The COVID-19 crisis has broken the cracks in the nation’s long-term care infrastructure wide open, and one CEO in the space says it’s time for industry leaders and lawmakers to reimagine the model for the future. “We’re seeing it across the United States, across the world: The model is fundamentally broken,” OnPointe Healthh CEO Eric […]
The top federal official in charge of nursing home regulations on Thursday defended the administration’s response to COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, asserting that outbreaks were frequently the result of poor infection control. “I think this idea of trying to finger-point, and blame the federal government, is absolutely ridiculous,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services […]
The federal government on Thursday afternoon updated its Nursing Home Compare database to include individual building-level data on COVID-19 outbreaks, following through on a transparency pledge months in the making. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) incorporated its previously released COVID-19 case and death counts into the consumer-facing tool, allowing family members and […]
The state of Massachusetts on Wednesday began allowing nursing home visits for the first time since the start of the coronavirus crisis, becoming the first state to ease strict quarantine protocols in long-term care. Local NPR station WBUR initially reported the state’s decision. The Bay State had issued a blanket ban on all non-essential visitors […]
Another study of early nursing home COVID-19 data has found that factors such as a facility’s racial demographics and location — as well as bed count — have a greater bearing on potential outbreaks than quality history. “Larger facility size, urban location, greater percentage of African-American residents, non-chain status, and state were significantly related to […]
A third-party analysis of the government and industry response to COVID-19 in nursing homes has found a host of intertwined issues on both the micro and macro levels, with reform recommendations that range from greater emergency collaboration to increased infection-control penalties. A wide range of problems endemic to both the industry and government oversight led […]
When it comes to the long-held traditional post-acute care model, significant change can be difficult to envision, let alone implement. Yet when Tim Fields set out to establish Ignite Medial Resorts, disrupting the tried-and-true is exactly what he did. After a career in health care including skilled nursing, Fields and his partner have successfully developed […]
While he cautioned that there are still many unknowns around COVID-19, Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA) CEO Rick Matros on Tuesday struck an optimistic tone about his company’s skilled nursing holdings, as well as the industry in general as it starts to look toward a post-COVID future. “Right now, we feel like we’ve been […]
As part of the federal government’s push toward stricter infection control protocols in nursing homes, officials this week again called on states to take the lead on COVID-19 testing — while also acknowledging that blanket testing strategies may need to change as infection patterns continue to diverge. Each state must draw up its own testing […]
The post-acute and long-term care industry has been in a state of change for years now, with new payment models forcing operators to reassess their strategies while also taking on higher-acuity patients. And that was before a world-historic pandemic hit the nation’s nursing homes with unrelenting force. Across the country, leaders have stepped up to […]
Nearly 26,000. That’s the devastating number of people who have died of COVID-19 in nursing homes through around mid-May, according to the first set of complete federal data — which also found about 60,000 infections. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) on Monday announced the […]
Walker & Dunlop announced a three-facility financing deal with a total price tag of $37 million, covering a pair of skilled nursing facilities and a supportive living property. The Bethesda, Md.-based real estate finance company secured a $14.9 million refinance on The Grove Fox Valley, a 156-bed SNF in Aurora, Ill, and a $14.9 million […]
Senior housing and care leaders again called on the federal government to more aggressively bankroll COVID-19 testing in the nation’s nursing homes, arguing that the burden will be ongoing — especially since an already expensive one-time testing strategy may not be an instant cure-all. Given recommendations from the White House and Centers for Medicare & […]
Two months of stories about COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes have taken a toll on the public’s opinion of the industry, a new poll commissioned by SNN found — but the vast majority of people believe that the government has not done enough to support the facilities during the pandemic. Only 3% of people have […]
A significant portion of infection control surveys conducted after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic found no deficiencies at New York City nursing homes — even those with substantial coronavirus death tolls, according to a new report. Local news publication The City analyzed 35 inspection reports from surveys performed under the Centers for Medicare & […]
While the COVID-19 crisis in nursing homes may feel like a lifetime for staffers and family members, the CEO of a major non-profit provider in New York City warned that the challenges are only beginning. Daniel Reingold, chief executive of the Bronx, N.Y.-based RiverSpring Health, described the first eight weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, dating […]
Over the holiday weekend, the Associated Press published an article on the frustratingly slow progress of universal COVID-19 testing in nursing homes. The news agency rightfully pointed out that due to the logistical challenges of supplying and executing 1.3 million tests for each of the nation’s nursing home residents, such a task would be difficult […]
The federal government last week cautiously began laying formal groundwork for reopening the nation’s nursing homes, which have been under COVID-19 lockdown orders since the middle of March. But many experts both inside and outside the industry have asserted that nursing facilities can’t even think about returning to normalcy without substantially more financial and material […]
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) watchdog arm added multiple probes of nursing homes’ response to COVID-19 to its list of top 2020 priorities, with a particular focus on infection control. The HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) last Friday announced two coronavirus-related investigations as part of its ongoing 2020 Work Plan […]
The deadline for nursing home industry stakeholders to apply for a spot on the federal government’s special commission on safety and quality passed last weekend, but not everyone who threw their hats into the ring will win a seat — and the problems facing the industry run deeper than any one group could solve in […]