Therapy providers agree to $8.4M settlement for upcoding allegations
By
Danielle Brown
Jul 06, 2021
Two therapy providers will pay a total of $8.4 million after being accused of providing unnecessary services at skilled nursing facilities in order to increase their Medicare reimbursements.
One quarter of Americans will experience ‘severe need’ for long-term care services: report
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 02, 2021
About one fifth will require no services at all, a new analysis shows. But a sizable number will “experience the type of severe needs that most people dread,” the investigators say.
Music on the Move: San Diego music center hosts concerts for isolated seniors
By
Emma Baumgartel
Jun 30, 2021
Sorrento Valley-based Villa Musica is starting to bring music to isolated seniors across San Diego county with their ‘Music on the Move’ program as COVID-19 restrictions lift and seniors in long-term...
Long-term care communities lacking LGBTQ inclusive policies, report finds
By
Danielle Brown
Jun 30, 2021
Long-term care operators are being urged to ensure they have non-discriminatory policies in place for LGBTQ residents to ease concerns about safe and harassment-free care in the wake of a new report finding...
California’s 2nd largest SNF operator pays $450,000 to settle whistleblower claims
By
Emma Baumgartel
Jun 30, 2021
Plum Healthcare Group will pay $451,439 to settle a whistleblower lawsuit claiming false Medicare billing at its skilled nursing facility in San Marcos, CA, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
LA County recommends masks for all when indoors as Delta variant spreads
Jun 29, 2021
First identified in India, the Delta variant is now the third-most common in California
Older women recount more pandemic stress struggles than older men
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 29, 2021
Although feelings of optimism prevailed overall, older female survey respondents were more likely than their male peers to say that they were struggling in 2021 — from finances to mental health.
Wearers of medical masks and respirators have same infection rates in healthcare settings: study
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 24, 2021
The risk of receiving a positive COVID-19 test result was the same among healthcare workers who wore either type of mask, investigators say. In contrast, their non-mask-wearing colleagues had significantly...
Despite progress, nursing homes expected to fall short of 75% staff vaccination goal
By
Danielle Brown
Jun 23, 2021
There’s still much progress needed for long-term care industry providers to meet their self-imposed goal of getting three-quarters of all nursing home workers vaccinated against COVID-19 by this time...
Multi-drug resistance is rising in urinary E coli, analysis reveals
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 23, 2021
The task of finding effective first-line antibiotics for common urinary tract infections is becoming more difficult as antimicrobial resistance rises, a new study suggests.