Switch to new MDS platform underpins feds’ growing drive for nursing home data
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 18, 2023
Providers should view the change to the iQies system as just the first step in an ongoing process to make it easier for federal regulators to gather and evaluate nursing home statistics.
Feds extend window for Provider Relief Funds, but will it matter?
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 11, 2023
Skilled nursing operators that didn’t land Provider Relief Funding in the federal COVID program’s final award phase might be in for a surprise — or they could ultimately face another round of disappointment.
As behavioral health demands grow, new federal center offers free SNF training
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 10, 2023
As federal regulators heighten pressure on skilled nursing facilities to accept and treat patients with mental health needs and substance abuse disorders, a new center is ramping up to equip providers...
Employer protections in spotlight as court considers ‘take-home’ COVID liability
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 08, 2023
Can an employer be held accountable for a spouse made deathly ill by the case of COVID-19 a loved one brought home from work?
Long-term care’s zeal for foreign nurses a ‘Band-Aid’ solution: researchers
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 05, 2023
In a new commentary, researchers likened long-term care organizations’ quest to entice immigrant nurses to using a Band-Aid to stop a hemorrhaging workforce wound.
Audits trigger new concern over aging CMS antipsychotic standards
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 03, 2023
Worries over federal audits designed to monitor nursing homes for inappropriate schizophrenia diagnosing continued to mount as some providers learned they had “failed” their check-ups months into the...
The federal government will lift its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, the White House announced late Monday.
Court revives criminal COVID charges against nursing home leaders
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 28, 2023
Two former leaders of a state-run nursing home where 76 veterans died in a single COVID outbreak must face criminal charges, despite a previous ruling that they could not be held liable for elder neglect.
Nursing homes have to fight for pay protections in Medicare Advantage rule: expert
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 27, 2023
Providers must play an active role in stopping aggressive Medicare Advantage practices that have for years limited access to skilled nursing care, a top managed care expert warned administrators gathered...
Shuttered nursing home avoids class action in understaffing lawsuit
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 25, 2023
While sympathetic to nursing home residents’ claims that they received “deficient” care, a federal judge has ruled their case cannot be certified as a class action because claims and damages related...