BREAKING: HHS awards nursing homes $333M in COVID-19 performance rewards
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 28, 2020
Federal authorities announced Wednesday afternoon that they will be distributing about $333 million in first-round performance payments to more than 10,000 nursing homes for their results battling COVID-19.
CMS doubles down: Surveyors do not have to be COVID vaccinated
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 07, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has held audiences with skilled nursing providers, made presentations and entertained comments in recent months to assure operators that regulatory actions...
Eliminating staff ‘cross-traffic’ could have cut nursing home COVID-19 deaths by 44 percent,...
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 26, 2020
Thousands of deaths tied to U.S. nursing homes could have been prevented if operators would have slightly adjusted their staffing model, academic researchers assert in a new study.
BREAKING: Feds partner with CVS, Walgreens to provide pending COVID-19 vaccinations to all senior care...
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 16, 2020
Residents and workers of all long-term care settings will receive free vaccinations against the coronavirus onsite under a special public-private partnership with pharmaceutical giants CVS and Walgreens,...
Want to be like Fauci? Here’s your chance
By
James M. Berklan
May 15, 2020
I’d be willing to bet Dr. Anthony Fauci’s poll numbers rank ahead of almost any other serious figure in the public eye. And why not? He is a man of science and says his principles guide him. It...
Porter: Election controversy or not, all efforts now go to lame duck stimulus package
By
James M. Berklan
Nov 09, 2020
Long-term care providers and their lobbyists are “completely and totally” focused on dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, regardless of the presidential election results, a top association leader...
Most nursing homes predict ‘normal’ activities will resume by end of summer; many unsure about Biden:...
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 16, 2020
A strong majority of nursing home leaders say they think that “all normal activities,” such as regular group dining, full visitations and trips to the outside community, will be able to take place...
Therapy carnage at start of PDPM not as severe as feared: study
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 02, 2021
The first academic study of its kind has found that the first three months of nursing homes’ overhauled Medicare payment system at the end of 2019 led to a distinct drop-off in the employed number of...
BREAKING: Federal regulators tout $15M in fines, tripling of ‘Immediate Jeopardy’ citations against...
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 14, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Friday afternoon that it has levied more than $15 million in fines and tripled the most severe type of citations to nursing homes during the six months...
As nursing homes fret COVID-19 vaccine distribution, only 14% say they’ll mandate it for staff
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 18, 2020
Nursing home operators continue to worry about the timing and quantities of newly approved COVID-19 vaccines reaching them this week and next, but some of the fretting could be for nought. Less than 15%...