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 […]
The federal government on Friday finalized a previously proposed rule that will bring a 2.2% Medicare payment bump to the nation’s skilled nursing facilities. Under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2021 payment rule, facilities will see a total increase of $750 million in Medicare reimbursements over the next fiscal year, which begins […]
The first major outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. struck a skilled nursing facility in the state of Washington, but it was the East Coast that took a tremendous beating in the initial surge of the disease. SNFs on the Atlantic side of the U.S. were not spared, and had to grapple how […]
The federal government is shipping 398 point-of-care COVID-19 testing devices to 384 skilled nursing facilities this week, along with 199,000 tests, with a continued focus on states with significant outbreaks, according to an update from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The shipments come on top of 654 testing instruments sent to 635 […]
COVID-19 testing devices are shipping out to skilled nursing facilities across the U.S, but questions remain for many providers about how those devices are being distributed — and whether the supply lines for the test kits can keep up with the demand as SNFs try to meet testing mandates. The testing initiative, announced by the […]
As the major publicly traded players in post-acute and long-term care prepare to reveal another set of post-COVID results over the coming weeks, Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA) CEO Rick Matros remains confident that the government’s response to COVID-19 has averted severe financial strains for its tenants — at least for now. The Irvine, […]
Developing new post-acute and long-term care infrastructure during normal times isn’t always easy — in fact, for one Illinois company, the phased opening of three new skilled nursing facilities this year represented the culmination of more than five years of work. But as COVID-19 continues to reveal the fatal shortcomings of outdated nursing home design, […]
COVID-19 has prompted the media and general public to consider the state of the standard nursing home more closely than ever, and many national outlets have turned to the Green House model as the prime example of the way forward. These “small-house” style developments eschew the traditional institutional nursing home structure for multiple cottages with […]
Skilled nursing operators and associated providers received about $165 million in small loans under a federal program designed to keep businesses afloat during the pandemic, an analysis of public data by Skilled Nursing News has found. In turn, those 3,300 loans — all under $150,000 apiece — helped operators in the space preserve a total […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be sending $5 billion to all skilled nursing facilities in the U.S, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday. “Nursing homes in higher risk areas will be receiving more funding,” Trump said in his coronavirus briefing on Wednesday. “This money can be used to address critical needs, […]
When it became apparent that COVID-19 was sweeping the country, one of the earliest major preventative steps was a move by the federal government to instate a near-total lockdown on any unnecessary visits. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the sweeping ban on March 13, which did include an exception for end-of-life […]
The exact prescription for reforming the nursing home landscape depends largely on who you ask. An executive in the space could give you a wildly different answer than a geriatrician, and both may not agree with the perspective of federal regulators. But Dr. Michael Wasserman has held roles across all those domains, and he has […]
When the COVID-19 pandemic started gathering momentum in spring, several states took steps to shield health care providers, including skilled nursing facilities, from liability related to care provided during the national emergency. But the rules varied widely from state to state, and other issues might be looming beyond the realm of lawsuits. The Department of […]
Skilled nursing operators and infectious disease experts have expressed optimism about the government’s push to send point-of-care testing tools and test kits to facilities across the U.S. But they also emphasize that it’s one only tool among many that SNFs need to be deploying as they try to keep COVID-19 out of their facilities. The […]
One day after the federal government announced an ambitious plan to send point-of-care testing units for COVID-19 to all of the nation’s more than 15,000 nursing homes, leaders in the space expressed cautious optimism — while often emphasizing that they have more questions than firm answers. Starting next week, the Department of Health and Human […]
The federal government on Wednesday revealed more details about its ambitious effort to send point-of-care COVID-19 testing units and kits to every nursing home in the country, indicating that each facility will receive 400 tests to start with — and thereafter be able to secure subsequent tests for under $25 apiece through a “special concierge […]
The federal government on Tuesday announced an ambitious plan to send point-of-care tests directly to every nursing facility in the country. But unless the building has a specific waiver allowing staffers to perform tests, the facility will not receive the tests, SNN has learned. Operators must secure a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waiver in […]
UPDATE, July 15: CMS and HHS on Wednesday provided more information about the initial roll-out of this program. Click here for the latest. The federal government on Tuesday announced that it would send point-of-care testing supplies for COVID-19 to all skilled nursing facilities in the country, starting next week, according to Admiral Brett Giroir, Assistant […]
The federal government last week announced a push to support nursing homes in emerging COVID-19 hotspots, using a two-pronged approach of targeted enforcement and technical support from Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs). But the group that represents those QIOs claims that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hasn’t provided them with nearly enough money […]
A long-term care pharmacy company is not the first entity that comes to mind for testing for a major infectious disease. But when that company has a major footprint in skilled nursing facilities across the country, it has some resources that lend itself well to the national problem of securing testing for long-term care facilities. […]