CMS: Surveyors looking for education, not expertise, under COVID-19 vaccine rule that starts today
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 21, 2021
Nursing homes will not be expected to turn their staff members into vaccine experts under a new rule that requires all workers to be offered COVID-19 shots and to be educated about them, a federal official...
CMS: Educate, vaccinate and be ready to prove it
By
Danielle Brown
May 14, 2021
Nursing home operators must be ready to prove they provided education and offered both residents and staff the COVID-19 vaccine once enforcement of a new interim rule begins next month.
‘High stakes’ as providers still face brisk infection control surveys, brace for return of standard...
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 10, 2021
Nursing homes across the country are still being hit with near-routine Focused Infection Control surveys, nine months after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that surveyors should...
The coming crackdown: COVID-19 and beyond
By
Karen Christian
Matthew Hittle
Apr 21, 2021
For more than a year, America’s nursing homes have been besieged by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has tragically claimed the lives of more than 130,000 residents and 1,600 staff. While America’s nursing...
Retaliation, recovery and ‘quasi’ justice featured in nursing home operator’s book
By
Brook Chambery
Apr 16, 2021
Many long-time McKnight’s readers will remember Beechwood Restorative Care Center and its $25 million victory against the state of New York. The settlement ended a 13-year war and one of the most egregious...
NYT: You are as much of the problem as the Five-Star system
By
Steven Littlehale
Apr 02, 2021
A recent New York Times article about nursing homes is shameful, lazy journalism. Coupled with the need to sell advertising space, it purposefully perpetuates misunderstandings about nursing homes, caregivers...
CMS missing opportunities to enforce staffing rules, watchdog warns
By
Danielle Brown
Mar 12, 2021
A watchdog agency is calling for a greater emphasis on staffing ratios during future nursing home surveys, saying the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is missing opportunities to use information...
Providers welcome Biden’s nomination of Brooks-LaSure as next CMS leader
By
Danielle Brown
Feb 22, 2021
President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is being welcomed by long-term care providers.
CMS: Visitation restrictions must remain; prepare for return of less-collaborative surveys
By
Danielle Brown
Feb 12, 2021
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is not ready to update nursing home visitation guidance, despite a significant drop in COVID-19 cases following widespread resident vaccinations, a top official...
Five-Star surveys: Changed forever?
By
Spencer Blackman
Feb 08, 2021
When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services unlocked survey ratings for the first time since April, we analysts dove into the numbers expecting big changes. But as an earlier McKnight’s article...