New data: With no booster, nursing home residents face 30 percent higher COVID risk
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 29, 2023
Nursing home residents who have received the COVID-19 bivalent booster shot are 30% to 50% less likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 than their fellow residents who haven’t gotten boosted, the...
Many LTC pill thefts still under the radar: study
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Jan 25, 2023
Nurses played a critical role in identifying the theft of more than 11,000 tablets from residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, investigators report.
Senators call on CMS to end push for mandatory staffing in nursing homes
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Jan 24, 2023
A bipartisan group of US senators representing rural states is calling on the Biden administration to halt its plan to mandate staffing levels in nursing homes, saying it’s the wrong step to take as...
Staffing agency use of ‘contractors’ opens nursing home clients to new risks
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 20, 2023
Staffing agencies that pay temporary nurses as contractors, issuing them 1099s instead of W-2 wage statements, may be putting the nursing homes who use them at increased legal risk.
CMS to begin audits for schizophrenia coding, says citations will affect quality ratings
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 19, 2023
The agency will start auditing nursing homes this month to determine whether residents’ schizophrenia diagnoses are accurate and appropriately coded. A pattern of inaccurate coding may result in a quality...
MedPAC to recommend 3 percent skilled nursing cut to Congress
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 13, 2023
A Congressional advisory commission on Thursday recommended a 3% cut to Medicare base payments for skilled nursing facilities in 2024.
Clinical briefs for Friday, Jan. 13
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 13, 2023
COVID-19 pneumonia requires longer ventilation, but outcomes similar to other pneumonias … Six daily minutes of intense exercise vs. fasting could delay dementia onset: study … Protein may be biomarker...
AHCA battles ‘crisis’ with new long-term care job education campaign
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Jan 12, 2023
Nursing homes’ largest advocacy group on Wednesday launched a national campaign to boost hiring in the face of an unprecedented worker shortage that is curtailing capacity and threatening the ability...
Cannabis-related issues sending more seniors to the ED, study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 12, 2023
Cannabis-related ED visits for older adults shot up by a whopping 1,800% between 2005 to 2019 in California, investigators say. The state’s experience mirrors national trends.
Amyloid brain plaques not a sure sign of Alzheimer’s, researchers find
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 12, 2023
A new study challenges the theory that an increase in brain amyloid protein signals Alzheimer’s disease. The findings may be especially relevant to clinicians as amyloid-targeting drugs such as Leqembi...