HHS Inspector General Says Nursing Homes Aren’t Ready For Disasters
The Office of the Inspector General surveyed 168 nursing homes last year to examine their readiness to respond to public health emergencies or natural disasters. Most of them were not prepared. Separately, Axios reports potential problems from a nursing home inspector shortage.
Modern Healthcare:
OIG Report: Nursing Homes Unprepared For Disasters
The Health and Human Services Department Office of Inspector General surveyed 168 nursing homes last year to determine areas of concern regarding their readiness to respond to public health emergencies and natural disasters. Seventy-seven percent of facilities told the OIG that they face at least one “major” or “moderate” challenge that jeopardizes their ability to care for residents during crises. Staffing stood out as the most commonly cited problem. (Berryman, 9/6)
Axios:
Nursing Home Inspector Shortage Could Undermine Staffing Proposal
State inspectors who likely will help enforce the Biden administration's new nursing home staffing requirements are facing their own workforce shortages. The Biden administration says its newly proposed staffing ratios could improve patient care, but the program's success may depend on a nursing home oversight apparatus that's already struggling to keep up with inspections. (Goldman, 9/7)
Modern Healthcare:
Gig Workers Move Into Nursing As Reliance On Travel Nurses Drops
Gig workers are making their way into hospitals in the form of nurses picking up shifts and working alongside staff clinicians caring for patients. Their arrival comes as health systems try to decrease their reliance on expensive travel nurses and other temporary workers needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some systems created internal staffing agencies and float pools, while others are embracing per-diem structures where clinician gig workers—much like Uber and DoorDash drivers—use apps to choose what shifts they work, and where. (Devereaux, 9/6)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare:
340B Remedy’s Clawbacks Face Opposition From Hospitals
Budget neutrality is the central sticking point across the 150-plus comments submitted to the federal government regarding the proposed rule. The American Hospital Association, among other provider associations and health systems, disagrees with government's assessment, arguing that the Health and Human Services Department has “the legal obligation and legal flexibility to not seek a clawback of funds that hospitals received as a result of HHS’ own mistakes.” (Kacik, 9/6)
Stateline:
Some States Back Hospital Mergers Despite Record Of Service Cuts, Price Hikes
Nearly half of Mississippi’s rural hospitals are at risk of closing, according to a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform, a nonprofit policy research center. Mississippi leaders hope easing restrictions on hospital mergers could be a solution. A new law exempts all hospital acquisitions and mergers from state antitrust laws and classifies community hospitals as government entities, making them immune from antitrust enforcement. (Vollers, 9/7)
Modern Healthcare:
Why Companies Disrupting Healthcare Press On Despite Setbacks
Large retailers have poured billions of dollars into healthcare services, with executives promising big gains in market share and profitability—but some of those efforts are not going according to plan.On Friday, Rosalind Brewer stepped down as CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Ginger Graham, lead independent director, took on the role of interim CEO. Brewer, who joined Walgreens in March 2021, was an integral part of the company's shift beyond its stores and traditional pharmacy and oversaw multibillion-dollar investments into the strategy starting mere months after her arrival. (Hudson, 9/6)
Houston Chronicle:
Prairie View A&M Starts School Of Public And Allied Health
Prairie View A&M University on Wednesday launched its School of Public and Allied Health, coming on the heels of a COVID-19 pandemic that laid bare health disparities in diverse communities and spiked student interest in the field at the HBCU. ... “I’m excited about what next,” said Angela Branch-Vital, the school’s executive director. “Being able to make an impact, that’s what’s key to me – being able to represent the underserved, being able to be a voice for those who do not have a voice.” (Ketterer, 9/6)
Modern Healthcare:
NextGen To Be Acquired By Thoma Bravo For $1.8B
Private equity firm Thoma Bravo will acquire electronic health records vendor NextGen Healthcare for $1.8 billion, the companies announced Wednesday. The deal will bring an end to NextGen's four decades as a publicly traded company since it debuted as Quality Systems in 1982. NextGen is the latest health technology business to go private, following private equity deals for companies that struggled on the public markets, such as SOC Telemed, Allscripts and Tivity Health. (Perna, 9/6)
