The past week has brought countless stories of devastation and survival at nursing homes in Texas and Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, including dramatic footage of the Louisiana National Guard evacuating a nursing home in Orange, Texas and the widely-shared image of residents awaiting aid at a flooded assisted living facility in Dickinson, Texas. (They were all transferred to a nearby SNF, along with the tuxedo cat — named Bozo — that also appeared in the picture.)

Skilled Nursing News salutes all those who have contributed to the relief efforts, including SNF staff, local police and fire departments, and average civilians. The Associated Press also has a detailed guide to donating money to the agencies that need it most.

On a programming note, SNN will not publish on Monday in observation of Labor Day. We hope you enjoy your day off, should you be fortunate enough to have one, and remember to take a minute to tip your cap to the workers — of all stripes and walks of life — who help keep our country running every day.

To keep you up to speed with what happened this week — or, alternatively, to jump-start your Tuesday morning back from the long weekend — here’s a quick breakdown of the top stories from the past week in skilled nursing.

A study from the RAND Corporation revealed that demand for skilled nursing services is much greater than previous research had estimated, with 56% of Americans projected to spend at least one night at a SNF during their lifetimes. RAND also released data indicating that older Americans with children — particularly daughters — spend less on SNF care than their childless counterparts.

SNN spoke to providers about the lessons operators around the country can learn from Hurricane Harvey, a particularly important issue for SNF operators as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) prepares to institute new emergency preparedness rules on November 15.

And finally, read about how skilled nursing providers could improve patient outcomes with on-site dialysis services, and find out why trade groups in New Jersey aren’t too worried about state-sponsored surveillance cameras coming to SNFs.

Written by Alex Spanko