A few weeks after the nation’s top Medicare official pointed to persistent infection control problems as a major driver of rising COVID-19 cases in nursing homes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Tuesday introduced new online training resources for frontline staffers and management. Officials based the new “CMS Targeted COVID-19 Training for […]
The federal government late last week released an updated blueprint for distributing the second wave of nearly 12,000 point-of-care COVID-19 testing units destined for nursing homes, with a significantly wider definition of hotspots than the initial round. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has designated about 11,800 facilities as targets for the second […]
More closely associated with lifesaving interventions in war zones and developing countries, Doctors Without Borders has made headlines during the COVID-19 crisis with its work on the ground in the United States. In addition to providing aid to homeless populations in New York City and migrants in Florida, the humanitarian organization — formally known by […]
American Medical Technologies, a leading provider of wound-care services to post-acute and long-term care facilities, last Friday announced its acquisition by private equity firm One Equity Partners and investment management company The Silverfern Group. The Irvine, Calif.-based AMT operates in more than 6,250 facilities across the country, according to the company, with services ranging from […]
The Future Leaders Awards program is brought to you in partnership with PointClickCare. The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the next decade of care delivery across the senior housing, skilled nursing, home health and hospice industries. To see this year’s future leaders, visit Future Leaders online. Gina Bruno, vice […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday announced the use of the Defense Production Act to bolster orders of point-of-care coronavirus testing units and supplies for the nation’s nursing homes. HHS applied “priority rated contracts” for devices and related assays with Becton Dickinson (BD) and the Quidel Corporation, the two manufacturers tasked […]
The new Medicare payment model for post-acute care providers has largely gotten lost in the more pressing concerns of COVID-19, but as operators continue to struggle with increased costs related to the pandemic, some are still making mistakes that could cause them to lose out on money they earned. The differences between the top performers […]
The federal government will soon open up its strategic stockpile of N95 respirators to nursing homes and other health care providers, according to a report, but at least a portion of the distribution will be made through the open marketplace. The Trump administration this week sent information to governors on how health providers in their […]
The Future Leaders Awards program is brought to you in partnership with PointClickCare. The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the next decade of care delivery across the senior housing, skilled nursing, home health and hospice industries. To see this year’s future leaders, visit Future Leaders online. Christa Kelly, vice […]
The ongoing pandemic has rightfully shifted attention away from dealmaking in the long-term and post-acute care space, but several leaders have expressed optimism that investors will support the sector moving forward — though the influx of federal cash keeping operators afloat could scramble valuation math for some time to come. With overall uncertainty in the […]
The senior care division of non-profit hospital system ProMedica took a serious revenue hit amid the COVID-19 pandemic — like many other post-acute and long-term care providers — but significant federal relief helped the HCR ManorCare owner offset the strain. The Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica’s senior care business line, which includes its HCR ManorCare skilled nursing […]
The number of new COVID-19 cases in nursing homes reported to the federal government at the end of July surpassed its previous high-water mark back in May, a new analysis from a leading trade group determined. The nation’s nursing facilities reported 9,715 confirmed COVID-19 infections during the week ended July 26, the American Health Care […]
The majority of states do not require nursing home surveyors to receive regular COVID-19 tests, even as case counts rise and family members remain barred from visiting in many areas, an investigation by the Wall Street Journal found. Twenty-six states did not have mandates for routine COVID-19 testing of inspectors, the WSJ report determined, with […]
The federal government on Friday announced that it has handed out $15 million in civil monetary penalties (CMPs) to about 3,400 nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. That total includes about $10 million in fines stemming from targeted infection control surveys, and $5.5 million assessed to operators that failed to report COVID-19 data as required […]
A new study has added to growing evidence that nursing facilities with staffing issues are likelier to experience COVID-19 outbreaks, though the prevalence of the novel coronavirus in a given community still remains the strongest predictor of danger in long-term care. Two researchers from the University of Chicago examined various characteristics of facilities with confirmed […]
The federal government’s top Medicare official on Thursday expressed grave concerns about the rising number of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes, citing growth in community spread and widespread evidence of lingering infection control problems at facilities across the country. “We are deeply concerned about the situation that we are seeing in nursing homes,” Centers for […]
The prospect of a COVID-19 vaccine sits at the center for the public’s hope of any return to pre-pandemic normalcy: With no effective treatments and outbreaks rising alongside relaxed lockdown rules, it’s difficult to imagine any real change without a proven vaccine. But in a twist of dark irony, the population most susceptible to COVID-19 […]
Nursing home residents who receive dialysis may have a significantly higher chance of contracting COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) determined in a new report released this week. Focusing on an outbreak at single Maryland nursing home with an on-site dialysis clinic, researchers found that 47% of dialysis patients contracted the novel […]
The leader of the nation’s largest trade group for nursing homes on Tuesday expressed confidence that with a COVID-19 vaccine in hand by the start of 2021, the nursing home industry can begin to rebuild after “the roughest five months in the history of the sector.” “If the pandemic is over at the end of […]
The federal government’s latest targeted coronavirus aid for nursing homes will consist of four separate programs, with a significant portion of the $5 billion price tag doled out based on operators’ performance in monthly value-based competitions. Of that pledged total, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will distribute half — or $2.5 billion […]