Omicron variant, lack of booster prioritization could haunt SNFs as occupancy dips
By
Danielle Brown
Dec 10, 2021
Skilled nursing occupancy declined in September, weeks before the omicron variant of COVID-19 arrived and further threatened the industry’s recovery.
Clinical briefs for Friday, Dec. 10
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 10, 2021
Assisted living facilities may offer haven for older adults with serious mental illness … CDC chief: U.S. omicron infections have all been mild cases … Doc in overrun hospital laments ‘domino effect’...
Best bet against omicron? Prior infection or a booster shot, early research suggests
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 09, 2021
A two-dose course of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine may not be enough to effectively combat the new omicron coronavirus variant, but a booster shot may do the trick, two early lab studies suggest....
Two years into pandemic, we’re better prepared to fight off virus variants
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 02, 2021
Despite the threat of the quickly spreading and highly mutated omicron coronavirus variant — which has just landed in the U.S. — we are safer than we were before the pandemic, some experts say.
BREAKING [updated]: CMS vaccine mandate blocked in 10 states by federal judge
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 29, 2021
The Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for healthcare workers has been at least temporarily halted in 10 states following an order issued by a federal judge Monday afternoon.
COVID shot boosters for all adults will help to reduce confusion, FDA says
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 22, 2021
The FDA “heard loud and clear” that a simpler booster strategy was needed, its vaccine chief says. But the action may be too late to head off a winter virus surge, observers say.
Florida squeezes LTC providers with anti-vaccine mandate law, joins challenge of healthcare rule
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 19, 2021
Stuck between a rock and a hard place. That’s where Florida long-term care providers are right now, as the state of Florida on Thursday passed a law aimed at stopping private employers from enacting...
Fed’s booster OK too late? Nursing home loses 8 to coronavirus outbreak this fall
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 17, 2021
A Connecticut nursing home has weathered a facility-wide COVID-19 outbreak that has sickened 89 residents and staff. Booster shots were not yet authorized when the first cases appeared, the operator reports.
CMS edicts bring tougher survey conditions to nursing homes
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 15, 2021
More oversight is coming for nursing home providers after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services directed surveyors to take a more critical look at nurse competency and residents’ quality of care...
BREAKING: CMS increases oversight of nursing home survey process and expands nursing home visitation...
By
Kimberly Marselas
Danielle Brown
Nov 12, 2021
Nursing homes should allow visitation for residents “at all times,” while state surveyors received steps on how to address a backlog of complaint and recertification surveys under two separate memos...