‘Scarcity Premium’ Creating Competition in Nursing Home Market, But Congressional Budget Risks Still Loom

The current nursing home market has its share of positives and negatives midway through 2025, with operators enjoying Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement increases as well as a decline in facility supply, creating higher competition among buyers. Buyers are being more aggressive in the acquisition process, he said, with fewer facilities available. Brokerage firms are seeing […]

New CEO at Focused Post Acute Care Digs into Disproportionate Fines, Record IJ Citations

A nursing home regulatory model focused on real-time collaboration between state, federal and provider leaders is crucial, considering existing outdated and punitive regulatory practices seen in some states. In Texas, for example, there’s a disproportionate issuance of immediate jeopardy (IJ) citations and associated financial penalties, which discourage investment in the industry while demoralizing staff, Focused […]

Town Halls, Interdisciplinary Clinical Teams and Acuity Converge in Majestic’s Nursing Home Staffing Push

Tackling rising acuity for Majestic Care goes beyond beefing up clinical teams amid a shortage of specialized roles. The Indiana-based provider has been responding to sicker patients in the nursing home space across local and regional settings, fine-tuning the provision of specialty services based on geography. High levels of support for clinical teams from the […]

Nursing Homes and Unions Partner to Boost Pay and Benefits for Workers Across Several States

Across several states, initiatives are underway to increase wages and improve benefits for nursing home workers. In Minnesota, new nursing assistants will now earn $22.56 per hour by 2026, aligning pay standards across the state with the state average. Moreover, Minnesota’s Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board approved new wage rules by setting a $24 per […]

‘Double Edged Sword’: Hospital Competition Requires Nursing Homes to Focus on Younger Recruits, Float Pools, Better Training

Nursing homes are under increasing pressure to transform their businesses and care models to cater to patients with higher acuity, shorter stays, and tighter budgets. The challenge isn’t just recruitment of staff with the right skill set, but also building an infrastructure that supports ongoing staff development. And this, in turn, calls for greater investment […]

As Trump Admin Rushes to Eliminate Federal Rules, Nursing Home Staffing Rule Maybe Cut

The Trump Administration is preparing a plan to eliminate federal regulations swiftly and permanently, which could include removal of the nursing home staffing mandate. According to the New York Times, officials at several federal agencies are being instructed to bypass the traditional repeal process, one that often takes years. President Donald Trump has requested officials […]

The Future of Therapy Services in Nursing Homes is Dictated By ‘Who is Paying the Bill’

Therapy in nursing homes has been shaped in recent years by the shift to a patient-centered model, with providers pointing to staff shortages, reimbursement changes, and the influence of Medicare Advantage plans as factors making it harder to tailor programs. Certainly, higher expectations from therapy-based clinical outcomes is changing the therapy market landscape, said Brian […]

‘Pulling Back the Curtain’: From New Roles to Old Ways, Inside Nursing Home Workforce Retention Wins

To sustain staffing gains, many nursing home operators are investing in specialized training, attractive wages, and career growth in order to compete better with others across the health care continuum, with many focusing on modernizing onboarding processes. Retaining certified nursing assistants (CNAs) has been problematic in many facilities, while the highly skilled role of MDS […]

Investors Sue Nursing Home Giant PACS

PACS Group (NYSE: PACS) leaders are facing a shareholder lawsuit tied to an alleged scheme to submit false Medicare claims. Five PACS executives, including CEO Jason Murray and CFO Derick Apt, are named as defendants in the now-consolidated federal securities fraud class action lawsuit. According to the complaint filed on March 21, these PACS executives […]

‘Squaring the Circle’: In Aftermath of CMS Nursing Home Survey Updates, Care Transitions Demanding but Doable

With many of the upcoming nursing home survey changes being tied to care transitions to home, hospitals or other settings, operators say the link between clinical teams and these transitions is more important than ever. However, even though worker shortages have complicated transitions, operators haven’t given up on finding workarounds. So, how do operators square […]

A Covid-Era Feeling: Ancillaries Offer Edge as Nursing Home Capital Markets Shift Amid Economic Uncertainty

Financial leaders were generally more optimistic at the beginning of the year in terms of a capital market forecast. Now, however, that outlook has changed due to perceptions of economic instability and the threat of potential federal Medicaid cuts. Now, for facilities to succeed at raising funds for additions or improvements, possession of liquidity and […]

Fears of ‘Unmanageable’ Closure Threats Heightened by Staffing Mandate, Subpar Medicaid, and Continuing Pipeline Issues 

Razor thin margins have been a hallmark of operators in the nursing home industry for some time, but lackluster Medicaid rates and the possibility of Congressional cuts to Medicaid may push some over the edge. The spectre of closures, and in turn access issues for residents and their family members, has been haunting the industry […]

Saint Therese CEO: Nursing Homes, CCRCs at a ‘Crossroads’ as Savvy Workforce Initiatives Helping, but Fiercer Advocacy Needed

As president and CEO of Saint Therese Senior Living for the last two years, Craig Abbott has been on a mission to change the idea of wellbeing by strengthening his organization’s workforce and making an urgent case for long-term care and accessibility to nursing homes as a community issue. “We set out a 10-year vision […]

Inside Good Sam’s Array of Workforce Initiatives, ‘Reimagined’ AIT Program Catered to Gen Z

As chief operating officer of The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, the largest not-for-profit provider of nursing homes and senior housing, Aimee Middleton understands that staffing will remain the top operational challenge in 2025, and while conquering labor problems will be no easy task, some solutions are already paying off. Middleton sat down with Skilled […]

Average Corporate Salaries in Nursing Home Sector Increased 3.52%, Beating Hospitals and Home Health

Corporate executive salaries in the long-term care space increased by 3.52% on average in 2024 compared to the previous year, a larger increase compared to hospitals and home health/hospice base pay, which increased 3.16% and 3.33%, respectively. The average annual salary for a nursing home CEO with a multi-facility company was $465,750, while COOs saw […]

Sabra Execs: Abundance of PE Deals, Newer Financing Options Easing M&A Environment Amid Medicaid Cuts Uncertainty

Skilled nursing deals are plentiful, and private equity has a large role to play in their abundance, according to leaders at Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA). This trend comes amid the possibility of Medicaid cuts, which could be watered down eventually from the current package presented by House Republicans, they noted. Speaking during Sabra’s […]

‘Anxiety at Night’: Clinical Leaders Especially Concerned by Certain Nursing Home Compliance Changes for 2025

Staffing and certain compliance issues related to updated survey guidance coming in late March, particularly those that relate to patient discharges as well as use of psychotropic medications, are top of mind for nursing home clinical leaders in 2025. Panelists at Skilled Nursing News’ annual CLINICAL conference, which took place early this week in Fort […]

Signature’s CNO: Nursing Home Surveys Unfairly Punitive as CMS Audits Reflect ‘Gaps’ not ‘Misuse’

As the nursing home industry grapples with federal audits related to changes in survey requirements – seen as compounding burdens on staff – the sector lags behind other health care areas in filling openings for nurses. Signature HealthCARE’s Chief Nursing Officer Barbara Revelette shared her thoughts on the fallout from ramped-up CMS scrutiny related to […]