As Vaccine Clinics Wrap Up and Doors Open, Nursing Homes Must Start Planning for Waves of Future Shots

When emergency use authorizations (EUA) were granted to two COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020, health care workers and residents in long-term care facilities were granted first priority for the shots — and a federal partnership to vaccinate nursing homes kicked into gear. By January 25, most nursing homes participating in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term […]

RiverSpring CEO Talks Skilled Nursing as ‘Dinosaur’ and New York’s First CCRC

RiverSpring Health is working on New York City’s first continuing care retirement community (CCRC) as it expands beyond its Hebrew Home at Riverdale nursing facility. And CEO Daniel Reingold is optimistic about it — particularly as the skilled nursing industry convulses in a series of transformations. “It’s a dinosaur,” he told Skilled Nursing News of […]

Skilled Nursing Providers Can Still Break Into Narrow Networks

Skilled nursing providers frequently fret about the rise of narrow networks — the closed-off groups of high-performing nursing homes that hospitals have developed to ensure the best quality and reimbursement outcomes for their patients. But even the narrowest preferred skilled nursing networks have gaps that smart providers can fill, as long as they know where […]

Survey Finds Support for LGBT-Focused Nursing and Retirement Options

Three out of four members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) communities said they wished there were more LGBTI-specific retirement homes and nursing homes, according to a survey conducted by banking giant Barclays and  Gay Star News. The survey drew from more than 2,300 respondents, and was conducted for Gay Star News’s inaugural LGBTI Founders […]

Good Samaritan and Sanford Hospital System Agree to Merge

The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, one of the largest non-profit senior care providers, on Tuesday announced a vote to approve a merger with Sanford Health, a not-for-profit health system. Good Samaritan has more than 200 locations across the U.S. with about 80 skilled nursing facilities, while Sanford has 44 hospitals. Both organizations are based in Sioux […]

Skyline Costs State $475K After Forced Skilled Nursing Takeovers

The state of Pennsylvania is set to pay Complete HealthCare Resources $475,000 after the  company took over nine skilled nursing facilities operated by Skyline Healthcare, the Reading Eagle reported. The implosion of Wood Ridge, New Jersey-based Skyline in South Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska has also hit Pennsylvania, where the Department of Health (DOH) had to appoint temporary […]

$24M Bridge Loan for Long Island Facility; Ohio SNF Sells for $2.6M

Carnegie Capital Secures $24M Bridge Loan for Long Island Facility Carnegie Capital, based in Austin, Texas, sourced and structured a $24 million bridge loan to refinance the existing note on a skilled nursing and assisted living facility on Long Island, N.Y. The deal helped restructure the facility’s operating debt and rehabilitate the upper level. The […]

Two-Sided Risk Key to Telehealth’s Promise in Skilled Nursing

Telehealth has promise for long-term care facilities in rural areas, but a new risk model may be needed to fully realize the technology’s potential, according to testimony at a hearing before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee that focused on innovation in health care. Rep. Adrian Smith, a Nebraska Republican, noted the significance of […]

Gaps Remain in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Performance Measures

Gaps remain in performance measures for post-acute care (PAC) and long-term care (LTC), particularly with regard to care coordination and information exchanges, according to a report from the non-partisan National Quality Forum’s (NQF) Measure Applications Partnership (MAP). Though performance measures are key for payment reform and sparking quality improvements, PAC and LTC settings have differing […]

Planners of Nursing Home for Veterans Face Multiple Unknowns

The state of Wyoming cleared the way for studies on the feasibility of a skilled nursing center for veterans, a facility that the state currently lacks. “Our concern is in the future, what will be the need for skilled nursing?” Col. Steve Kravitsky, director of the Wyoming Veterans Commission (WVC), told Skilled Nursing News. “Even […]

How Skilled Nursing Can Fight Liability Insurance Pressures

In a difficult liability environment like the state of Kentucky, skilled nursing and long-term care (LTC) providers need to tap into their passion, their energy, and their own story to position themselves for success when renewing or obtaining a professional liability policy. They also need to bring their data. “[Providers] should absolutely use what benchmarks […]

Registered Nurse Staffing Falls Short in Most Nursing Homes

Most nursing homes report registered nurse (RN) staffing levels at half an hour per resident day or less, highlighting the labor shortage that’s affecting most of the senior care industry. Seventy percent of nursing homes reported RN care at or below 30 minutes per day, while 82% of nursing homes reported total direct care staffing […]

Skilled Nursing Occupancy Falls Again in Q4 2017

Skilled nursing occupancy took another hit in the fourth quarter of 2017, dropping 66 basis points from the third quarter to end at 81.9%. Not even a severe and early flu season could help boost it, according the fourth quarter Skilled Nursing Data Report from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care’s (NIC). “Historically, occupancy […]

Average Price-Per-Bed For SNFs Plummeted in 2017

After five consecutive years of record prices, the average price per bed for skilled nursing facilities fell to $81,350 in 2017, a drop of 18% from the year prior. It might have fallen even further if the average cap rate in 2017 had not remained at historical norms, according to a press release from Norwalk, […]

Most Long-Term Care Companies Say They Don’t Invest Enough in Tech

A long-term care (LTC) community plays host to residents, clinicians and, at times, family members, and with that variety comes a potentially dizzying array of technological considerations ranging from nurse call systems to video surveillance. But there are some distinctive trends in the LTC space for tech and devices, according to a Tuesday webinar from […]

Investors and Operators Shun Standalone Skilled Nursing Facilities

The hits keep coming for the skilled nursing sector. A new survey from professional services firm JLL (NYSE: JLL) finds that more than half of operators and investors consider standalone skilled nursing facilities “not at all desirable” as an an investment. The findings of the Year-End 2017 Seniors Housing Investor Survey come in a high-pressure atmosphere of low […]

Signature Eyes Deal to Avoid Bankruptcy in Coming Weeks

Signature HealthCARE officials say they are hoping to reach a deal to restructure the company’s financial obligations in the next four to six weeks, Louisville Business First reported on Wednesday. Bankruptcy proceedings do remain a possibility, however, Signature CEO and co-founder Joe Steier told the publication. Signature has been dealing with problems for some time now: One […]