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.
CMS urges: Start reviewing, planning and tracking staff COVID vaccinations now
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 08, 2021
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is calling on providers to immediately start reviewing the newly proposed healthcare worker COVID-19 vaccination regulation. They also should actually begin...
Ownership transparency must improve for nursing homes to succeed post-pandemic: industry veteran
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 15, 2021
More transparency regarding nursing home ownership and how profits are spent will be needed if the industry wants to successfully move forward from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a top expert.
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...
Providers tell CMS it’s ‘decidedly’ the wrong time to toy with PDPM rates
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jun 03, 2021
Providers need more time before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would implement any adjustments to PDPM payment rates, operators and associations have told the agency in official comments.
Pharmacists claim answers to coronavirus challenges, as U.S. cases surpass 30,000
By
Danielle Brown
Mar 23, 2020
A pharmacist coalition is pushing the federal government to allow pharmacists to test and initiate treatment for COVID-19 patients.
Feds gauging threat to vaccine, test and treatment efficacy in face of omicron variant
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 01, 2021
The United States is prepared to address any potential threat to the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments posed by the new variant, according to the White House and federal health officials.
Nursing homes more prepared for the coronavirus than for H1N1: survey
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 26, 2020
Despite the COVID-19 troubles currently facing eldercare facilities, things could have been much worse for some, a Michigan survey suggests.
Staff vaccination rate tied to resident deaths in COVID-19 hot spots, national data show
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 10, 2021
Estimates reveal that if a large sample of U.S. nursing homes had averaged 83% staff vaccination coverage this summer, at least 700 fewer residents would have died from COVID-19 over a two-month period.
Providers still can’t limit surveyor access or ask for proof of COVID vaccination, CMS says
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 15, 2021
Long-term care facilities are not allowed to restrict access to surveyors based on their vaccination status or ask them for proof of vaccination as a condition of entry, according to updated guidance from...