State of the Nursing Home Workforce (Part 4): Dwyer Workforce Development’s CEO on ‘Secret Sauce’ Behind Growth

At the heart of many successful workforce initiatives that nursing homes are pursuing to increase the number of workers is the push for employee well-being and a recognition that many frontline workers face fundamental and systemic barriers to entering the workforce. To that end, an organization that is enabling skilled nursing providers to grow their […]

Labor Woes, Surging Demand Complicate Efforts to Right-Size Skilled Nursing Facilities

Right-sizing is crucial and tricky for nursing home operators, as demographics are driving demand but also contributing to labor shortages. Ultimately, providers must weigh several factors in order to create businesses that are successful today and sustainable for the future. “It’s about the right service offerings, which sometimes means shrinking your physical footprint and asking, […]

Touchstone COO: No ‘Sitting Still’ with Value-Based Care, Refining Partner Networks, Acquisitions and New Builds

Texas-based Touchstone Communities hasn’t been slowing down this year, with the operator busy acquiring and building properties. On top of brick-and-mortar updates, Touchstone also partnered with Longevity Health in January to offer institutional special needs plans (I-SNPs) to its residents. It’s very thoughtful, controlled growth aimed at diversification of assets, said Leslie Cunningham Campbell, COO […]

The Clinical Dashboard: Lana Blagg, Senior Vice President of Clinical Services, Touchstone Communities

In this Clinical Dashboard interview, Skilled Nursing News talks with Lana Blagg, Senior Vice President of Clinical Services at Touchstone Communities, on her wishes for the ideal Clinical Dashboard. Working at Touchstone since 2008 and having previously worked at multiple care centers, Blagg offers her advice on what she would like to see in her […]

Inside the I-SNP Journey: Nursing Home Operators Unlock Promise of Medicare Advantage with 3 Different Models  

As nursing home organizations adjust to a changing environment of reimbursement, Medicare Advantage Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) are undergoing rapid growth, with operators pursuing distinct strategies meant to realize financial and operational gains. The benefits of an I-SNP can range from more control over quality, happier clinical staff, reduced administrative burdens, improved compensation and […]

Pay Increase for Physical Therapists Higher in Long-Term Care Versus Other Settings

Physical therapists working in long-term care facilities received an average actual* pay increase of 3.7% in the last year, which was greater than the average actual pay increase seen by PTs in hospitals and home health settings. That’s according to the latest Rehabilitation Salary & Benefits Report from Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service, which showed […]

Touchstone COO: Future Rests on Thinking Differently About Staffing, Going Beyond 4 Walls of Nursing Homes

As Touchstone Communities maintains its focus on building a continuum of care, the well-being of its staff members – and allowing them to work on “top of their licenses” – remains a foundational philosophy for the organization. Leslie Campbell, COO for the Texas-based company since 2020, spoke about the importance of engaging Touchstone’s clinical workers […]

Innovation and Uncertainty: Nursing Home Providers Forge New Paths for a Post-Covid Era

As the Skilled Nursing News’ CLINICAL event in Washington D.C. came to a close last month, industry experts left with staffing concerns amid labor shortages and pending legislation on minimum staffing standards. However, operators also shared optimism over their innovations in corporate and clinical practices as they continued to confront higher acuity and tighter regulation. […]

‘Resurrection of Nursing’: Cantex, Touchstone, Brickyard Execs Talk PDPM, Portfolio Diversification, Staffing

Nursing home operators that were able to diversify their businesses and adjust to the patient-driven payment model (PDPM) while battling through Covid-19 now find themselves in a position of strength. This was one message that top operator executives delivered last week at Skilled Nursing News’ CLINICAL conference in Washington, D.C. They discussed how Covid-era practices […]

COOs at Touchstone, Trilogy, iCare Pursue New Initiatives in SNFs to Surmount Some ‘Big Worries’ 

Skilled nursing COOs face a slew of challenges, but are also focused on seizing new opportunities to drive clinical quality, expand revenue streams and differentiate their companies in the marketplace. All this, while keeping a close eye on regulatory and reimbursement headwinds. “The opportunities that are out there as we come out of this public […]

How ‘Informal Leaders,’ Peer-to-Peer Focus Can Boost Staff Vaccine Acceptance at Nursing Homes

When the effort to vaccinate long-term care workers and residents began to gather momentum, hesitancy among workers became a prominent issue well before the first shots were administered. The issue of whether or not workers — burned out by the ongoing tragedy of resident and staff deaths from COVID-19, personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages, and […]