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 […]
Category: Compliance
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 […]
Citing significant financial strain related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, nursing home giant Genesis HealthCare (NYSE: GEN) on Monday expressed serious concerns about its future — while also raising the specter of a potential bankruptcy filing. “Without giving effect to the prospect, timing and adequacy of future governmental funding support and other mitigating plans, many […]
New Jersey nursing facilities with private equity ownership or investors had higher rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths, a new report from a financial reform advocacy group determined. At properties either wholly owned by private equity firms or backed by such companies, the coronavirus fatality rate was 10.2% higher than the statewide average, the Americans […]
For many potential skilled nursing investors, the threat of government action — either through new regulations or wholesale changes to payment models — has represented one of the largest risks. But while COVID-19 has brought unprecedented operational strain to nursing homes across the country, leaders at major health care landlord CareTrust REIT (Nasdaq: CTRE) believe […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should be doing more to enforce proper staffing levels at nursing homes, while providing more detailed information about nurse coverage hours to the public, the federal government’s top health care watchdog found in a new report. About 7% of the nation’s nursing facilities failed to meet one […]
Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) CEO Tom DeRosa didn’t mince words on Thursday when describing the impact of COVID-19 on the real estate investment trust’s (REIT) senior care tenants. “When we last spoke with you in early May, Welltower was in the midst of the most challenging period in the company’s history,” DeRosa said on REIT’s […]
Health care providers that received more than $750,000 in federal awards from the federal coronavirus Provider Relief Funds (PRF) will face a single audit or program-specific audit, and they need to ensure that the funds are used in accordance with the federal government’s terms and conditions — especially since they can’t be classified as a […]
After a disheartening experience working in nursing homes, former director of nursing Susan Ryan spent years working on initiatives designed to keep the elderly out of institutional care settings at all costs. But over time, she came to believe that there would always be a need for skilled nursing facilities to serve a specific portion […]
The federal government has opened its coffers of COVID-19 relief funds to the operators of facilities that changed hands in the months leading up to the coronavirus pandemic, but the window to strike is small. In the name of expediency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rushed out relief dollars to health care […]
The federal government on Monday introduced a proposed rule that would, if finalized, make permanent at least some of the emergency telehealth flexibilities implemented during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, while potentially allowing a greater frequency of remote nursing home interventions. President Trump on Monday signed an executive order requiring the Department of Health and Human […]
How Empowering Nursing Home Staff to Take Risks Can Improve Care: ‘We Need to Pay for What We Value’
Through their work with consulting firm Copernicus Inc., CEO Claudia Blumenstock and consultant Ellen Bartoldus have heard countless firsthand stories of the strains that COVID-19 has put on nursing home staff across the country. And as former nursing home administrators themselves, the pair has a clear vision for how to fix the endemic problems that […]
An executive associated with a portfolio of nursing facilities that saw a record-setting federal loan default has been indicted on a single count of equity skimming, the Department of Justice announced late last week. Mark Yampol of St. Louis faces up to five years in prison if convicted, according to the DOJ. A federal grand […]
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) will soon begin a phase-three clinical trial of a potential coronavirus treatment in the long-term care setting, with nursing home operator Symphony Care Network as a partner. Up to 2,400 residents and staff of nursing homes and assisted living properties will participate in the on-site study, the […]