Hospital systems and skilled nursing facilities are redefining their relationships in response to manifold challenges and changes affecting the continuum of care. One example: In the midst of the Covid-19 public health emergency, NorthShore University HealthSystem — which became the third-largest health care delivery system in Illinois after a 2022 merger with Edward-Elmhurst Health — […]
Thousands of nursing home residents are facing delays in getting vaccinated for Covid-19 now that the federal government isn’t issuing vaccines, and most long-term care operators have yet to start administering shots. Many nursing homes will not begin vaccinations until well into October or even November, according to an article in the New York Times […]
Over the past decade, the nonprofit nursing home sector has experienced steady growth, with an average annual growth rate of 2.2%, while mergers and acquisitions activity has resulted in the ten largest providers representing nearly 30% of all facilities in the industry. This is according to the LeadingAge Ziegler 200 report released Thursday, which identified […]
Before the year 2020, telemedicine was a rarity within SNFs. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated innovative solutions, telemedicine visits surged from 0.15% of SNF visits in early 2020 to a staggering 15% for SNF visits and 25% for outpatient visits by May 2020. However, this growth proved temporary. By 2022, telemedicine’s prevalence had declined […]
Hospital referrals to nursing homes have doubled in early 2023 compared to last year, but rejection of admissions also increased – one reason being labor shortages. This is according to WellSky, a leading health and community care technology company, which released its second annual Evolution of Care report this week. With higher demand for post-acute […]
As bottlenecks continue at Minnesota hospitals, a large allocation in state funding to hospitals to ease these is a welcome move. However, nursing home advocates remain unsure on how the funds will trickle down to help providers, especially given the ongoing labor shortage. In Minnesota, the state Legislature and Governor recently allocated $18 million to […]
As the skilled nursing industry shifts towards managed care plans like Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care, “conveners” have become essential in managing care for specific patient populations, especially for long-term care residents and dual-eligible individuals. And while conveners have helped nursing homes and health care providers adapt to the changing landscape and achieve better […]
Nursing homes can cut hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and length of stay at hospitals with rapid on-site testing for influenza, leading to earlier detection of outbreaks and faster treatment, a new study shows. Conducting rapid on-site flu testing and treatment cut emergency room visits by 22%, hospitalizations by 21%, and hospital length-of-stay by 36%, a […]
North Carolina is among several other states facing difficulties hiring and keeping healthcare workers and inspectors for nursing homes.. This shortage has led to a 27% increase in complaints since 2016, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The shortage of trained healthcare workers is affecting various healthcare facilities, including doctor’s offices, […]
Clinical speciality services are growing within nursing homes to address needs of a population with higher acuity – but there are some sizable side benefits to this trend. Operators and other community institutions are working to accommodate the need for certain types of care in the nursing home through partnerships. Not only are nursing home […]
As many skilled nursing facilities are falling short of expected federal requirements for adequate nursing staff, the shortage has led to a failure to promote the well-being of residents and to burnout and low retention for current staff. According to a recent staffing report by the Long Term Care Community Coalition, data provided by the […]
Legislative efforts to expand the types of positions that count toward Florida’s minimum staffing ratio seem to have backfired somewhat, as overall staffing levels in the state’s 700 nursing homes have declined within the past two years. That’s according to a report published by AARP Florida, which found that staffing levels dropped from 4.74 hours […]
Use of artificial intelligence (AI) has been steadily increasing at nursing homes, as the technology begins to deliver on its promises to improve efficiencies in a wide variety of areas, from clinical outcomes to back-office work. And while ChatGPT is the attention-grabber these days, natural language processing is but one of the ways AI is […]
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Wednesday found that Care Compare was lacking in some data metrics related to resident experience, among other metrics. The report found that Care Compare, which provides key information on infection control, cost, workforce and additional critical measures about a facility’s performance, needs continuous improvement in order to enhance […]
Nursing home residents with Alzhiemer’s disease and related dementias, when not the majority of a facility population, may not be receiving the specialized care they need. In fact, only skilled nursing facilities that had a population with over 90% of residents with Alzheimer’s and other related dementias seemed to have better care. This is according […]
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released findings last week highlighting a spike in cases of human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, in March 2023. HMPV is a respiratory virus that can cause lower lung infections, leading to a deep, hacking cough and other mild symptoms like runny nose, sore throat, and fever, the […]
New approved drugs for Alzheimer’s may be covered by Medicare if patients meet the conditions of showing cognitive decline and early onset of dementia, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said Thursday. Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure shared the process for access and coverage by Medicare for such Alzheimer’s drugs that are currently pending approval […]
The efforts of the federal government and nursing homes to reduce the use of psychotropics have been significant, and seem to have paid off until recently when the numbers painted a more grim picture. Some operators believe that the alarming rise in the prescriptions of psychotropics is partly due to a lack of communication between […]
As the Skilled Nursing News’ CLINICAL event in Washington D.C. came to a close last month, industry experts left with staffing concerns amid labor shortages and pending legislation on minimum staffing standards. However, operators also shared optimism over their innovations in corporate and clinical practices as they continued to confront higher acuity and tighter regulation. […]
For nursing home operators with rapidly expanding portfolios, there are a lot of challenges and rewards to consider. Joseph Lee, Senior VP of Support Services at PACS, knows this first-hand. “We’re looking at where we can have a footprint where four or five facilities that can support one another and we can absorb them into […]
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