The federal government this week confirmed a plan to distribute 1.5 million N95 respirators to nursing homes with three or fewer days’ supply of the masks. The Department of Health and Human Services will begin shipping the N95s, sourced from the Strategic National Stockpile, on Friday in quantities sufficient to last each facility for seven […]
Category: Compliance
Citing rising numbers of nursing facilities reporting shortages of key personal protective equipment (PPE), a pair of U.S. senators sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence requesting more information about federal efforts to direct supplies to post-acute and long-term care facilities. “We write to reiterate our deep concern that the Trump Administration’s continued failure […]
Nursing homes will be required to test staffers for COVID-19 as often as twice weekly depending on the prevalence of the virus in the surrounding community, and a top federal official emphasized that repeat testing for negative antigen results may not be necessarily required in all cases. The White House late Tuesday initially revealed the […]
The Department of Justice on Wednesday sent letters to four state governors requesting detailed information about their decisions regarding COVID-19 in nursing homes, potentially setting the stage for a formal civil rights investigation. The federal agency’s Civil Rights Division in particular wants data regarding the controversial decisions — made in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, […]
As the federal government moves to mandate more frequent COVID-19 testing in nursing homes, half of the latest tranche of $5 billion in relief will be sent to facilities this week, the White House announced late Tuesday. “The first $2.5 billion of these funds will be distributed this week to help many nursing homes cover […]
The federal government on Tuesday issued stricter requirements for COVID-19 testing in nursing homes, making routine staff testing a requirement for participation in Medicare and Medicaid and rolling out fines as high as $8,000 per instance of non-compliance. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) established the new rules as part of a larger […]
A few weeks after the nation’s top Medicare official pointed to persistent infection control problems as a major driver of rising COVID-19 cases in nursing homes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Tuesday introduced new online training resources for frontline staffers and management. Officials based the new “CMS Targeted COVID-19 Training for […]
The federal government late last week released an updated blueprint for distributing the second wave of nearly 12,000 point-of-care COVID-19 testing units destined for nursing homes, with a significantly wider definition of hotspots than the initial round. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has designated about 11,800 facilities as targets for the second […]
More closely associated with lifesaving interventions in war zones and developing countries, Doctors Without Borders has made headlines during the COVID-19 crisis with its work on the ground in the United States. In addition to providing aid to homeless populations in New York City and migrants in Florida, the humanitarian organization — formally known by […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday announced the use of the Defense Production Act to bolster orders of point-of-care coronavirus testing units and supplies for the nation’s nursing homes. HHS applied “priority rated contracts” for devices and related assays with Becton Dickinson (BD) and the Quidel Corporation, the two manufacturers tasked […]
The federal government will soon open up its strategic stockpile of N95 respirators to nursing homes and other health care providers, according to a report, but at least a portion of the distribution will be made through the open marketplace. The Trump administration this week sent information to governors on how health providers in their […]
The California Department of Health will be changing how state surveyors inspect nursing facilities, with an eye toward the conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic — and critics in the Golden State argued that the changes could lead to worse outcomes for patients. The station NBC Bay Area — KNTV reported on the change on […]
The ongoing pandemic has rightfully shifted attention away from dealmaking in the long-term and post-acute care space, but several leaders have expressed optimism that investors will support the sector moving forward — though the influx of federal cash keeping operators afloat could scramble valuation math for some time to come. With overall uncertainty in the […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on Monday that routine inspections for all Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers will resume, after suspending them as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March. The agency directed the resumption of onsite revisit surveys, non-immediate jeopardy complaint surveys and annual recertification surveys […]
The number of new COVID-19 cases in nursing homes reported to the federal government at the end of July surpassed its previous high-water mark back in May, a new analysis from a leading trade group determined. The nation’s nursing facilities reported 9,715 confirmed COVID-19 infections during the week ended July 26, the American Health Care […]
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 […]
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 […]
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