OIG: Pandemic Data Shows Major Changes Needed in Nursing Home Staffing, Surveys, Infection Control
More Than a Thousand Nursing Homes Reached Infection Rates of 75 Percent or More in the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic
This is the second report in the series and builds on the first OIG report by focusing on nursing homes themselves. It looks at the extent to which they had residents who were diagnosed with COVID-19 or likely COVID-19, and the characteristics of nursing homes with extremely high infection rates. The third report will feature specific challenges nursing homes faced and the strategies they used to deal with them.
For-profit nursing homes made up a disproportionate percentage of the nursing homes with extremely high infection rates during both surges. Other characteristics varied by surge. For example, urban nursing homes were more likely to have extremely high infection rates during the first surge, but rural nursing homes were more likely to have extremely high rates during the second surge.
Office of the Inspector General. “More Than a Thousand Nursing Homes Reached Infection Rates of 75 Percent or More in the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic; Better Protections Are Needed for Future Emergencies.” Department of Health and Human Services, 19 Jan. 2023, oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/OEI-02-20-00491.asp, January 2023.
OIG: Pandemic Data Shows Major Changes Needed in Nursing Home Staffing, Surveys, Infection Control
A federal watchdog agency is calling for “significant changes” to nursing home operations and oversight in light of new data on Covid-19 infection rates.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) calls on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to take action in a report issued Thursday.
Recommendations made by the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) build on previous probes into the skilled nursing industry and include re-examining and revising nursing staff requirements.
The recommendation acknowledges an initiative already underway with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), namely, a staffing mandate proposal and supporting study due to be published this year.
Part two of this first recommendation – re-evaluating staffing data collection – should better align with staffing requirements outlined in the mandate proposal, OIG added.
“For example, amending staffing data to include a timestamp would better allow CMS to determine whether nursing homes have provided around-the-clock nursing services,” OIG said in its report. “This would assist CMS in monitoring compliance with staffing requirements, as well as ensure quality data for future analyses.”
Stulick, Amy. “OIG: Pandemic Data Shows Major Changes Needed in Nursing Home Staffing, Surveys, Infection Control.” Skilled Nursing News, 19 Jan. 2023, skillednursingnews.com/2023/01/oig-pandemic-data-shows-major-changes-needed-in-nursing-home-staffing-surveys-infection-control.
OIG: Over 1,000 Nursing Homes Reached 75 Percent Infection Rates in COVID-19 Pandemic’s First Year
More Than a Thousand Nursing Homes Reached Infection Rates of 75 Percent or More in the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic; Better Protections Are Needed for Future Emergencies (OEI-02-20-00491)Nursing homes had a surge of COVID-19…
AAPACN. “OIG: Over 1,000 Nursing Homes Reached 75 Percent Infection Rates in COVID-19 Pandemic’S First Year.” AAPACN, Jan. 2023, www.aapacn.org/news/oig-over-1000-nursing-homes-reached-75-percent-infection-rates-in-covid-19-pandemics-first-year.
