Watchdog gives CMS ‘urgent’ order: Create solid plan to act on nursing home commission’s...
By
Danielle Brown
Dec 03, 2020
A new government report is calling on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to “quickly” develop a course of action on how it plans to respond and implement recommendations made by a federal...
Clinicians key to boosting coronavirus vaccine confidence, CDC says
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 02, 2020
A new webpage provides 10 “need to know” topics regarding vaccination against COVID-19 that clinicians can relay to patients in their care.
COVID vaccine protects elderly; delivery program has buy-in from nearly all U.S. nursing homes
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 19, 2020
Fully 99% of skilled nursing facilities nationwide have signed on with the federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program vaccine delivery initiative, HHS says. The news arrived just as Pfizer...
1 in 8 nursing home workers have completed COVID-19 training program, CMS says
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 18, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is calling for more nursing home staff members to complete its new training program designed to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
COVID test turnaround time tops 2 days for a third of nursing homes, data show
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 13, 2020
Among 13,000 facilities that provided their testing speed to the government, only 17% reported an average turnaround time of less than a day; and fully 29% waited three days or more on average for residents’...
Virtual care offers tangible benefits near end of life
By
Joseph Shega, M.D.
Nov 12, 2020
Out of the challenging conditions COVID-19 has posed to healthcare providers and patients, solutions have arisen that could reshape the nation’s healthcare system into a more flexible, inclusive model...
Preparing for litigation after COVID-19
By
Rebecca A. Brommel
Andrew Brantingham
Nov 09, 2020
Long-term care facilities have been in the fight of their lives – and for the lives of their residents – since March. In addition to the usual regulatory requirements, facilities must deal with COVID-19...
Don’t shelve rapid tests as COVID cases climb, advocates implore nursing homes
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 03, 2020
Industry advocates say it’s time for facility operators who have not made full use of rapid antigen tests to start doing so — before nursing home deaths begin to spike again. CMS must “take to...
Moving nursing homes forward: The future is now
By
Michael Wasserman
Oct 26, 2020
On March 11, I wrote about the COVID-19 storm rapidly approaching our nursing homes, and particularly the risk of nursing home staff transmitting the virus to residents. On March 15, I pointed out the...
HHS updates Provider Relief Fund reporting requirements
By
Danielle Brown
Oct 26, 2020
The federal government is no longer limiting providers’ use of Provider Relief Funds for covering lost revenue due to the coronavirus, according to an updated memo issued late last week.