Nursing Homes Face Dilemma With Uncertain Future Of CMS’ Staffing Rule

Modern Healthcare: Staffing Mandate's Shaky Future Impedes Industry Preparation
The latest piece of the nursing home staffing rule is set to take effect in 2025, but nursing homes are caught between preparing for a rule that may not remain on the books and finding solutions to their immediate workforce shortages. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in April finalized an unprecedented rule setting minimum staffing levels nursing homes must maintain. To comply, facilities will need to have enough staff to provide at least 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident per day, including at least 0.55 hours from a registered nurse. (Early, 12/30)

Politico: The Government Can’t Ensure Artificial Intelligence Is Safe. This Man Says He Can
Artificial intelligence promises to revolutionize health care by predicting illnesses, speeding diagnoses, selecting effective treatments and lightening doctors’ administrative loads — but only if doctors trust that it won’t harm their patients. The government is struggling with oversight of this rapidly evolving technology. But Dr. Brian Anderson, whose experience working long hours as a family doctor for low-income immigrants in Massachusetts inspired him to work on technology to make caring for patients easier, says he can. (Reader, 1/1)

The Washington Post: FDA To Decide On Banning Red Dye No. 3
The Food and Drug Administration is on the cusp of deciding whether to ban a controversial bright cherry-red dye used in drinks and snacks but that has been linked to cancer in animals. Food safety advocates for years have pressured the agency to ban the dye used in bubble gum, candy and fruit cocktails, contending it would be safer to use natural coloring derived from plants such as beets and red cabbage. (Roubein, 12/29)

The nation mourns a president —

The New York Times: Jimmy Carter’s Quiet But Monumental Work In Global Health
Jimmy Carter’s five decades of leadership in global health brought a hideous disease to the brink of elimination, helped deliver basic health and sanitation to millions of people and set a new standard for how aid agencies should engage with the countries they assist. ... Mr. Carter, the former president who died on Sunday at age 100, saw his health-care work through the prism of a larger effort for basic rights and as a tool for peace building. (Nolen, 12/30)

Politico: Carter To Lie In State At The Capitol
Former President Jimmy Carter will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol's rotunda at the invitation of congressional leaders, the Carter Center announced Monday. The memorial services and honors for the former president are expected to span several days and include public events in Atlanta and Washington, followed by a private burial ceremony in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. (Tully-McManus, 12/30)

Fortune Well: Jimmy Carter Was The First President To Live To 100. Here Are His 3 Science-Backed Strategies For Longevity
Former President Jimmy Carter recently died in his home in Plains, Ga., at the age of 100. As the 39th president of the United States, he held the distinction as the nation’s longest-living commander-in-chief. Carter, the only centenarian alumnus of the Oval Office, was a naval officer, peanut farmer, and humanitarian. He began receiving hospice care in his home in February. (Mikhail, 12/30)

AP: What To Know About Jimmy Carter's Mission To Eradicate Guinea Worm Disease
Nobel Prize-winning peacemaker Jimmy Carter spent nearly four decades waging war to eliminate an ancient parasite plaguing the world’s poorest people. Rarely fatal but searingly painful and debilitating, Guinea worm disease infects people who drink water tainted with larvae that grow inside the body into worms as much as 3-feet-long. The noodle-thin parasites then burrow their way out, breaking through the skin in burning blisters. (Bynum and Mednick, 12/31)