Updated guidelines on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) are causing major headaches for health care providers across the continuum, as both acute and post-acute care settings grapple with supply shortages and a surge in cases of COVID-19. Those headaches include grappling with significant shortages of equipment in the face of the highly contagious […]
The governor of Maryland this week mandated that nursing homes follow several preventative measures included in recent federal guidance aimed at curbing the COVID-19 pandemic, raising the potential for misdemeanor charges against those who violate the order. Gov. Larry Hogan on Sunday ordered the state’s nursing homes to provide separate accommodations and care teams for […]
As the chief medical officer for publicly traded nursing home giant Genesis HealthCare (NYSE: GEN), Dr. Richard Feifer has a bird’s-eye view on the strategies that hundreds of individual nursing homes have implemented in the fight against COVID-19. Appearing on the most recent episode of SNN’s “Rethink” podcast, Feifer was blunt about the decisions that […]
A pair of U.S. senators this week demanded that federal officials release a public list of all the nursing homes that have reported positive COVID-19 cases, arguing that the information is vital to preventing the spread of the virus. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Seema Verma pegged the number of facilities with […]
Over the last month, we’ve seen entire years’ worth of rulemaking around nursing home safety, as both the federal government and individual states respond to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. These efforts have taken many forms. At the federal level, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has largely focused on removing regulatory barriers on […]
Building on individual state actions, the federal government on Thursday night directed the nation’s nursing home operators to begin setting up separate wings — or entire facilities — for residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, while also encouraging operators to use separate teams of staff members to better monitor developing cases. The Centers for […]
A few weeks after announcing a threat to terminate the Medicare and Medicaid eligibility of the nursing home in Kirkland, Wash. that sat at the center of the nation’s first major coronavirus outbreak, the federal government has put a price tag on its enforcement actions: $611,000. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) late […]
Nearly a third of skilled nursing operators reported feeling pressure to admit residents who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a recent poll conducted by Skilled Nursing News — while nearly the same percentage have seen family members take their loved ones out of the nursing home setting due to COVID-19 fears. […]
As nursing home operators around the country work to stem the rapid spread of COVID-19, multiple state governments have announced the deployment of the National Guard to supplement existing staff in long-term care facilities. In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp ordered the activation of more than 100 members of the state’s National Guard, who will be […]
Most of the real estate investment trusts (REITs) with holdings in skilled nursing and senior housing facilities can weather the financial strains caused by COVID-19, a major credit rating agency affirmed this week — but only if current trends hold. Various REITs have responded to the pressures of the coronavirus pandemic by taking steps to […]
As part of a sweeping set of waivers announced late Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded its efforts to cut restrictions on telehealth — essentially removing any last roadblock that providers would face to offering virtual interventions at nursing homes. By allowing providers to perform initial and discharge services remotely, and […]
The federal government this week released a slew of new waivers aimed at stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus, with specific guidance allowing nursing home operators to create dedicated facilities for COVID-19 residents. As leaders in multiple states raised alarms about the danger of admitting infected residents into nursing homes, the Centers for Medicare […]
The office of Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday announced several initiatives to combat the COVID-19 crisis in the Bay State — one of which includes setting up skilled nursing facilities dedicated to caring for patients who have the disease. The first of these facilities, Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center in Worcester, Mass., operated […]
Multiple managed care plans have made changes to their procedures for admissions to the skilled nursing setting amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with several major companies suspending prior authorization requirements for admissions to a skilled nursing facility. The changes, however, are not uniform — and that’s if the managed care organization (MCO) chooses to make […]
New research from the federal government indicates that residents without COVID-19 symptoms can play a key role in the spread of the virus in nursing homes, with more than half of positive tests at a facility in Washington state coming from patients with no outward signs of infection. Of the 23 positive tests logged at […]
New York State has already told nursing homes that they cannot deny admissions solely because of a positive COVID-19 test — nor can they require residents to submit to testing as a condition of entry. Multiple other states are now mulling similar orders, according to the American Health Care Association, which on Saturday warned that […]
The federal government on Saturday announced a plan to offer advance Medicare fee-for-service payments, as well as accelerated reimbursements, to all Medicare Part A and B providers. Under the terms of the emergency action, most providers who bill under Medicare Parts A and B can request up to 100% of their Medicare payment for a […]
The House of Representatives on Friday passed a $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package that contains $200 million for the federal government’s infection-focused inspections of nursing homes — while otherwise mostly passing skilled nursing facilities by. President Trump signed the bill into law later Friday afternoon. The bill, known as the CARES Act, set aside that […]
Less than 10 days ago, the Chateau Nursing & Rehabilitation facility in the suburbs of Chicago was in an incredibly difficult position: One day after 22 residents were initially confirmed to have contracted the novel coronavirus, the number of cases climbed to 46, according to local news reports. With long-term and post-acute care providers well […]
The danger that COVID-19 poses to residents in the skilled nursing setting was well-documented in the fallout from an outbreak in a facility in the state of Washington. But as cases mount and hospital beds fill up, health officials across the country are starting to indicate that SNFs need to be ready to take patients […]
