Nursing Homes

Federal Medicaid matching rate to decline in 2014

February 06, 2012

About 30 states can expect a drop in federal matching rates for Medicaid in fiscal year 2014, with only a handful seeing an increase, according to a new report.
 

Catholic nursing homes will be affected by HHS contraception regulation

February 02, 2012

About 500 Catholic nursing homes in the United States will be affected by a regulation requiring employer health insurance plans to cover contraceptive services.
 

CBO: Federal healthcare spending could double by 2022

February 01, 2012

Federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid is expected to double by 2022, reaching $1.8 trillion or 7% of the entire economy, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report.
 

As states cut Medicaid funds, nursing home group proposes bad debt fix

February 01, 2012

Forty states have either frozen or cut Medicaid-financed nursing home care for seniors between 2009 and 2011, a new survey has found.
 

GOP presidential candidates spar over kosher nursing home meals

January 31, 2012

Mitt Romney's Republican presidential rivals are now pouncing on reports that Romney eliminated kosher meals for Jewish nursing homes in Massachusetts in 2003.
 

Pharmacist underpayments results in adverse events, citations, investigation finds

January 30, 2012

Nursing homes that provide below-average consultant pharmacist salaries may be getting what they pay for, a state investigation suggests.
 

Colorado considers mandatory flu shots for nursing home workers

January 27, 2012

Officials from Colorado's state health department have proposed mandatory flu vaccinations for all nursing home employees, regardless of religious or personal exceptions.
 

Put resident privacy first in nursing home social media programs, advocacy group says

January 23, 2012

Nursing homes considering a social media program should first thoroughly outline their goals, according to a recent risk analysis.
 

Robot baby comforts nursing home residents

January 23, 2012

Japanese scientists have invented yet another type of robot aimed at making life a little it easier for senior citizens, this time in the form of a robot baby.
 

SNFs should focus on partnerships, quality, to weather uncertain future, experts say

January 16, 2012

In order to survive an uncertain financial and regulatory environment, skilled nursing operators need to look at partnering with other healthcare systems and improving the quality of care, analysts say.
 

Online tool helps predict mortality

January 12, 2012

Mortality researchers have developed an online assessment tool that helps clinicians predict mortality for older adults.
 

Iowa governor introduces LTC sex offender rule

January 11, 2012

Iowa governor Terry Branstad (R) will ask the state legislature to require notification when sex offenders move into long-term care facilities, he said Monday.
 

State law loophole allows former criminals to work in elder care facilities

December 14, 2011

Minnesota has granted waivers for 15,000 people with criminal backgrounds seeking to work in the state's long-term care facilities, a new report finds.
 

Ohio loses SNF jobs in wake of pay cuts; a sign of what's to come for nation, experts say

December 08, 2011

Ohio skilled nursing facilities have shed or plan to shed 2,800 jobs in the wake of recent Medicare and Medicaid cuts, new survey results show. It could be just the start of losses to be felt around the country.
 

Report: LTC assistants have more training hours than home health counterparts

December 08, 2011

Training requirements for home health aides are not keeping pace with what's required of certified nursing assistants working in nursing homes, a new report finds.
 

Dementia researchers find non-drug intervention 'at least' as effective as medications in halting disease progression

December 05, 2011

A non-drug dementia intervention piloted in German nursing homes proved as effective as medications in halting progression of disease, a new study reveals.
 

For-profit nursing home chains provide poorer quality of care, study asserts

November 30, 2011

Lower levels of nursing staff in large for-profit nursing home chains have resulted in substantially lower quality of care when compared to government-owned or non-profit nursing homes, a new study says.
 

Report: Triggered Medicare cuts would hit hospitals harder than nursing homes

November 23, 2011

Nursing homes will be impacted less than hospitals and physicians if the automatic cuts to Medicare providers are implemented, a new report finds. The 2% across-the-board Medicare cuts are scheduled as a result of the failure of the Congressional "super committee" to reach a deal.
 

New law gives break to Wisconsin nursing homes

November 21, 2011

A new law in Wisconsin gives nursing homes more time to pay penalties for citations and prevents facilities from getting multiple citations for the same violation.
 

More research and better diagnostics are needed to treat delirium, researchers say

November 21, 2011

Providers and researchers need to do more to treat and prevent the onset of delirium in older adults, a new study reports. The condition is known to be a predictor of decreased lifespan and increased healthcare costs.
 

More seniors are living past age 90, report states

November 18, 2011

The number of Americans over the age of 90 has tripled in thirty years, reaching 1.9 million in 2010, according to a new report. That means long-term care facilities are increasingly seeing older, sicker residents.
 

Nursing homes better for handling dementia patients, study suggests

November 18, 2011

Nursing homes and hospices are better alternatives than hospitals for elderly dementia patients, experts said this week. Investigators estimate that between three and seven million dementia patients will be hospitalized each year by 2050.
 

Minnesota e-prescription requirement ignores nursing homes

November 14, 2011

Minnesota's ambitious program requiring healthcare providers to write electronic prescriptions to prevent expensive errors leaves one group of providers out in the cold: nursing homes.
 

Operators must embrace technology to reduce staffing costs, experts advise

November 11, 2011

Nursing homes can survive recent Medicare and impending Medicaid cuts by embracing the use of technology to reduce staffing costs, said experts in a McKnight's webinar Thursday.
 

Nursing home residents use iPad to vote in House primary election

November 09, 2011

Nursing home residents in five Oregon counties voted in a Congressional special primary election Tuesday via iPad tablet notebooks, thanks to a small pilot program.
 

OSHA plans nursing home inspections

November 08, 2011

Roughly 300 nursing homes can expect inspections by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to one of the latest agency directives aimed at long-term care providers.
 

Medicare reimbursement cuts will force loss of 40,000 nursing home-related jobs, survey respondents say

November 08, 2011

The Medicare PPS skilled nursing facility final rule that was enacted Oct. 1 could result in 20,000 nursing home layoffs nationwide and another 20,000 jobs lost to abandoned expansion activity, according to results of a new national survey.
 

Nursing home residents more likely to die from C. diff infections, research suggests

November 01, 2011

Living at a nursing home may be a predictor of whether a hospital patient dies from Clostridium difficile, a new study suggests.
 

Cutting Medicaid by 5% would spur loss of nursing home jobs, economists say

October 28, 2011

Cutting the state-federal Medicaid program by 5% could result in the loss of thousands of jobs in nursing homes and other healthcare-related industries, a new report finds.
 

Senior housing market starting to see a recovery

October 27, 2011

Assisted living facilities price per unit have gone up in the last year while prices per bed in skilled nursing facilities have declined slightly, according to a new report.