MA’s cost-management tools may be hurting home healthcare quality, outcomes
By
Adam Healy
Mar 05, 2024
MA copays, prior authorizations and restricted provider networks may be preventing home healthcare providers from delivering care.
Veterans’ care new battleground in nursing home staffing mandate
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 05, 2024
Two senators have introduced a bill to determine exactly what “unintended circumstances” could result for elderly veterans if a federal rule mandating staffing levels at all US nursing homes is allowed...
Rural nursing homes in peril
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 04, 2024
Like many of its skilled nursing neighbors in the Cornhusker State, Good Samaritan Society-Bloomfield is teetering between fulfilling its vital community role with special small-town flourishes and succumbing...
How to do it … Forge stronger pharmacy-nurse ties
By
John Hall
Mar 04, 2024
The bond between pharmacists and long-term care nurses is one of great trust and professional respect. It requires open, unfiltered and unfettered communication. And it feeds on reliability and teamwork....
CDC Shortens Recommended COVID Isolation Period
Mar 01, 2024
New guidance issued Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans who test positive for COVID-19 no longer need to routinely stay home for five days.
Study: Post-fall opioids given to older adults en route to hospital is tied to shorter stays
By
Kristen Fischer
Mar 04, 2024
Few older adults receive opioids before going to a hospital even though it’s recommended when people are in transport. There’s a benefit to getting the medications early, a recent study shows.
Nursing homes targeted for more oversight, despite state’s ‘chronically underfunded’ facilities
By
Josh Henreckson
Mar 04, 2024
The tug of war between nursing home patient advocates and long-term care providers continued last week as a leading Rhode Island advocacy group threw its support behind a pair of bills that would tighten...
Unraveling the impact: PDPM Medicaid case-mix index and potential Five-Star Rating challenges
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 01, 2024
The landscape of Medicaid reimbursement for nursing homes is undergoing significant changes. Presently, eight states have adopted the PDPM case-mix index (CMI) model, and an additional 31 states are set...
Workforce improvement No. 1 target in final OIG report on nursing home pandemic effects
By
Josh Henreckson
Mar 01, 2024
Steep challenges faced by nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic continue to hinder their ability to provide quality care and adequate staffing, according to new report findings from the US Department...
Infection control experts assess challenges of on-premise laundry ops
By
John Hall
Feb 29, 2024
The potential hazards and risks to nursing home residents and staff found in the facility laundry can be very real threats.