No BinaxNOW despite ‘red’ zone designation? Contact HHS, federal testing czar says
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 06, 2020
Eldercare facility operators who believe they are qualified but have not yet received shipments of BinaxNOW Ag Card tests for COVID-19 may email the agency at a dedicated address, Adm. Brett Giroir said...
Mandated COVID-19 testing for surveyors, ombudsmen ‘under active consideration’: HHS official
By
Danielle Brown
Oct 06, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service is currently investigating whether it should require surveyors and ombudsmen to be subject to similar COVID-19 testing mandates as nursing home workers, a top...
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities: Federal scrutiny expected to continue
By
Margaret E. Daum
Kristina Arianina
Callan Smith
Oct 05, 2020
While COVID-19 infections are widespread, the virus disproportionately affects the nation’s most vulnerable populations, including seniors. According to an updated estimate from two healthcare experts,...
How to take families from outraged to understanding
By
Steven Buslovich, M.D.
Oct 02, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing fears, anxieties and uncertainties for everyone, and these feelings can manifest in anger and rage. Physicians and other practitioners are often the target of these tirades,...
More staff creativity called for: 64% of nursing home residents no longer leave their rooms to socialize,...
By
Danielle Brown
Oct 02, 2020
Nearly two-thirds of nursing home residents do not leave their rooms to socialize anymore since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey by healthcare research group Altarum has revealed.
Fauci and colleagues: Expect a diagnostic challenge this flu season — and stress vaccine education
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Alicia Lasek
Oct 02, 2020
A winter featuring flu and COVID-19 may create a diagnostic muddle for clinicians, said NIAID Director Anthony Fauci in a Thursday news conference. There is a pressing need to educate patients about getting...
Resident poll reveals pandemic’s emotional toll: Frail elders need ‘something to live for’
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 02, 2020
A direct poll of nursing home residents in 36 states reveals a “drastic” reduction in social activities and a steep increase in reported loneliness. “Innovative distance socializing” may help address...
Hearthstone Nursing and Rehab nabs Tech Awards Gold with smart staffing solution
By
Kimberly Marselas
Oct 01, 2020
Editor’s Note: The 2020 winners of the McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards are being announced daily through Oct. 6. Skilled Care track winners are being announced here by McKnight’s Long-Term...
Could smaller be better when it comes to weathering pandemic? Some long-term care companies say yes
By
Liza Berger
Oct 01, 2020
Sometimes there is an advantage to being a smaller operator. In the case of Cascadia Healthcare, which has 22 largely skilled nursing communities in five Western states, its size has allowed it to act...
‘Confounded’ providers urge mandated COVID-19 testing for hospital workers, surveyors
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 01, 2020
Healthcare stakeholders who regularly come into contact with skilled nursing residents should be subject to COVID-19 testing mandates similar to those for nursing home employees, a prominent long-term...