Requiring the jab or not – Mandatory employee vaccination policies and residential healthcare facilities
By
Heather R. Boshak
Nicole D. Espin
Aug 16, 2021
To vax or not to vax, that is the question. Or more precisely, if you’re an employer, to mandate employee vaccination or not. In a time when discussions of vaccinations are polarized, politicized and...
Vaccination nation
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Aug 11, 2021
Last week an insurance adjuster came over to scope out some storm damage. Anyone who enters my home must be vaccinated or wear a mask (I keep clean masks at the front door. I’m nice like that). If...
When good men say nothing
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 05, 2021
Though Genesis HealthCare is making vaccinations for long-term care workers mandatory, I’m not so foolish as to reveal my own true feelings about the requirement. I fear the warring ghosts of liberty...
Natural gas leak near facility highlights the importance of planning
By
Stan Szpytek
Jul 14, 2021
Incidents like the one that is about to be summarized emphasize the importance of hazard analysis as required by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services Emergency Preparedness Rule. Knowing the potential...
COVID-19 dealt a devastating blow to nursing homes — don’t let looming cuts make it worse
By
Cynthia Morton
Jul 12, 2021
In late June, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General released a report stating that approximately 42% of Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes were diagnosed with...
Potential False Claims Act liability for nursing homes
By
Mysty Blagg
Jul 07, 2021
The FCA is the Department of Justice’s key tool in combating healthcare fraud and abuse The False Claims Act (FCA) provides a remedy of civil damages when a party 1) makes a false statement or engages...
It’s time to be a team player and place public safety first
By
Neville M. Bilimoria
Jun 18, 2021
Recent legislative activity in Ohio just highlights the public’s and the government’s fickle view of long-term care in our country.
COVID vaccines for LTC employees: To mandate or not?
By
Andrew Roach
May 24, 2021
After a year that has required long term care facilities to manage various, often competing, considerations while making a series of difficult decisions, they now are grappling with the question of whether...
One interview away from infection control CMPs?
By
Norris Cunningham
Kathryn Cordell
May 19, 2021
With the roll out of vaccines and slowing rates of COVID-19 infections, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has not shifted its survey focus away from infection control. Instead, the agency released...
5 ways to reduce late-pandemic staff burnout
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
May 11, 2021
Most residents and workers are vaccinated and COVID-19 rates in nursing homes have plummeted, so everything should be great, right? According to a recent article in StatNews, not quite. In “As the Covid-19...