Providers support state’s flexible, incentive-laden staffing mandate but CMS may soon make it moot
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Feb 21, 2023
Nursing home advocates and observers say Virginia’s staffing mandate adequately melds direct care hours with financial incentives for facilities and punitive flexibility by state regulators.
LTC wage-hike effort headed for run-in with state minimum staffing proposal
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Feb 15, 2023
Many states’ nursing facilities are facing extremely difficult operating conditions, but Connecticut’s nursing homes are staring down double barrels that could make it increasingly hard for them to...
Senators push CMS to issue — and fund — federal nursing home staffing mandate soon
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Feb 13, 2023
A group of Senators is urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to proceed as quickly as possible with setting a minimum staffing mandate for nursing homes.
4 nursing homes close, citing state’s 2-beds-per-room limit
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Feb 10, 2023
Four more nursing homes in Massachusetts announced they will close, chased out of the state by a “reconfiguring” reform meant to improve the quality of care but possibly doing the opposite.
Bill would require 2 annual nursing home inspections but advocates say it won’t improve quality
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Feb 08, 2023
Legislation moving through the Arizona state senate would privatize nursing home surveys and double the number of annual inspections, a shift that sector advocates said would jack up costs and not improve...
Rare nursing home sessions on grief, isolation seek solutions for patients, staff
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Feb 06, 2023
A rare series of structured conversations on bereavement and grief in nursing homes is revealing key insights into the emotional, physical and psychological trauma of repeated loss experienced by residents...
Deaths underscore need for staffing, training to manage resident aggression
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Feb 03, 2023
The recent deaths of two nursing home residents who died after attacks by fellow residents in separate incidents has amplified providers’ focus on operating as safely as possible with often unpredictable...
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...
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...