The nation’s long-term care facilities passed another grim COVID-19 milestone ahead of Thanksgiving, with experts and leaders warning that holiday gatherings over this past weekend could only set off more outbreaks in the weeks to come. The nursing home death toll passed 100,000 residents and workers as of November 24, according to a data analysis […]
Category: Compliance
The discussion of how to improve nursing homes, especially in the wake of the still-unfolding COVID-19 tragedy, tends to divide observers into two broad camps: the industry partisans who call for more collaboration from the federal government and better funding, and the sharp critics who insist regulation should primarily — if not exclusively — take […]
The end is near for the older version of the federal government’s primary consumer-focused nursing home resource. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will formally phase out its eight original Compare tools — including Nursing Home Compare — on December 1 in favor of its new unified Care Compare site. CMS unveiled the […]
The federal government’s top health care watchdog last week announced a plan to investigate whether nursing homes are following rules around discharges, specifically citing media reports about improper evictions from facilities. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) added a probe of facility-initiated discharges to its formal work […]
In late 2019, North Shore Healthcare bought 22 senior housing and care facilities that had been in receivership. Almost a year later, the timing of the deal has meant North Shore still hasn’t received the initial round of CARES Act relief funds from the federal government — during a pandemic that’s thrown aging care providers […]
In the early months of the pandemic, masks for medical personnel were in such short supply that providers, states, and the federal government were all bidding against each other to secure them. Gowns were so hard to come by that reports surfaced of nursing home workers using trash bags as makeshift coverings. The government attempted […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in nursing home deaths caused by other factors, a new analysis performed on behalf of the Associated Press has determined. Every two coronavirus deaths in nursing homes were associated with an additional premature death for another reason, University of California, San Francisco professor Stephen Kaye determined […]
CMS Issues Holiday Guidance for Nursing Homes: No Visitation Changes, Leaving Facilities Discouraged
The federal government on Wednesday issued an alert to nursing home operators and residents, urging extreme caution during the impending holiday season — and compelling providers to warn families about the risks of taking residents out of facilities for off-site gatherings. Notably, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not change its rules […]
General improvements in access to testing and vital protective gear have put skilled nursing facilities in a better spot than the springtime, a top landlord in the space asserted Tuesday, but operators and investors shouldn’t necessarily expect complete adoption of a long-awaited vaccine when it hits the market. And although Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: […]
The number of positive COVID-19 cases in nursing homes reached a new weekly record at the start of this month as the novel coronavirus continues to expand unchecked in various parts of the country, according to a new analysis from a leading industry trade group. Nursing homes logged 10,279 confirmed cases among residents during the […]
Invesque Inc. (TSE: IVQ.U) this week reported significant COVID-19 strains on a pair of its post-acute care tenants, with the skilled nursing landlord taking steps to reduce its exposure to Symphony Care Network and reporting no revenue from Bridgemoor Transitional Care. The real estate investment firm will either sell or transition operations at half of […]
Successfully taking the reins of a nursing home chain during the COVID-19 pandemic may seem like an insurmountable challenge, but Kevin Morris sees only opportunity ahead — both for his company, BaneCare Management, and the industry as a whole. It’s just up to the leaders within the industry to chart a better and safer path […]
The federal government this week announced that Medicare will cover a recently approved antibody treatment for COVID-19 in a range of settings, including nursing homes. The Food and Drug Administration on Monday cleared on an emergency basis the use of bamlanivimab — a monoclonial antibody infusion — for adults with mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. […]
The federal government will increase shipments of point-of-care testing supplies to nursing homes in counties with high levels of COVID-19 community spread, while also launching a separate pilot program with yet another testing device in select states. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will now send enough rapid test kits to support twice-weekly […]
Coronavirus cases among nursing home residents and staff are surging alongside community numbers in 20 states across the country, a new analysis from the Associated Press and the University of Chicago has determined. Between May and October, weekly case counts for residents jumped from 1,083 to 4,274, while deaths doubled from 318 to 699 per […]
Senior living and skilled nursing landlord CareTrust REIT (Nasdaq: CTRE) on Friday projected a relative period of financial calm ahead for the sector as emergency Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funding continues to insulate its tenants from serious hardships. “The HHS provider relief funds appear to be providing our skilled nursing operators with […]
Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA) this week became the latest landlord to change its accounting for nursing home tenants Genesis HealthCare (NYSE: GEN) and Signature HealthCARE, writing off $14.3 million of non-cash rent receivables associated with the operators. The real estate investment trust (REIT) cited concerns about Genesis and Signature’s operational futures in the […]
As cases climb across the country, community spread will send increasing numbers of counties into the so-called yellow and red zones — in turn, requiring more and more skilled nursing facilities to test staffers according to the September guidelines from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). As of the most recent CMS data […]
Earlier this year, skilled nursing heavyweight The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) raised eyebrows when it announced the return of about $110 million in federal coronavirus relief, citing record earnings in the second quarter despite the then-new pandemic. But the San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based operator wasn’t done, setting another record in the third quarter and on […]
Slightly more than three quarters of eligible nursing homes across the country will receive a total of $333 million in federal aid after meeting infection control improvement benchmarks between August and September, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Wednesday. The distribution marks the first payout in a $2 billion program designed to […]