By waiving the three-day stay requirement for post-acute skilled nursing coverage under Medicare, the federal government has clearly indicated a desire to free up hospital beds by relying more heavily on nursing homes to provide higher-acuity services. Residents who require routine dialysis treatments are some of the most at-risk patients — and although this population […]
With the federal government cracking down on nursing home infection control policies based on the initial coronavirus outbreak at a Washington state facility, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rolled out a self-assessment tool for nursing home leadership to proactively monitor safety in place. “Nursing home residents and their families who want to […]
Therapy providers were partially included in the federal government’s attempts to waive restrictions on various health providers amid the coronavirus, but some experts say this recent round won’t enable sufficient virtual care for nursing home residents — and also doesn’t decrease the risks therapists are experiencing on the ground amid the pandemic. An expanded telehealth […]
Many therapy teams consider their services essential to nursing home residents — even after the federal government guided the sector to prohibit unnecessary visits to facilities amid the spread of the novel coronavirus. Even with the push to reduce “unessential” services, the government opened the floodgates for nursing facilities to serve overflow patients from hospitals […]
When the federal government prohibited all non-essential visits to nursing homes on Friday, in-house therapy teams and third-party companies were left wondering exactly who counted as “essential” — and whether they were part of the exempted health care workers that can continue to enter facilities. In general, SNN found that therapy services are continuing throughout […]
Telemedicine is drawing national attention from lawmakers as officials look to safeguard health care workers and patients — while nursing homes anxiously monitor infection-control policies to protect vulnerable residents from the global pandemic of the coronavirus. Expanded Medicare coverage of telehealth services was included in the recent $8.3 billion emergency bill, offering national aid in […]
After the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an immediate crackdown on nursing home compliance in the wake of the coronavirus, the agency laid out new expectations for updated inspections and surveys — with no exact timeline for resuming non-emergency surveys in sight. Although containing and preventing the coronavirus is the agency’s current […]
With concerns around staffing and supply shortages in nursing homes amid the coronavirus, telemedicine has emerged as a key potential weapon, receiving the first-ever major green light for reimbursement on the national level — as part of an $8.3 billion bill allowing the federal government to cover remote care for Medicare recipients passed last Wednesday. […]
Anthem Blue Cross granted $7 million to Sierra View Local Healthcare District in Tulare County, Calif. to support the construction of a new 44-bed nursing and sub-acute facility — which will replace an existing 35-bed facility. The funds will also be allocated to construct two brand-new rural health facilities in Tierra Bella and Strathmore, Calif. […]
Life Care Centers of America is tightening coronavirus prevention protocols with a heightened focus on visitor screenings, increased communication, and self-quarantines — as officials report that that 14 of the 17 COVID-19 deaths in Washington were related to its nursing facility in Kirkland, Wash. In the wake of the increased spread of the virus, the […]
As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) promises a crackdown on infection control inspections amid the coronavirus crisis, a new analysis finds that citations for infection-related violations are widespread in the industry. While officials and the media are taking a closer look at nursing homes’ compliance histories and amping up regulatory scrutiny, one […]
Between 2014 and 2018, the average net income for nursing homes dipped to 50 cents per patient day, down from $4 at the start of that timeframe — but still up from a loss of four cents per day in 2017, according to a new analysis. Specific statistics fluctuate according to region, with some geographies […]
Concerns for the frailest nursing home patients are on the rise after the coronavirus has taken the lives of four nursing home residents in Washington state. But despite confusion and anxiety related to fears of a potential pandemic in the U.S., some long-term care communities are banding together to update health policies and offer support […]
Concerns over the coronavirus are creeping into the nursing home sector, and industry experts are alerting operators and clinicians to take extra care, especially with the steady influx of frailer residents who are most susceptible. And while it may be too early to determine the eventual clinical and financial effects on the nursing home space, […]
Since the latter half of 2019, an East Coast health care group has used a telemedicine partnership to intervene in 100 potential hospitalizations, and within that grouping, definitively stopped 30 hospital admissions — in a collaboration with a medical device company that provides real-time heart monitoring and remote care. In an effort to reduce unnecessary […]
Nursing home closures are on the rise, regardless of geography and quality ratings, according to a recent report authored by industry trade group LeadingAge — raising the possibility of market-specific supply shortages in the near future. In fact, more than 550 facilities have closed between June 2015 and June 2019, with a steady increase in […]
Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) chairman and CEO Tom DeRosa touted the real estate investment trust’s new senior housing play as a possible alternative to Medicaid-reimbursed nursing homes in a Monday talk at the Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose CEO Investor Forum in Manhattan. On February 18, the Toledo, Ohio-based REIT announced welltowerLIVING, an initiative focused on […]
CareTrust REIT (Nasdaq: CTRE) on Friday announced the successful sale of six skilled nursing facilities operated by Metron Integrated Health for $36 million, observed a slight uptick in skilled nursing pipeline M&A after a slowdown in the wake of the Patient Driven Payment model (PDPM), and pointed to reducing worry about a controversial plan to […]
In a sector roiled by low Medicaid reimbursements and a new Medicare payment system, nursing facilities could change hands more frequently in the coming year — and one firm specifically sees opportunity in targeting distressed properties. With many industry-watchers predicting an uptick in M&A activity in the wake of the new Patient-Driven Payment Model, and […]
Diversicare Healthcare Services (OTC: DVCR) on Wednesday announced that it has formally closed the book on a Department of Justice investigation that has stretched for nearly eight years. The Brentwood, Tenn.-based skilled nursing provider will pay out the $9.5 million throughout the next five years to resolve a False Claims Act case regarding its therapy […]
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