Officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Thursday said the number of nursing home residents who are up to date with her COVID-19 vaccines is “far too low.” While COVID vaccination was at the top of the agenda, CMS officials also shared more information about coming MDS changes, including the timing […]
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
For the nursing home industry, 2022 will go down as a historic year, in no small part because the Biden administration announced a comprehensive list of nursing home reforms. The proposals include provisions for minimum staffing requirements, increased financial transparency for operators, and programs to target ‘bad actors’ with financial penalties and increased scrutiny. Not […]
Bernie McGuinness, CEO of Majestic Care, always knew that he wanted a rewarding career where he could work with people and make a tangible impact. His pursuit of such a career led him from being a certified nursing assistant (CNA) to the CEO of a nursing home company that he co-founded. Majestic Care now has […]
The pandemic created myriad risk factors for nursing home operators, many of whom have been primarily focused on staffing shortages and infection control for the past three years. Yet as the industry continues to evolve, operators may need to diversify their risk mitigation strategies to prepare for higher acuity residents, the implementation of the Phase […]
As fall comes to a close and winter ushers in, the federal government is reminding nursing home operators that they must provide residents access to the latest Covid vaccines and treatment. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a memo Tuesday outlining the need for health care providers and suppliers, especially those in […]
Roughly 76% of nursing home staff and more than 60% of residents have yet to receive the new Covid-19 bivalent booster, as providers brace for the threat of a tripledemic. That’s according to an AARP analysis of federal data as of mid-October. Some states are further behind than others. Arizona, for example, has only 15.2% […]
Incorporating weekend staffing and infection rate data for the first time, thousands of nursing homes reached the top of the charts in the U.S. News and World Report’s latest rankings. The 2022-23 “Best Nursing Homes” list was published on Tuesday. U.S. News evaluates more than 15,000 nursing homes on factors including care, safety, infection rates, […]
Covid-19 infections and deaths in nursing homes plummeted after the omicron variant receded and efforts were undertaken to ensure staff and residents were vaccinated, boosted and masked. Yet as fall fades into winter, many operators are bracing for the likelihood of a tripledemic: Covid-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and influenza all at once. Mandatory masking […]
As several states across the country have extended or made permanent nursing home Medicaid rate bumps tied to the pandemic, at least in part to stem the tide of high staffing costs and inflationary pressures, Texas operators are anxiously awaiting their fate ahead of next year’s legislative session. Focused Post Acute Care Partners CEO Mark […]
The nation’s top court heard arguments in a case this week involving a state-owned nursing home in Indiana. While it remains to be seen what the Supreme Court’s justices will decide, several members of the court were uncertain whether nursing home Medicaid residents could sue to enforce their rights or if they should pursue other […]
When it comes to recruiting and retaining nursing home staff, Chelsey Gray has taken a cue or two from her time in the tech world. Prior to joining Revive Health Senior Care Management as an owner and chief transformation officer, Gray worked for a large government contracting firm and spent time as a data scientist. […]
The federal government issued updated guidance to surveyors on nursing home staff vaccination requirements, including the recognition of “good faith efforts” by facilities to be in compliance with the mandated guidelines. Facility staff vaccination rates under 100% “of unexpected staff” is considered noncompliance, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) memo. However, […]
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) watchdog arm added a probe of skilled nursing residents who had potentially preventable hospitalizations in its list of priorities over the next year. The HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently announced an additional investigation as part of its 2022 work plan — specifically focusing its […]
In its latest move to increase scrutiny of the skilled nursing industry, the Biden administration is toughening requirements for nursing homes that fall into its Special Focus Facilities (SFF) program. Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is making completion requirements more challenging and increasing enforcement actions if SNFs fail to show improvement, […]
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 […]
A lot of temporary measures will dry up or disappear when the public health emergency (PHE) comes to an end, but one thing that may become permanent is the Medicaid rate bumps states put in place to alleviate pressures nursing home operators face. At least that’s the hope for industry leaders and advocacy groups. Right […]
Nursing home leaders have largely steered clear of making predictions given the events of the last two-plus years, but the head of the sector’s largest trade group confidently made one Monday. “One thing that I am sure about, and that I see very clearly is my prediction, and that is that you and your team […]
Ahead of a federal minimum staffing ratio to be proposed for the nation’s nursing homes, data continues to show a shortfall of available staff to meet such requirements. Many operators are in favor of higher staffing levels, but not without state or federal funding to hire and retain the appropriate level of staff. Others hope […]
As pandemic era waivers are winding down and the public health emergency (PHE) will eventually come to an end, CMS officials are urging nursing home leaders to begin getting used to no longer relying on the Covid-related flexibilities. “We are encouraging health care providers to prepare for the end of the flexibilities and begin to […]
The majority of nursing homes will not be able to take advantage of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) updated mask policy as many are still in high transmission zones for Covid-19. The CDC last month issued updated guidance that removed its blanket masking policy to better reflect vaccine efforts, infection-induced immunity and […]
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