I read recently that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is back at it again. Instead of reasonably mandating surveyors be vaccinated, just as CMS has required nursing homes to be vaccinated,...
The coming crackdown: COVID-19 and beyond
By
Karen Christian
Matthew Hittle
Apr 21, 2021
For more than a year, America’s nursing homes have been besieged by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has tragically claimed the lives of more than 130,000 residents and 1,600 staff. While America’s nursing...
CMS is doing something right: Focusing on safety
By
Neville M. Bilimoria
Feb 18, 2022
On Feb. 9, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sent a memo to state survey agency directors, asking state departments of public health to properly survey for certification requirements....
HHS enforces early COVID-19 infection control penalties despite ambiguities
By
Norris Cunningham
Angela Rinehart
Jan 21, 2022
Infection control penalties upheld against the facility with the first known COVID-19 outbreak reinforce need for implementation – not just policy.
Lessons from COVID-19: Prioritize infection prevention and control for PALTC
By
Christopher Laxton
Patrick Luib
Theresa Schmidt
Jan 12, 2022
Series Introduction The Advancing Excellence in Long-Term Care Collaborative is a community of diverse collaborators who experienced the pandemic differently and from different perspectives. We have shared...
A new anti-bullying campaign?
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Aug 02, 2022
You see them everywhere. Anti-bullying campaigns. People are bullied for just about anything. For looking different, for different beliefs, for sexual orientations, for race, creed, color, religion, etc. ...
The punitive fist versus the hand of support
By
Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, DrPH, CIC
May 03, 2023
In the late 2010s, the long-term care industry began to take action that would reflect the growing importance of incorporating robust infection prevention practices. Facilities were required to develop...
Steps for SNFs to improve their bottom lines and bounce back from the pandemic
By
Patrick McCormick
Jim Stradiot
Jan 03, 2022
As residents and staff depart in unprecedented numbers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the flow of emergency federal funding has been a lifeline for skilled nursing facilities. But while many operators...
Maintaining your COVID-19 library of materials
By
Jacquelyn Smith Clarke
Feb 07, 2022
As the pandemic progresses, we have become used to the constant upending of what we thought we once knew. From PPE guidance to testing and vaccines, the amount of information and how quickly it changes...
Working together to combat vaccine hesitancy
By
David Gifford, M.D.
Dec 19, 2023
We must ensure that our population has vaccines to fight off common respiratory viruses this holiday season — and beyond.