Families of residents at a North Carolina nursing home are accusing the provider of failing to address its chronic understaffing in a new class-action lawsuit that alleges the issue led to neglect.
Nursing homes among ‘safest places’ for seniors following 98% drop in COVID cases: NIC
By
Danielle Brown
Jun 04, 2021
U.S. nursing homes are one of the “safest places to be” for seniors, with new data revealing COVID-19 cases at skilled nursing facilities have declined 98% since December and have accounted for just...
Skilled nursing occupancy ticked upward for a second month. Will such small gains be enough?
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jun 04, 2021
Skilled nursing occupancy climbed ever-so-slightly for a second straight month in March, reaching 71.6%, according to the latest NIC MAP data released Thursday afternoon.
Feds identify promising and ‘urgently needed’ COVID antiviral drug
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 04, 2021
The experimental drug TEMPOL has shown promise in early studies, halting the activity of a viral enzyme and limiting the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Use the ‘5 C’s’ to tackle COVID vaccine hesitancy, physicians say
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 04, 2021
The reasons for vaccine hesitancy — a delay in acceptance or refusal to be vaccinated — can be boiled down to five important factors that may help clinicians understand and better approach this issue,...
Providers tell CMS it’s ‘decidedly’ the wrong time to toy with PDPM rates
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jun 03, 2021
Providers need more time before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would implement any adjustments to PDPM payment rates, operators and associations have told the agency in official comments.
New federal guidance says employers can require COVID-19 vaccine giving providers ‘peace of mind’
By
Danielle Brown
Jun 02, 2021
Long-term care providers can require staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment, according to new guidance released late last week by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
CMS: Lower COVID rates linked to higher nursing home quality ratings
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 02, 2021
Higher facility star ratings are tied to lower COVID transmission rates and fewer deaths, according to the agency’s chief medical officer and director of its Center for Clinical Standards and Quality.
FDA OKs third antibody COVID therapy; variants spur new pause on another
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 01, 2021
A new COVID-19 treatment made by GlaxoSmithKline now is the third monoclonal antibody therapy federally authorized to help prevent severe disease outcomes in high-risk patients. But gene variants are interfering...
Identify a COVID emergency: Watch for these key signs, specialists say
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 01, 2021
High-risk COVID-19 patients should be assessed for certain objective signs of respiratory compromise in order to identify the need for life-saving medical therapy as early as possible, a new study suggests.