Leaders at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday praised nursing home administrators and staffers for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, while also highlighting some nagging infection-control issues observed during the first major batch of post-coronavirus surveys. State surveyors have visited about 6,800 nursing homes, or 44% of the nation’s total, […]
Fitch Ratings on Wednesday revised its rating outlook for Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) to “Negative,” down from “Stable,” while affirming the rating at “BBB+.” The Toledo, Ohio-based Welltower has a portfolio in which senior housing facilities accounted for 62% of net operating income as of March 31, while skilled nursing facilities account for about 15% […]
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed deep cracks in the supply chain of personal protective equipment (PPE) for all health care providers, but nursing homes — which under normal circumstances do not require nearly as much as they do now — have felt particular strain. In northern New Jersey, a non-profit senior care operator has been forced […]
Before COVID-19, the last major nursing home story to break into national headlines was the case of Skyline Healthcare. The New Jersey operator emerged from obscurity to amass more than 100 buildings from the Northeast to the Midwest, before collapsing under the weight of unpaid bills and operational problems. Court-appointed receivers and state officials spent […]
House Democrats on Tuesday introduced a major aid package with a provision that would indefinitely delay the implementation of a controversial rule that imperiled billions in Medicaid funding for skilled nursing facilities. The bill also would boost the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), or Washington’s share of state Medicaid rates, by 14% — up from […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the skilled nursing field particularly hard, given the frailty of the residents and the challenges in securing testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) for both them and staff. But one major health care real estate investment trust (REIT) is optimistic on the possibilities of skilled nursing in the long term. […]
The top medical official in charge of the federal government’s coronavirus task force on Tuesday advocated for stricter COVID-19 controls in the nation’s nursing homes, one day after the president and vice president announced a desire for expanded testing in long-term care. “I’m not sure you could practically do testing every day,” Dr. Anthony Fauci […]
The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) has been on a roll for countless quarters, and not even the early effects of a world-historic pandemic were enough to prevent the skilled nursing heavyweight from logging another record quarter to start 2020. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based operator saw a 28.3% increase in its per-share earnings over the […]
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called on the leader of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish flexibilities for caring for long-term care residents with COVID-19 — by letting skilled nursing facilities send them to the hospital. While acknowledging that such individuals might not meet normal hospital admission criteria, DeSantis argued in a […]
Vice President Mike Pence on Monday told state governors that the federal government strongly recommends COVID-19 testing for all nursing home residents over the next two weeks, according to an Associated Press report — but the president later in the day indicated that he could take that guidance further. Pence reportedly made the comments on […]
As the U.S. fights to get the COVID-19 virus under control, nursing homes have emerged as a key front lines in the battle. But one of the largest skilled nursing and senior care operators in the country still struggles to secure sufficient testing. Skilled Nursing News caught up with George Hager, CEO of the Kennett […]
The federal government is considering a plan that would lift visitation restrictions at the nation’s nursing homes in three phases, according to a Sunday report in the Wall Street Journal. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would require nursing homes to achieve at least two weeks with no new COVID-19 cases before allowing […]
The state of New York this weekend issued a raft of new requirements for nursing home operators amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, while also seemingly reversing a controversial rule that required facilities to take coronavirus patients. Under the new regulations, hospitals cannot discharge patients with COVID-19 to nursing homes, the New York Times reported Sunday; […]
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold, leaders in the skilled nursing space have increasingly claimed that various government agencies have left them in an unwinnable position. With occasionally conflicting edicts from state and federal authorities, and until recently a lower priority for testing than other care settings, the pandemic has revealed serious gaps in […]
Several of the major health care real estate investment trusts (REITs) have responded to the challenges and upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic by withdrawing their earnings guidance for the year — a move that’s entirely understandable given the number of unknowns about the impact of the resulting emergency on tenants. But the San Clemente, Calif.-based […]
The federal government this week publicly released the results of an inspection at a New Jersey nursing home that has made national headlines amid the COVID-19 pandemic, handing down a $220,000 fine. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) found Andover Subacute and Rehab II in violation of infection prevention and control regulations, issuing […]
Like many other nursing home operators, Diversicare Healthcare Services (OTC: DVCR) hasn’t been able to access sufficient COVID-19 testing supplies for all of its workers and residents. But among those who have tested positive, more than half displayed no symptoms at the time, a fact that the company says underscores the dire need for more […]
The enormous financial and clinical fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the skilled nursing world with particular force, but one major senior housing and care real estate investment trust (REIT) CEO believes that the situation could have been worse. In fact, it’s a credit to the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), which took effect last […]
This article is sponsored by CORE Analytics, a provider of market analytics and Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) data solutions for skilled nursing providers. In this Voices interview, Skilled Nursing News sits down with CORE’s Chief Operating Officer Vincent Fedele to learn how PDPM changed the game for skilled nursing, why skilled nursing providers have been […]
Despite promises from the federal government to speed the distribution of vital personal protective equipment (PPE) to the nation’s nursing homes, operators still find themselves paying exorbitant prices for necessary equipment — when they can even find any at all. Amid a global pandemic that laser-targets vulnerable elders, one of the most reliable PPE sources […]
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. More Information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. For more information, see our cookie policy.
