CMS giving $165M more in Medicaid funding for home- and community-based care
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 24, 2020
The federal government is providing $165 million in supplemental funding to states for a longstanding Medicaid program designed to transition seniors from nursing homes and other institutions and into...
Researchers call on skilled nursing operators to prioritize immigrant workforce
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 24, 2020
The needs of immigrant workers should be a top concern of nursing home operators during the coronavirus pandemic in order to prevent severe workforce shortages within the industry and protect the high-risk...
CMS now using 14 days of data to calculate COVID-19 county positivity rate; HHS could improve nursing...
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 23, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid has modified its methodology used for classifying county-level COVID-19 data that determines how often nursing homes will have to test staff members for the disease.
Medical director shares wins, challenges of nursing home’s pandemic response
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 23, 2020
Once described as the epicenter of West Virginia’s COVID-19 outbreak, a 100-bed facility gained control of its infection and mortality rate. A new study details its most helpful strategies — and biggest...
COVID-19 workers’ compensation considerations for long-term care facilities
By
Emily Windle
Sep 22, 2020
Long-term care facilities face a unique challenge right now. Elderly residents are high risk, yet employees interact with and care for them at all times. In a highly populated community, the risk of an...
McDonald’s versus long-term care: How nursing homes can compete for staff
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Sep 22, 2020
Recent calls1, 2, 3 for an increase in nursing staff levels may have providers wondering how to accomplish this. Under normal circumstances it can be challenging to find qualified individuals; the pandemic...
Less white, denser employee communities linked to higher number of nursing home COVID-19 deaths, Harvard...
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 22, 2020
A new Harvard analysis makes the connection between employee neighborhoods and the likelihood of COVID-19 outbreaks within those employees’ facilities.
Providers must detail how they spent Provider Relief Fund payments, per new HHS guidance
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 22, 2020
Operators who received more than $10,000 in Provider Relief Fund payments must now submit healthcare-related expenses attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new guidance released by the Department...
About one-fourth of SNFs reported false positives from antigen tests, industry study finds
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 21, 2020
About 20 to 25% of skilled nursing facilities have received false positive results from their COVID-19 point-of-care antigen testing devices, a joint survey conducted by the American Health Care Association...
HHS releases additional details on how nursing homes can receive infection control incentive payments
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 21, 2020
The Department of Health and Human Services has released final details on how it will pay out $2 billion in COVID-19 relief funding through its incentive-based payment program.