nursing homes

Nursing Homes, Beware! Supreme Court Greenlights Civil Lawsuits to Enforce FNHRA

The Supreme Court’s recent summer decision in Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana, et al. v. Talevski has raised the stakes for nursing homes by ruling that private litigants may bring civil claims against facilities to recover damages for violations of certain provisions of the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act (FNHRA). This decision provides powerful incentives for nursing homes and other facilities subject to the FNHRA to enhance their monitoring and compliance processes.

By Callan G. Stein, Rebecca E. Younker and Laurenlee Dominguez

Health Tech

Nursing Homes Reject CMS’ Proposed Staffing Level Requirements

CMS released a proposed rule to establish staffing standards among the nation’s nursing homes. Reactions have been mixed — but mainly negative. Long-term care facilities say that they can neither find nor afford more workers. On the other hand, some lawmakers argue the proposed rule doesn’t do enough to protect care quality for patients. As for labor unions, they seem generally happy with the rule.

By Katie Adams

With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?

Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.

Legal

Witnesses recount ‘dire conditions’ in nursing homes during Covid-19 in congressional hearing

A professor of healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School shared research with the committee concluding that COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes were largely a function of where in the country a nursing home was located versus other specifics about the facility.

By Amanda James

Consumer / Employer

Report: nursing home quality of care declining, action and research needed

A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine finds nursing home care to be subpar, despite regulations to prevent poor care; recommendations for improvement include funding research and offering customized, integrated, and culturally sensitive care.

By Emma Bardin

Legal

California sues nation’s largest nursing home operator for ‘cutting corners’ in patient care

The state of California is suing Brookdale Senior Living for alleged patient safety violations at 10 nursing homes in the state and for providing false data to boost its CMS star rating. Brookdale denies both claims.

By Anuja Vaidya

Community, BioPharma

CVS and Walgreens under fire for slow pace of vaccination in nursing homes

Across the country, some nursing home directors and health care officials say the partnership between federal government and pharmacy retailers is actually hampering the vaccination process by imposing paperwork and cumbersome corporate policies on facilities that are thinly staffed and reeling from the devastating effects of the coronavirus

By Rachel Bluth and Lauren Weber, Kaiser Health News

Policy

As new coronavirus strain detected in three states, vaccines fall short

A new variant of SARS-Cov-2 thought to be more transmissible was discovered in Colorado’s eastern plains and San Diego, California. At the same time, federal vaccination rates are lagging far behind projections.

By Elise Reuter

Retail Health, Health Services

CVS, Walgreens begin administering first vaccines in nursing homes

CVS and Walgreens began administering the first doses of Covid-19 vaccines across long-term care facilities last week. But many questions still remain about how it will be administered to the general public.

By Elise Reuter

Policy, Health Services

Errors blight new Medicare data on Covid-19 in nursing homes

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released new data showing the number of Covid-19 deaths and infections in nursing homes. But as it currently stands, the data has too many errors to be helpful for families trying to decide between individual facilities.

By Elise Reuter

Policy

CMS data: Nearly 26,000 Covid-19 deaths reported in nursing homes

After finding that nearly 26,000 Covid-19 deaths have taken place in nursing homes, CMS is ratcheting up penalties for noncompliance with infection control.

By Elise Reuter

Health Services

Maximize Revenue and Patient Care with Strategic Weight Loss Management

We will highlight Build My Health's revenue practice management tools, which could help physician practices add up to $250,000 to their practices.

By Build My Health and MedCity News

Startups, Health Tech, Health Services

New York telemedicine startup Call9 winding down operations

CEO Tim Peck confirmed the news to CNBC, saying the company ran out of the cash it needed to continue to scale the business and was laying off roughly 100 employees.

By Kevin Truong

Kaiser

Nursing homes in Calif face new challenge after court overturns law on medical decisions for mentally incompetent patients

The fact that nursing homes are making end-of-life decisions without patient input is a big concern, according to the ruling.

By Anna Gorman

Hospitals

A design overhaul from Action Pact puts the ‘home’ back in the nursing home model

Mealtime. Naptime. Bath time. Bedtime. Everything is on a schedule for residents in a traditional nursing home, leaving little flexibility for personal decision making. But LaVrene Norton is working to change that. Norton is founder and president of Action Pact, a national consulting firm. It specializes in helping retirement communities and nursing homes train staff […]

By Marissa Evans

Hospitals

HHS Inspector General report findings could strengthen nursing home inspections

Federal efforts to strengthen inspections of the nation’s nursing homes are gaining momentum after a government probe uncovered instances of substandard care. The March 3 report by the HHS Inspector General found that an estimated one-third of residents suffered harm because of substandard care and that the chances of nursing home inspectors discovering these “adverse events” are […]

By Susan Jaffe

Daily

Bringing God into the workplace creates calm, not controversy for Signature Healthcare

Eight years ago, Dianne Timmering had no budget for her new department of spirituality at Signature HealthCARE. She now runs the largest for-profit department of spirituality in the country with a $4 million budget and full-time chaplains at all 87 facilities in Signature’s network. “We built it on an ROI model,” she said. “It is […]