Behind the success of PACS Group’s (NYSE: PACS) high-growth model is the nursing home giant’s principle of entrusting its early career administrators with greater autonomy. In rejecting the traditional path, PACS allows administrators in training the opportunity to step into their roles with greater independence much earlier. Enabling new leaders to make crucial decisions and […]
Reimbursement issues at nursing homes are pushing operators to adapt their payment models to increase reliance on Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). But while these models aim to enhance care quality even as they control costs, they also bring on unique challenges, including requiring extra oversight with discharges and related […]
The new facility assessment requirements that federal agencies are expecting will guide decisions on staffing levels are also garnering concerns about potential administrative and financial burdens, particularly for smaller-sized nursing home chains. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) modified the existing requirements in late June, issuing expanded guidance to include metrics that are […]
Despite operational and financial headwinds affecting the nursing home sector currently, a transitional care program and physiatry partnership has been able to cut readmission rates from 29% to 9% among a group of facilities. OSF HealthCare, a 17-hospital system in Illinois and Michigan, partnered with physiatry and care coordination management group Puzzle Healthcare to deliver […]
Amid plans to launch the largest provider-owned institutional special needs plan (I-SNP) in the U.S., Brickyard Healthcare is also making sure it surpasses certain other challenges facing the sector. Along with this endeavor, eliminating agency use, preparing for managed Medicaid in Indiana, and being ready to face the staffing mandate, have all been top of […]
A Supreme Court decision on Friday could significantly weaken federal agencies’ authority to regulate industries, including powers of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), with wide implications for the recently finalized federal minimum staffing rule for nursing homes. The Supreme Court’s decision to discard the long-standing so-called Chevron doctrine is a “game changer,” […]
Skilled nursing assets at continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) have long been subject to downsizing for a variety of reasons, including operational challenges, the cost to care for skilled patients and regulatory hurdles. Add to this list: the severity of the nursing home survey process. Stu Almer, CEO of Gurwin Healthcare System in New York, […]
The crisis involving patients languishing at hospitals awaiting discharge into appropriate post-acute care settings has shown little signs of abating. The root causes of these discharge delays are manifold, but chief among them are workforce shortages at nursing homes. According to experts at a webinar hosted by ATI, the discharge crisis is amplified by a […]
Even though Derek Prince, CEO of HMG Healthcare, has been encouraging new initiatives to improve staffing at this organization and is celebrating wins on that front, he is fully aware of the unfolding crisis the federal minimum staffing mandate will represent for providers across Texas. Hence, Prince, who is also a board member of the […]
Georgia nonprofit A.G. Rhodes’ CEO, Deke Cateau, is all about solutions. To that end, he has had a busy couple of years, successfully expanding one of the operator’s three campuses to be all private rooms with a dementia area built with the household model in mind – a $37.5 million endeavor. Cateau said he would […]
Texas-based Touchstone Communities hasn’t been slowing down this year, with the operator busy acquiring and building properties. On top of brick-and-mortar updates, Touchstone also partnered with Longevity Health in January to offer institutional special needs plans (I-SNPs) to its residents. It’s very thoughtful, controlled growth aimed at diversification of assets, said Leslie Cunningham Campbell, COO […]
In the midst of the nursing home sector staging a legal fight against the federal government’s staffing mandate, an important consideration at play is the backlog of survey inspections that could significantly impact the attainment of exemptions from the minimum staffing requirements. It has been well documented that a shortage of surveyors has led to […]
Operators have been opting for different payer sources other than Medicare Advantage plans given its persistent challenges. Medicare Advantage’s lower reimbursement rates compared to traditional Medicare and higher administrative burdens tied to prior authorizations and payment denials, have caused operators to seek even Medicaid as an alternative payer, emboldening efforts by advocacy groups to push […]
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) on Thursday announced that a draft bill is underway that, if enacted, would bring unprecedented reforms for hospice payment and oversight. The draft bill comes as more skilled nursing operators expand their hospice offerings, including by launching their own hospice businesses or more closely partnering with existing hospice providers. Blumenauer announced […]
The federal government’s new staffing requirements for nursing homes present a formidable challenge – even impossible some say – for facilities nationwide, and operators must focus now on creating workers that don’t exist. The current reality is stark: if the requirements were enforced today, a vast majority of nursing homes in the U.S. would fall […]
Renovating nursing homes to uplift the resident experience can improve not only property value and overall quality of care, but also regulatory compliance. Staffing and retention are ever-present roadblocks at nursing facilities, and upgrading the overall atmosphere can actually help alleviate some of these roadblocks, with caregivers wanting to be in a building that’s easier […]
In recent years, nursing homes have faced increased scrutiny and litigation, often driven by data that can be misunderstood or misrepresented. To secure themselves, nursing homes must leverage a data strategy, ensuring accurate documentation and clear communication of their data story to legal experts and stakeholders. This approach can mitigate risks, clarify misunderstandings, and showcase […]
As nursing homes take up artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology advances as part of operations, it’s crucial to not only involve nurses in its implementation, but to bring to their attention AI’s limitations. Besides the fact that minimizing nurse involvement in such decisions can give rise to general distrust among clinical staff as well […]
Managed care’s growth across all health care settings, including nursing homes, has pushed reimbursement rates lower, and operators are implementing strategies to counter the situation. For starters, operators expressed the need to be well equipped for negotiating better rates with managed care organizations (MAOs). And, coming armed with cost of care data to the negotiating […]
Nursing home leaders convened in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to present a unified stance against the federal staffing mandate, which they argue could exacerbate existing challenges in long-term care facilities. The gathering follows a Congressional Briefing by American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) at the week’s start, and saw key figures from […]
