As rising acuity and reimbursement challenges stymy nursing home workforce growth, third party contracts have been increasingly responsible for providing daily services. Whether its providing resident-facing clinical work, including use of third party doctors, supplying medical equipment or rendering back office services that focus more on ensuring proper documentation for reimbursement, third parties are increasingly […]
The efforts of the federal government and nursing homes to reduce the use of psychotropics have been significant, and seem to have paid off until recently when the numbers painted a more grim picture. Some operators believe that the alarming rise in the prescriptions of psychotropics is partly due to a lack of communication between […]
Research suggests that collaboration between various departments leads to better health outcomes at nursing homes, but that has been a difficult principle to follow, often because of time and regulatory constraints placed on staff already stretched thin. However, team-based care is the name of the game and sticking to it is important for the future […]
The nursing home industry will be feeling the pain of “another stick” with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) plan to tighten antipsychotic oversight and penalties. At least, that’s what GAPS Health CEO Dr. Jerome Wilborn thinks. GAPS Health is a medical directorship group that aims to optimize SNF efficiency and eliminate unnecessary […]
Despite federal efforts to curb inappropriate medication use in the nursing home setting, national entities say the overall use of psychotropic drugs in the space remained “high and unchanged” since 2011. A report released Thursday by the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) delved into the continued use […]
In recently announced rules of participation, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) included several updates related to behavioral health in nursing homes. The agency aims to further address the rights and available services for residents with mental health needs, including a focus on situations where practitioners or facilities may have inaccurately diagnosed or […]
While clinical leaders in skilled nursing facilities welcome new hires to their staff, many are seeing an influx of nurses with less real-world experience. Nurses fresh out of school were unable to complete their clinicals on-site due to Covid, leaving students to learn as best they could in online skills labs and other solitary training, […]
The nurse practitioner (NP) role has evolved to be much more involved in the day-to-day operations of a nursing home, especially given the higher acuity that the care setting has adopted. Institutional special needs plans (I-SNPs), which are designed to care for residents that need a higher level of clinical care, has led to more […]
While the Biden administration’s overprescription reform in nursing homes focuses mostly on antipsychotics, research has found that other disease treatments – including medication for type 2 diabetes – are overprescribed as well. About 40% of nursing home residents with type 2 diabetes were either overtreated or potentially overtreated, according to results published in the Journal […]
The Biden administration’s recent efforts to further reduce inappropriate medications in nursing homes has been a multi-year endeavor for industry leaders, but many in the space believe there is still a long way to go. As part of the administration’s nursing home reforms, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will launch a new […]
GAPS Health hopes to continue its explosive growth in the new year, by way of skilled nursing facility (SNF) partnerships and acquisitions of smaller physician practices. Dallas-based GAPS provides medical directorships to SNFs across the U.S. – the company has only been around since 2019 but is already in more than 350 facilities as of […]
With fewer hospital referrals coming in, and a sicker patient population post-COVID, some operators are finding ways to stand out by specializing in specific areas of medicine to help bring in higher acuity patients. As Martin Siefering, principal at architecture firm Perkins Eastman, put it, nursing homes have more beds than they need right now […]
Symphony Care Network, a Midwest operator with more than 30 properties throughout Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan, is expanding its mental health services to better address a patient population that is more complex and sicker post-COVID. The Chicago-based company formed a new geriatric mental health service — Serenata Geropsychiatric Care program — that helps identify […]
The long-term care industry has dramatically shifted how it treats behavioral health needs in the 11 years since LifeSource Inc. was first founded, according to President Peggy Baddour. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, those needs have only become more clear for the long-term care facilities, independent living communities and behavioral health agencies LifeSource serves. […]
The COVID-19 emergency overturned nursing home operations overnight in almost every respect, notably with regard to the provision of clinical care. And according to a panel of physicians who work in the nursing home setting, some of those changes should stick around, even after the public health emergency finally comes to a close. Namely, they […]
In the investment and finance side of skilled nursing, “regional” is commonly cited as a strength for an operator; the idea is that a strong presence in a concentrated geography allows for better relationships with hospitals and referral partners, physicians, and the community generally. But thinking regionally goes beyond the financial well-being of a facility, […]
Nursing homes have long existed in a liminal space between acute care and senior living. The short-term rehab side of nursing care has increasingly turned into something like a mini-hospital, as both Medicare and Medicare Advantage have looked to reduce overall spending by cutting down on hospital admissions and lengths of stay — and operators […]
Skilled nursing operator North Shore Healthcare recently announced an expansion of its work with a Dallas-based physician-led organization to its entire portfolio, with the goal of enhancing and standardizing the clinical care in North Shore’s 71 SNFs and assisted living facilities. It’s work that North Shore CEO David Mills is particularly important because of the […]
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