Research supports COVID-19 booster shot mandates for SNF workers
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 01, 2022
With the prospect of new strains of the COVID-19 virus looming, researchers are making a case for states to impose vaccination booster shot mandates on nursing home employees.
Emergencies help needed: More ‘strike’ teams, policy improvements vital for nursing homes, report...
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 25, 2022
Despite diligent efforts by nursing homes during COVID-19 outbreaks, operators need help from policy makers to ensure better levels of care during future infection control emergencies, researchers say.
CMS memo: ‘Dramatic staff losses’ not happening due to vax requirements
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 02, 2022
Declaring once again that “Vaccine requirements work,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure on Tuesday urged healthcare facility administrators to increase...
BREAKING: CMS vaccine mandate upheld
By
Kimberly Marselas
James M. Berklan
Jan 13, 2022
A vaccine requirement for staff at all U.S. nursing homes and other federally funded healthcare facilities can proceed, the Supreme Court said in a 5-4 decision Thursday afternoon.
BREAKING: Supreme Court speeds vax mandates to Jan. 7 hearing
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 22, 2021
The U.S. Supreme Court took the unusual step of announcing Wednesday night that it would hear arguments over the administration’s COVID-19 worker vaccine mandate on Jan. 7, three days before it was originally...
Uncertainty over realistic nursing home census indicative of ‘ongoing economic crisis’
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 16, 2021
The nursing home sector may be far ahead of where it was at this time last year as far as operational freedoms and safety go, but the continuing instability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is perhaps no...
Judge slaps nationwide freeze on healthcare worker COVID vax mandate
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 01, 2021
A Louisiana federal judge on Tuesday granted a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration’s mandate that says all healthcare workers involved in the Medicare or Medicaid programs must be...
Not so fast: 10 states suing CMS over healthcare worker vax mandate
By
James M. Berklan
Nov 12, 2021
Despite many legal analysts’ view that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ healthcare worker vaccination mandate will clear legal muster, a group of 10 states have filed suit to stop it.
Price-gouging, poaching and thin patience: LTC providers seek fixes for anti-competitive staffing agencies
By
Kimberly Marselas
James M. Berklan
Oct 15, 2021
As the bidding war over frontline workers escalates, provider organizations across the country are seeking government intervention to force temporary staffing agencies to play by similar rules as nursing...
Providers’ best chances in federal budget talks lie with funding for infection prevention, staffing:...
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 13, 2021
OXON HILL, MD — Long-term care interests are clearly down the priority line in federal budget negotiators, one of the industry’s top lobbyists noted Tuesday, but several key topics also have earned...