Opt-in COVID vaccine program kicks off; Feds partner with CVS, Walgreens
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 19, 2020
Long-term care facilities nationwide can voluntarily opt in to a free pharmacy partnership program that will provide and administer future COVID-19 vaccines on site, federal officials announced Friday.
Use of religious vaccination exemptions could grow after judge blocks mandate
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 16, 2021
New York long-term care providers cannot deny religious exemptions from the state’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate after a federal judge issued a temporary straining order blocking the rule for lacking...
‘The system failed’: Experts lay plans for reforming long-term care after pandemic
By
Danielle Brown
Aug 04, 2020
Now is the opportunity for providers, policymakers and other stakeholders to aggressively reform the long-term services and supports system after its underlying weaknesses were exposed under pandemic conditions,...
Regular surveys resume at nursing homes, but CMS treads carefully with enforcement penalties
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 20, 2020
State survey agencies have already begun to resume regular survey activities at nursing homes across the country, according to a top Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services official.
Reforms could start sooner than one year, Becerra says in ‘monumental’ nursing home meeting
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 01, 2022
The federal government will meet or exceed a goal of implementing key nursing home reform measures within a year, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Wednesday.
Nursing home workers vote to strike over staffing, healthcare access
By
Danielle Brown
Jul 17, 2020
Hundreds of nursing home workers at three Rhode Island facilities have called for a strike in an effort to secure higher wages, better healthcare benefits and minimum staffing requirements.
Short-term solutions won’t help nursing homes, LTSS system, expert warns
By
Danielle Brown
Aug 24, 2020
Financial relief from the government and liability protections from coronavirus-related lawsuits won’t be enough to fix long standing flaws in the long-term services and supports system, a leading expert...
Multiple states now redirecting unused COVID vaccines from nursing homes
By
Danielle Brown
Jan 27, 2021
Coronavirus vaccines going unused at nursing homes in several states are now being redirected in an effort to put doses into the arms of more seniors and eligible workers in other settings.
DOJ probe on states’ nursing home policies draws criticism
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 04, 2020
The Department of Justice is being accused of deploying a partisan attack in an effort to humiliate Democratic governors after it announced a potential probe into four state’s controversial nursing home...
Signature touts pandemic successes amid nursing home reform and criticism talk
By
Danielle Brown
Apr 05, 2022
A major nursing home operator lauded its providers’ success responding to COVID-19 even as questions about nursing home quality of care overall take center stage on the federal level.