Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nursing Home Operator In Massachusetts Closes Multiple Skilled-Nursing Institutions, Citing High Costs, Inadequate Staffing
Boston Globe: Losing Money And Struggling To Find Workers, A Nursing Home Operator Feels The Squeeze
Thirty nursing homes have shuttered in the past 18 months — and 214 since 2000 — a little noticed 35 percent shrinkage that has uprooted many of the state’s most vulnerable residents. After a state court appointed a receiver to manage the shutdown of the five South Coast homes operated by Skyline Healthcare, residents were moved with little notice — or choice about their destination. (Weisman, 6/23)
The CT Mirror: Nearly Half CT's Nursing Homes Rate Above Average For Staffing
With tougher standards, 48 percent of the state’s nursing homes —104 facilities— received a four- or five-star rating for staffing, data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) show. Thirty-nine nursing homes (19 percent) earned a one- or two-star rating for staffing levels. (Rosner, 6/23)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Amid Growth Of Assisted Living, Some Renew Calls For Federal Oversight
The number of assisted-living centers in the United States has jumped more than 150 percent in the past 20 years, fueled by an increase of residents with cognitive issues, a willingness of facilities to take more frail patients, and families who wish to avoid nursing homes. But while the centers’ clientele has changed dramatically, there have been few efforts to systemically re-evaluate staffing or training guidelines necessary to properly serve residents. (Canglia, 6/23)
The Associated Press: WWII Veteran's Nursing Home Choking Death In Ann Arbor To Be Reopened
Police have reopened the investigation into the 2015 death of a World War II veteran at a Michigan nursing home. Walter Jarnot, 89, died in September 2015 after he choked while eating at the Glacier Hills nursing home in Ann Arbor. Charles Jarnot said the nursing home told him his father died of natural causes. But the death certificate indicates that he died of asphyxiation. (6/23)
