The COVID-19 pandemic revealed deep cracks in the supply chain of personal protective equipment (PPE) for all health care providers, but nursing homes — which under normal circumstances do not require nearly as much as they do now — have felt particular strain. In northern New Jersey, a non-profit senior care operator has been forced […]
House Democrats on Tuesday introduced a major aid package with a provision that would indefinitely delay the implementation of a controversial rule that imperiled billions in Medicaid funding for skilled nursing facilities. The bill also would boost the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), or Washington’s share of state Medicaid rates, by 14% — up from […]
As the U.S. fights to get the COVID-19 virus under control, nursing homes have emerged as a key front lines in the battle. But one of the largest skilled nursing and senior care operators in the country still struggles to secure sufficient testing. Skilled Nursing News caught up with George Hager, CEO of the Kennett […]
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold, leaders in the skilled nursing space have increasingly claimed that various government agencies have left them in an unwinnable position. With occasionally conflicting edicts from state and federal authorities, and until recently a lower priority for testing than other care settings, the pandemic has revealed serious gaps in […]
Despite promises from the federal government to speed the distribution of vital personal protective equipment (PPE) to the nation’s nursing homes, operators still find themselves paying exorbitant prices for necessary equipment — when they can even find any at all. Amid a global pandemic that laser-targets vulnerable elders, one of the most reliable PPE sources […]
In the era before COVID-19, specialty in-house Medicare Advantage plans had emerged as one of the hottest topics in long-term care — control the payer source, the thinking went, and an operator could eliminate the financial uncertainty and pressure that comes when working with managed care plans. But with a global pandemic running rampant through […]
The nursing home chain HCR ManorCare has — like many other skilled nursing operators — been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic still moving through the U.S. And like many other operators, it’s struggling to find the needed personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing kits, despite mandates from multiple states requiring testing and full stockpiles […]
For more than two months now, Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation CEO Stuart Almer has been on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle, running a 460-bed nursing home in the suburbs of New York City — a region that has borne the brunt of the coronavirus impact in the United States so far. That […]
Major skilled nursing operator PruittHealth last week announced that it was entering a partnership with a coalition of providers to expand COVID-19 testing at its facilities across Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. The partnership was about a month in the making — and it highlights the difficult timeline SNF operators have faced as […]
President Trump on Thursday announced the formation of a special nursing home task force that will convene in late May with the goal of better preparing the industry for future outbreaks in the wake of a staggering COVID-19 death toll. The Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes will consist of industry leaders, […]
It’s certainly too early to determine what the senior housing and care landscape will look like post-pandemic, but the leader of a leading real estate investment trust (REIT) in the space thinks post-acute facilities will have an easier time returning to some kind of normalcy once the peak of the COVID-19 crisis passes. Unlike the […]
To combat and contain the COVID-19 pandemic, testing has emerged as the both a lynchpin and one of the most of the significant pain points. This is true for all parts of the health care continuum in the U.S., but for skilled nursing facilities, the need for widespread testing is acute, given how swiftly the […]
Prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, skilled nursing facilities that specialize in post-acute care were a rare target of true investor excitement in the greater institutional senior care continuum. With a shiny new Medicare payment model that gave providers more financial credit for the high-acuity services they’d increasingly added over the years, and […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed hospital system capacity to the breaking point in some parts of the U.S., and wrought particular havoc in the skilled nursing setting. All eyes have been on the health care system, with a particular focus on ensuring hospital capacity: Calls to stay home and “flatten the curve” often come with […]
Even before nursing homes became the epicenter of a world-historic pandemic, the setting was rarely the first choice for young nurses looking to build a long-term career. Often perceived as a less-exciting workplace than other settings — such as the emergency room or private practice — post-acute and long-term care facilities have long been considered […]
Skilled nursing operators across the U.S. are grappling with the challenge of caring for patients most vulnerable to COVID-19 while staying on top of a variety of state and federal guidelines. To do that without getting overwhelmed, it’s critical to have all the various components of an operation working together — and for operators with […]
Third Eye Health had a two-year plan to expand the network of skilled nursing facilities that use its telehealth technology from 400 to more than 1,000. Amid a world-historic pandemic, the Chicago-based tech company reached that multi-year goal in a matter of a few weeks. “We’ve had truly exponential growth,” Third Eye vice president and […]
The federal government has granted Medicare Advantage plans significant leeway when it comes to setting payment rates and other rules for skilled nursing facilities. In normal times, the crazy quilt of managed-care policies and exceptions creates headaches for operators and their billing teams. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, widespread variations in Medicare Advantage behavior add […]
Health care providers across the continuum have grappled with major challenges in providing care for patients with COVID-19, and several states have taken steps to shield them from lawsuits related to care provided during the national emergency. Skilled nursing facilities are often included in those liability protections, but the extent to which the protections apply […]
Over the last few weeks, the concept of “cohorting” nursing home residents has emerged as a key, but potentially fraught, strategy for blunting the spread of COVID-19. In theory, the concept makes complete sense: If providers and health officials can separate residents who test positive from those without COVID-19, they can provide safe, uninterrupted care […]
