Executive Outlook 2024: Inside the Headwinds and Opportunities That Await Nursing Homes

Nursing home leaders from across the nation, including the largest advocacy groups for the sector, plan to oversee efforts in 2024 to increase funding – both from the federal government and through improved revenue streams as operating pressures ease slightly. At the center of these efforts is an attempt at influencing the political will and […]

Executive Outlook 2023: A New Playbook for Skilled Nursing

Over the last two years, skilled nursing providers have faced a pandemic and a labor crisis. As 2023 dawns, leaders across the industry are taking stock of their changed organizations and a reshaped business environment, and are preparing to execute strategies formulated in the COVID crucible. As Signature HealthCARE CEO Joe Steier puts it: “Every […]

Therapy and Beyond – Achieving Infinite Success for the Resident and for the Provider

This article is sponsored by Aegis Therapies. This article is based on a Skilled Nursing News virtual presentation with Patricia Wike, National Director of Continuing Care, Dawn Greaves, Chief Clinical and Innovation Officer, and Brian Boekhout, Vice President of Wellness Services, at Aegis Therapies in October 2022. The article below has been edited for length […]

Rebuilding the Bench: Majestic Care, Aegis Therapies on Deepening the Talent Pool

Recruiting and retaining a skilled, motivated workforce continues to be one of the most vexing issues facing the industry, especially as competition has extended far beyond the nursing home down the street. There is no one “silver bullet” to solve the workforce crisis and staffing solutions are often market specific, industry leaders say. Indiana-based Majestic […]

‘We’re Hurting Big Time’: Medicare Therapy Cut Worsens SNF Staffing Crisis, Care Access

Nursing home residents, staff and company leadership in the physical therapy space are already seeing a bottleneck in access to care, driven by cuts to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) that went into effect three months ago. One significant cut among Medicare Part B physical and occupational therapy […]

Skilled Nursing Occupancy Gains Expected, But Covid Will Cast Long Shadow

Nursing home occupancy recovery rates will be market and operator specific in 2022 and beyond, with COVID-19 still steering industry expectations and resident choices. Still, more than half of nursing home industry leaders believe occupancy levels will improve in the next 12 months for both long-term and short-term care – 53.6% and 52.8%, respectively, according […]

Executive Outlook 2022: Nursing Homes Need to Diversify to ‘Not Only Survive, but Thrive’

Nursing homes have long been seen as the place where elderly Medicare and Medicaid patients spend their final years, but as these institutions look to evolve post-COVID, their role in the long-term care continuum continues to expand. Over the course of the year, SNN has seen operators open in-house dialysis units, renovate their facilities for […]

CMS Finalizes 15% Cut to Therapy Assistant Services for 2022

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Tuesday finalized its Calendar Year (CY) 2022 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), confirming a 1% cut to Medicare Part B physical and occupational therapy rates, down from the proposed 2% in July, and a 15% cut for services provided by therapy assistants. CMS specified the 15% cut […]

Reimbursement Slashes Cut Deeper for Rural, Small Therapy Providers

Reimbursement for Medicare Part B therapy services continues to dry up despite government cash infusions, a concerning trend for rehabilitation providers, operators and the associations that represent them. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has suggested about 2% in cuts to Part B physical and occupational therapy rates as part of its 2022 […]

Nursing Homes Proceed Cautiously on Group Therapy — But Vaccinations Allow Small Steps Forward

When the Medicare payment system for skilled nursing facilities was overhauled in 2019, one of the most anticipated provisions was the option to provide therapy to residents in group or concurrent settings — allowing for more socialization and cost savings. That provision got about four months of practice before the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world […]

Isolating COVID-19 Patients Critical for Nursing Home Safety — But PDPM Hasn’t Caught Up

The infectious nature of COVID-19 makes it imperative that skilled nursing facilities take extra precautions around any new admissions that they bring in, as well as any residents that are returning from a hospital stay. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the procedure for SNFs is straightforward: Keep any COVID-19-positive patients […]

Therapy Continues During Crisis, But Worries Over Protective Supplies and Employment Loom

Many therapy teams consider their services essential to nursing home residents — even after the federal government guided the sector to prohibit unnecessary visits to facilities amid the spread of the novel coronavirus. Even with the push to reduce “unessential” services, the government opened the floodgates for nursing facilities to serve overflow patients from hospitals […]