Updated: 22 states petition CMS to repeal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers
By
Lois A. Bowers
Nov 17, 2022
A coalition of 22 states led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R), today formally called on the Biden administration to withdraw its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for nursing home and other healthcare...
Use the ‘5 C’s’ to tackle COVID vaccine hesitancy, physicians say
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 04, 2021
The reasons for vaccine hesitancy — a delay in acceptance or refusal to be vaccinated — can be boiled down to five important factors that may help clinicians understand and better approach this issue,...
Repealed law protecting nursing homes from COVID claims can’t be applied retroactively: court
By
Kimberly Marselas
Dec 04, 2023
A state appeals court has rejected arguments that nursing homes sued for negligence in COVID-related cases early in the pandemic could be forced to face trial after a later revocation of a legal shield.
Nursing home COVID deaths climb, but vaccinations move slowly upward too
By
Kimberly Marselas
Dec 15, 2023
Deaths of nursing home patients from COVID-19 climbed as vaccination rates hit new lows last month, according to an updated analysis by the AARP Public Policy Institute and the Scripps Gerontology Center.
Parkinson: Vaccinate all long-term care by March and slash coronavirus mortality 40 percent
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 08, 2020
A one-month delay “could result in more than 20,000 of our residents losing their lives when a vaccine could have saved them,” AHCA / NCAL leader Mark Parkinson said Monday.
APIC expert urges mask-wearing in LTC, despite guidance switch
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 04, 2022
Despite a recent shift in CDC guidance, now is not the right time for long-term care providers to relax masking and other source control use, says infection preventionist Deb Burdsall of APIC.
Pandemic has taken significant toll on patients with dementia, geriatricians say
By
Alicia Lasek (f3)
Jul 26, 2022
The pandemic has hastened the cognitive decline of patients with dementia in unprecedented ways, doctors confirm. Despite rising cases, clinicians must emphasize socialization, they say.
Senior living community logs 21 breakthrough cases after being COVID-free for 15 months
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
May 25, 2021
Riverview Retirement Community in Spokane, WA, has a 98% COVID vaccination rate among residents, but an outbreak has occurred among the vaccinated. Despite varied symptoms, cases so far have not been severe,...
Regulator insists brutal honesty from providers can turn the tide on Medicaid
By
Kimberly Marselas
Oct 18, 2022
DENVER — Despite perceptions of state officials being unapproachable or reluctant to help long-term care providers, the right provider stories can influence policies and help shift funding in the right...
‘Battle isn’t over yet’: Parkinson urges providers to stay united as pandemic drags on
By
Danielle Brown
Oct 12, 2021
AHCA/NCAL’s first convention in two years featured speakers sharing personal tales from the pandemic’s darkest days and praise for the heroes who helped skilled nursing homes survive.