By 2030, it is projected that one in three people behind bars will be considered geriatric, compared to one in five Americans in the overall population. Greater involvement from nursing home operators and new potential nursing home payment programs are likely needed to address this pressing public health challenge, research wrote in an op-ed published […]
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Hospital readmissions have emerged as a pressing concern within the realm of post-acute care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Not only do readmissions impact the health and well-being of elderly patients, but they also have significant cost implications. Additionally, they play a pivotal role in the evaluation of facility performance, a crucial aspect of value-based […]
A simple enhanced bathing routine can significantly reduce serious infections as well as curb antibiotic resistance to superbugs in nursing homes. This is according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which examined the effectiveness of a “universal decolonization” protocol using a chlorhexidine bathing routine for skin and an over-the-counter antiseptic […]
The skilled nursing industry is at a crossroads as it grapples with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed federal staffing mandate. A significant point of contention in the proposal is the exclusion of licensed practical nurses (LPNs), which has ignited concerns and garnered strong reactions from industry leaders. “What’s keeping me up […]
In a bipartisan effort, U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and James Lankford (R-OK), along with 26 other senators, penned a letter to Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), urging the Biden Administration to reconsider the proposed federal staffing mandate. The senators expressed their collective concern that, amid an […]
Long-term care systems are in a critical need of reform across the country, according to AARP’s latest report on the state of the sector. The AARP report found that major gaps persisted in every state, especially related to support for family caregivers, the long-term care workforce, equity in nursing homes, and emergency preparedness. A few […]
Older adults experience a decline in vulnerability after moving into a skilled nursing facility, according to a new study. Conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, with funding from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC), the findings show that approximately three months after relocating, this vulnerability among older adults plateaus […]
With the minimum staffing mandate coming into effect soon, nursing home operators may be looking for creative ways to increase staffing and retain employees. Dr. Jasmine Travers, a gerontological nurse practitioner and assistant professor of nursing at New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, told Skilled Nursing News that a program that the Centers […]
Over the past decade, the nonprofit nursing home sector has experienced steady growth, with an average annual growth rate of 2.2%, while mergers and acquisitions activity has resulted in the ten largest providers representing nearly 30% of all facilities in the industry. This is according to the LeadingAge Ziegler 200 report released Thursday, which identified […]
‘A Strange Rule’: Policy Experts Call for Changes, Compromise to Staffing Proposal for Nursing Homes
Leaders from across the sector – nurses and policy experts – are urging lawmakers to more carefully consider some of the stipulations of the nursing home staffing proposal, including the ratios of direct care staff, timing and even financial factors that may ultimately prevent the industry from complying with its conditions. The Centers for Medicare […]
Nursing home operators participating in a value-based purchasing program (VBP) might be able to derive greater benefits in coming years from higher scores based on new measures, as the federal government seeks to reward organizations who prioritize health equity, among other factors. Joel Van Eaton, EVP of post-acute care regulatory affairs and education at Broad […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this week updated the SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP), with changes to specifications used to calculate quality measures effective on Oct. 1. In terms of measures slated for removal from QRP, CMS doesn’t address how these gaps will impact requirements for reporting in its latest update, Jessie […]
At the Open Door Forum hosted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Thursday, officials declined to field questions related to the potential federal minimum staffing mandate for nursing homes even as the proposal has progressed to the next stage. Industry insiders shared with Skilled Nursing News that the Biden Administration’s highly anticipated […]
Industry leaders continued to have mixed reactions about the fate of the Biden Administration’s nursing home staffing mandate after the accidental online release of a staffing study commissioned by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), with some insiders questioning the leaked study’s data. Industry stakeholders doubted the reliability of the study conducted by […]
The White House’s ambitious plans for a federal nursing home staffing mandate might have hit a snag due to the inadvertent online release and subsequent removal of a study commissioned by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). KFF Health News first reported on the study on Tuesday, after which CMS removed the report, […]
For skilled nursing facility operators, the most common survey deficiencies might not be the ones always at the top-of-mind. In multiple states, a Zimmet Healthcare Services Group (ZHSG) analysis found that food safety and procurement was the primary deficiency, among other areas, like basic infection control and resident rights. “During interviews, the food quality often […]
Kentucky is grappling with a significant backlog of overdue nursing home inspections, raising concerns about the potential for undiscovered health and safety issues, state officials cautioned in a legislative panel meeting on Tuesday. “We need to be clear: We’re way behind. We’re waaay behind. We’ve got a long way to go to catch up. There’s […]
Before the year 2020, telemedicine was a rarity within SNFs. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated innovative solutions, telemedicine visits surged from 0.15% of SNF visits in early 2020 to a staggering 15% for SNF visits and 25% for outpatient visits by May 2020. However, this growth proved temporary. By 2022, telemedicine’s prevalence had declined […]
The issue of formally requiring patient surveys for nursing homes, similar to surveys mandated in other segments of health care, has long been a source of debate – one getting stirred up again after federal policy makers decided to nix patient satisfaction measures from the recently issued final prospective payment rule for 2024. The Centers […]
Higher staffing levels contribute to better scores on quality measures suggesting that Care Compare for nursing homes could benefit from adding a measure for staffing instability. This is the recommendation of a study published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA), which revealed that both staffing instability and […]
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