's author-of-record rule put accountability on the signing clinician — not your AI scribe vendor.