Leading long-term care industry advocates are eyeing a registered nurse staffing requirement and enhanced Medicaid funding under a set of “bold” reform measures aimed at improving that long-term care...
NHSN reporting, infection control among top survey citations this year
By
Danielle Brown
Mar 05, 2021
Failure to report COVID-19 data to the National Health Safety Network (NHSN) and infection prevention & control deficiencies have been among the top survey citations for nursing home providers, according...
CMS: Visitation restrictions must remain; prepare for return of less-collaborative surveys
By
Danielle Brown
Feb 12, 2021
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is not ready to update nursing home visitation guidance, despite a significant drop in COVID-19 cases following widespread resident vaccinations, a top official...
Vaccine successes: LTC advocates share effective tools to increase inoculation confidence among staff
By
Danielle Brown
Jan 20, 2021
Vaccine educational activities have been a key strategy used by providers in order to ensure widespread uptake among their staff members, according to the nation’s top nursing home groups.
Nursing homes ‘really at the brink’: Providers beg families to not visit for Thanksgiving
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 24, 2020
Providers across the country are pleading with residents’ families and loved ones to find alternative ways to celebrate the upcoming holidays in order to prevent further disaster at nursing homes.
Regular surveys resume at nursing homes, but CMS treads carefully with enforcement penalties
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 20, 2020
State survey agencies have already begun to resume regular survey activities at nursing homes across the country, according to a top Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services official.
Vast majority of providers struggling to fill work shifts or hire new employees: industry survey shows
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 19, 2020
A majority of providers are struggling to cover shifts and recruit new workers during the ongoing health crisis, according to a new industry audit.
81% of providers encouraging residents to stay put for Thanksgiving: survey
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 17, 2020
The increased risk of contracting COVID-19 has caused most long-term care providers to discourage residents from traveling to family gatherings for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, according to an industry...
Future survey success hinges on audits of emergency preparedness plans: expert
By
Danielle Brown
Nov 16, 2020
It’s crucial for providers to be able to document and demonstrate their emergency preparedness and how they responded to the COVID-19 pandemic as survey activities resume across the country, according...
COVID test turnaround time tops 2 days for a third of nursing homes, data show
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 13, 2020
Among 13,000 facilities that provided their testing speed to the government, only 17% reported an average turnaround time of less than a day; and fully 29% waited three days or more on average for residents’...