Strikes expanding to new frontlines as stress grows among unexpected healthcare workers
By
Kimberly Marselas
Nov 20, 2023
Strikes like the massive one threatened by Kaiser Permanente’s California blue collar workers last month could be a sign of what’s to come for the broader healthcare sector.
CMS to begin audits for schizophrenia coding, says citations will affect quality ratings
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 19, 2023
The agency will start auditing nursing homes this month to determine whether residents’ schizophrenia diagnoses are accurate and appropriately coded. A pattern of inaccurate coding may result in a quality...
Congress advisers back permanent telehealth expansions, look to nix in-person rule for behavioral telehealth...
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 12, 2024
Maintaining Medicare beneficiaries’ access to telehealth services, especially for behavioral health, must remain an initial priority over payment reform or quality measurement, members of a congressional...
Eschewing a ‘sweet spot’ for boutique-like service at any size: Creative Solutions’ Gary Blake
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 09, 2024
Gary Blake’s nameplate might say CEO, but in some ways, he envisions himself more as chief quality officer of Creative Solutions for Healthcare, the sprawling 159-facility skilled nursing company he...
Sabra CEO: REIT poised to grow, with little skepticism about future defeat of staffing rule
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 10, 2024
While Sabra Health Care executives Thursday painted their first quarter performance as a sure-footed continuation of late 2023 successes, analysts raised pointed questions about the potential impact of...
‘Recession proof’ nursing homes may not see usual labor gains due to COVID
By
Kimberly Marselas
Aug 29, 2022
While nursing homes have traditionally been better able to compete for and keep workers in an economic downturn, a possible recession coming on the heels of COVID-19 will test conventional wisdom.
Providers: Staffing rule a CMS ‘fairy tale’ that will ‘exacerbate’ nursing home access issue
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 23, 2024
Despite minor concessions in a staffing mandate issued Monday, many nursing home providers were shell-shocked by what they saw as federal regulators’ intractable stance on minimums at a time when nearly...
Immigration reemerges as workforce solution in scattershot Senate hearing
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 17, 2023
An overwhelmed healthcare workforce, the implications of ongoing shortages and fears about a stressed pipeline took center stage during a Senate hearing Thursday.
Emergencies help needed: More ‘strike’ teams, policy improvements vital for nursing homes, report...
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 25, 2022
Despite diligent efforts by nursing homes during COVID-19 outbreaks, operators need help from policy makers to ensure better levels of care during future infection control emergencies, researchers say.
Is pay pain reaching its peak after another year of impressive wage growth?
By
Kimberly Marselas
Nov 11, 2022
After a two-year stretch in which nursing homes’ largest employee group made salary gains approaching 20%, relief for cash-strapped providers may be in sight, even if far on the horizon.