As nursing home operators find themselves in the middle of a tripledemic – with Covid-19 cases, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the flu on the rise during winter months – concerted efforts to get staff and residents boosted against Covid have fallen by the wayside. And nursing home operators dealing with staffing shortages and burnout, […]
Category: Legislation
With referrals to nursing homes under pressure, thanks to a bottleneck in part caused by the ongoing staffing crisis, hospitals are urging more support for post-acute providers. The American Hospital Association (AHA), for one, has called for “law updates” when it comes to hospital-based skilled nursing facilities and inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs). AHA on Tuesday […]
“The sector has a tremendous opportunity to reimagine how we deliver care.” These are the words of Nate Schema, president and CEO of The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, one of the largest providers of skilled nursing services in the United States. Good Sam is reimagining care in part through a $350 million virtual care […]
Athena Health Systems of Farmington, Connecticut will pay $1.75 million to resolve a series of allegations, including that the company failed to meet the needs of nursing home residents experiencing substance use disorders. The settlement comes against a backdrop of increasing overlap between skilled nursing and behavioral health, with a growing recognition of the needs […]
A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers has introduced a bill aimed at increasing access to mental health services for older adults, including those residing in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Dubbed the Increasing Mental Health Options Act of 2022, the legislation seeks to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have access to psychologists and can receive mental health […]
Due to increased labor costs and nationwide workforce shortages, 191,000 nurses and nurse aides are needed at the annual cost of $11.3 billion in order for nursing homes to meet a staffing minimum of 4.1 hours per resident day (HPRD). That’s according to the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and CliftonLarsonAllen, an accounting and consulting […]
It’s fitting that the most-read Skilled Nursing News story of 2022 was about rethinking the MDS coordinator role, because this article combines two themes that dominated the year: staffing and payment. Much SNN coverage this year focused on the extent of the staffing crisis, initiatives to overcome challenges, how various job roles are changing, and […]
As therapy providers in the nursing home setting brace for a 4.47% cut in the Physician Fee Schedule in 2023, Congress may not help bridge the gap as much as in the past. Currently, Congress is toying with a 2% to2.5% boost to help providers dealing with the 4.47% cut, panelists said during a webinar […]
As the seasons change and operators brace for a potential “tripledemic” this winter, the nursing home industry’s largest trade group is calling on the federal government to extend the public health emergency beyond its January 2023 end. The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living sent a letter to the U.S. Department […]
In 2014, Hebrew Home at Riverdale’s Medical Director Zachary Palace was faced with a perplexing question: By permitting residents to exercise their full rights as citizens of the state, could he put the senior care center at risk for non-compliance? At that time the Compassionate Care Act, New York’s medical cannabis law, had just been […]
Leaders with LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC) on Friday expanded more on the company’s joint venture with Georgia-based nursing home operator PruittHealth, while putting recent acquisitions in context of Medicaid rate increases – potential and finalized – across multiple states. The $62 million JV with PruittHealth to purchase three nursing homes in Florida is the real […]
With major pressure coming down from government entities, further shaped by public perception as the nursing home industry faces a crushing staffing crisis, shared accountability among operators, their lobbying representatives and resident advocates has become even more important. Health Management CEO Debbie Meade has a seat at the table, with roles at the American Health […]
The Biden administration has ramped up its efforts to provide access to the most recent Covid-19 vaccines, including in nursing homes. The federal government’s announcement on Tuesday comes at a time when only 39.8% of residents and 27.2% of staff are up to date per facility with their vaccines, according to the most recent data […]
It’s hard to pin down how nursing home operators should be feeling as the end of the year approaches. The best way I could describe it, one week after attending the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) conference in Nashville, is a combination of optimism and pessimism that fluctuates depending on the […]
The nursing home industry was thrust back into the national spotlight this week as federal lawmakers called out for-profit ownership for their lack of resources during the early months of the pandemic and confounding corporate structures. The Congressional Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by Rep. James Clyburn, held a hearing on Wednesday to […]
Nurses in the skilled nursing sector say their situation has not improved after two-and-a-half years into the pandemic – more than half have seen an increase in medical mistakes as a result of lower staffing. This is the “new normal” for the sector, according to a study released by IntelyCare on Wednesday. The Massachusetts-based health […]
Nursing home operators were able to tell the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) directly how much certain waivers helped their organizations during the pandemic, with the temporary nurse aide (TNA) and three-day stay waivers being the most beneficial. SNF industry leaders also made their case for extending waivers or making some permanent during […]
As the skilled nursing industry works to stem the workforce shortage tide, leaders in the sector should not expect to find the ultimate answers in Washington. That’s according to Clif Porter, senior vice president of government relations at the American Health American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL). “We can’t fix this in […]
As the Biden administration continues down its path toward comprehensive nursing home reform, owners and investors in the space have kept a close ear to the ground when it comes to federal leaders’ increasingly loud opposition toward certain for-profit models — perhaps for good reason. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and Congressman Mark Takano of […]
Current immigration policies are creating unnecessary roadblocks that hinder the recovery and potential growth of the nursing home industry’s workforce by “leaps and bounds.” And the situation has only become increasingly more dire as the sector faces a labor shortage at levels not seen in the last three decades. The ability to bring over international […]