Federal Bill Aims To Aid Nursing Home Labor Shortage With TNA Program Extension

Study shows that REIT ownership linked to decline in RN staffing, increases in LPN, CNA use

Jan 30, 2023

PBJ research report and related news: REIT investment was associated with average relative staffing increases of 2.15 percent and 1.55 percent for licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and certified nursing assistants (CNAs), respectively. After the...

Research Finds Staffing Stability Is Marker of Better Quality of Nursing Homes

Jan 30, 2023

PBJ research report and related news: This study examined whether staffing instability, defined as the percentage of days below average staffing levels, is associated with nursing home quality when controlling for average staffing levels. Findings...

CMS should be careful in what it asks for

Dec 23, 2022

CMS should be careful in what it asks for Those in the nursing home sector are worried a potential staffing mandate imposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could be the ruination of a reeling sector. However, there is an...

CMS to ‘Crack Down’ on Troubled Nursing Homes Through Special Focus Facility Program Changes

Oct 30, 2022

In its latest move to increase scrutiny of the skilled nursing industry, the Biden administration is toughening requirements for nursing homes that fall into its Special Focus Facilities (SFF) program.

Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is making completion requirements more challenging and increasing enforcement actions if SNFs fail to show improvement, according to a statement issued by the federal agency on Friday.

States get needed nurse aide waiver relief but workers’ fates uncertain

Oct 7, 2022

Skilled nursing providers in at least 15 states averted the loss of thousands of frontline workers Thursday, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services let expire a blanket national waiver allowing the use of non-certified nurse aides. Those states had been awarded new waivers through an application process, meaning they demonstrated testing backlogs or other delays that kept providers from converting a large share of temporary nurse aides into permanent certified nurse assistants.

3 Nursing Home Legal Issues to Watch in 2022 and Beyond

Oct 6, 2022

As a flurry of regulations and mandates descend upon the nursing home sector, such changes could create legal obstacles, and suggest yet another difficult and onerous year for providers.

Staffing mandates, the aftermath of the end of the public health emergency (PHE), Covid liability and the PREP Act, all create “existential threats” for skilled nursing operators, at a time when so many are still attempting to recover from the last two and a half years.

MedPAC’s recommendations: state staffing policies could hamper federal mandate

Sep 30, 2022

A federal minimum staffing mandate is on the horizon for nursing homes at the beginning of 2023. Providers and experts wonder just how the proposed mandate might address historic staffing shortages without resources or support.

Medicaid nursing facility payment approaches

Aug 25, 2022

CMS encourages states to
assess their approach to payments to long-term care providers and utilize flexibilities provided
by section 1902(a)(30)(A) of the Social Security Act (the Act) in establishing Medicaid base and
supplemental payments, as appropriate, to provide adequate, performance-driven nursing facility
rates

CMS reveals differing opinions on minimum staffing approach

Aug 10, 2022

A study meant to underpin a new federal nursing home staffing minimum will last about seven months and end in December, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services official said Thursday.

That confirmation came during an Open Door Forum conference call Thursday, and amid a fierce, ongoing debate how mandated staffing levels can be equitably determined at all.

Study of Antipsychotic Use Connection to Staffing Levels

Aug 5, 2022

Researchers reported a 0.75% decrease in inappropriate antipsychotic prescribing per unit increase in overall staff-to-patient ratio. There was a 3.09% decrease in inappropriate antipsychotic prescribing per unit increase in licensed staff hours.

Research shows COVID-19 vaccination mandates don’t negatively affect nursing home staffing

Aug 1, 2022

State COVID-19 vaccination mandates increased vaccinations among direct caregivers without negatively affecting staffing levels, according to the results of a study published Friday in JAMA Health Forum.

The researchers studied vaccination rates and staffing shortages that were reported via the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network from June 6, 2021, through Nov. 14, 2021.

Nursing home staff turnover up 25 percent from last year

Aug 1, 2022

The national nursing home staff turnover rate for all employees is up 25% from last year. That’s according to findings included in the 45th annual Nursing Home Salary & Benefits Report released Thursday by Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service.

The average national turnover rate across executive-level positions and those in dining services, environmental services, marketing and therapy was 29.17%, according to the report. The national average turnover among registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants was 38.68%.