After receiving a thumbs up from both the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this month, the work now begins for long-term care pharmacies to administer COVID-19 booster shots for nursing home residents and staff. Others eligible for a third Pfizer shot include those ages 50 to 64 who […]
Category: Compliance
Nursing home residents who were immunized against COVID-19 with Pfizer’s vaccine could soon receive booster shots following a recommendation made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A CDC panel endorsed the Pfizer shots for people 65 and older, those ages 50 to 64 who have underlying medical conditions, as well as adults 18 […]
Operator reactions to the government’s recent “strike teams” investment range from cautious optimism to flat out skepticism, with many left wondering where this infection control help was in the spring of last year. Others are concerned that the investment, specifically federally-funded teams coming in to help facilities with infection control and prevention, will lead to […]
In an effort to make nursing home vaccination data easier to follow and find, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this week launched a new tool to compare vaccination rates at any federally funded facility in the country. Found at Medicare.gov’s Care Compare feature, the new tool uses data reported by nursing homes […]
The Biden-Harris Administration late Friday announced a $2.1 billion investment geared toward infection prevention and control activities in nursing homes, among other U.S. public health and health care sectors. In October, $500 million of the initial $1.25 billion issued will go toward the staffing, training and deployment of state-based nursing home and long-term care “strike […]
Certain nursing home characteristics — specifically those with higher Medicare star ratings, longer-tenured staff, non-profit and non-chain structures — are tied to better staff and resident vaccination rates, a JAMA Internal Medicine research report found. According to data released on Thursday by JAMA, for-profit ownership was linked to a 2.5 percentage point decrease in staff […]
Although nursing home operators have gotten a bit of a respite with the federal vaccine mandate expansion announced on Thursday, some say that doesn’t deter their efforts to educate staff and get as many vaccinated as possible prior to the federal government releasing further guidance in October. The Biden administration mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for […]
Upwards of 68,000 COVID-19 cases and 16,000 deaths were not reported to the federal National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) during the first few months of the pandemic, a JAMA Network study found, as reporting such numbers was optional up until the end of May. Reporting was mandated on May 24 of last year, more than […]
Redoubling efforts to vaccinate frontline health care workers against COVID-19 and its variants, President Joe Biden on Thursday expanded staff vaccination requirements to include any provider that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding. The move is part of sweeping efforts affecting upwards of 100 million Americans — employers with more than 100 workers will be required […]
The deaths of seven nursing home residents that occurred during evacuations for Hurricane Ida are under further investigation as the Louisiana Department of Health expressed significant concerns about the conditions of the facility where they were evacuated. As of Saturday, the health department announced the seven nursing homes where the 843 patients resided would be […]
As nursing home operators across the country work to implement a staff vaccination mandate that many feel singles out the industry, those that work in nursing homes are expressing resentment over how the sector continues to be regulated and scrutinized. Rather than penalizing and pushing staff out of these facilities even further, Andi Clark, chief […]
Kennett Square, Pa.-based Genesis HealthCare on Monday announced it has vaccinated all of its staff, barring those with medical or religious exemptions. While Genesis said it met the first deadline under its COVID-19 inoculation policy announced earlier this month, it did not reveal how many employees were terminated as part of its mandate. “While we […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ regulation requiring staff vaccination for Medicare and Medicaid participating long-term care facilities is expected in late September, and officials say it is aimed at leveling the playing field. “We know that there have been concerns about staff leaving based on the vaccine requirement, and we believe that this […]
The Biden administration’s vaccine mandate on nursing home staff has some operators preparing for a staff exit of up to 30%, the bulk of which is expected to be positions like certified nursing assistants or CNAs. For an industry already in the midst of an unprecedented staffing shortage, fanning the flames for CNAs to seek […]
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), days after the Biden administration announced its vaccine mandate for nursing homes, urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to consider the decision’s effect on staffing. In a letter to the agency, AHCA/NCAL […]
A recent University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing study reveals that after making the COVID-19 vaccine a condition of employment (COE), one 180-bed skilled nursing facility (SNF) in Philadelphia saw 17 staff members, or 6.9% of the overall staff, resign from their positions. An additional three were exempt for religious or medical reasons and four […]
Operators hope that planned booster shots, distributed through a streamlined process, will help protect the skilled nursing community against the “twice as transmissible” delta variant, a phrase used by President Joe Biden in a press briefing Wednesday. The Biden administration announced plans to deliver COVID-19 booster shots directly to long-term care residents and staff eight […]
Following the Biden administration’s announcement that all nursing home staff must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing Medicare and Medicaid funding, operators and senior living organization leaders fear singling out one group of health care workers will only exacerbate a continued staffing crisis. Some state mandates, on the other hand, call on all health […]
Distribution and waste concerns are top of mind for operators waiting on COVID-19 booster shot plans in the fall, with some recalling timing and logistics issues tied to the initial vaccine rollout. Kevin Morris, president of BaneCare Management in Massachusetts, said the 11-facility company is looking to have vaccine distribution happen at a more rapid […]
Genesis HealthCare this week agreed to a settlement surrounding denied admissions for prospective residents prescribed medication to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). Nine Genesis skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) across Rhode Island and Massachusetts were accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Rehabilitation Act and Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act when they allegedly […]
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