Staff Shortages, Employee Burnout Are At Crisis Levels In Nursing Homes
Although the worst of the covid pandemic is over, problems it caused in the U.S. nursing home industry persist. CMS, meanwhile, reports that during the pandemic in 2021, health systems saw deepened racial disparities and worse care outcomes affect their quality measures.
The New York Times:
Nursing Home Staffing Shortages And Other Problems Still Persist
Many Americans prefer to believe the Covid pandemic is a thing of the past. But for the nation’s nursing homes, the effects have yet to fully fade, with staffing shortages and employee burnout still at crisis levels and many facilities struggling to stay afloat, according to a new report published Thursday by federal investigators. The report, by the inspector general’s office at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, found that the flawed infection-control procedures that contributed to the 170,000 deaths at nursing homes during the pandemic were still inadequate at many facilities. (Jacobs, 2/29)
The Boston Globe:
In R.I. Nursing Homes, Deficiencies Are On The Rise. Advocates Demand Better Standards
Nursing homes in Rhode Island are increasingly failing to meet federal requirements that govern patient care, including preventable deaths. Deficiencies cited by federal regulators at the state’s nursing homes increased 138 percent from 2022 to 2023. Simultaneously, since 2020, Rhode Island’s nursing homes have lost 20 percent of their workforce, and six nursing homes have closed due to an unprecedented labor crisis. (Gagosz, 2/29)
The CT Mirror:
CT Lawmakers Unveil Bill Overhauling Aspects Of Elder Care Sector
As advocates and industry officials testified Thursday on Gov. Ned Lamont’s wide-ranging bill to boost transparency in nursing home operations, lawmakers unveiled another sweeping measure that would overhaul numerous key aspects of the elder care sector, including requiring more oversight of home care workers, creating a speedier process for accessing Medicaid and expanding the long-term care ombudsman’s office. (Carlesso and Altimari, 2/29)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Northview Nursing Home Owners Paid Themselves Before Crash
In the years leading up to the chaotic closure of the Northview Village Nursing Home, revenues fell and resident counts dropped. Still, the owners of the north St. Louis nursing home, the largest in the city, were sending at least $1.5 million annually in rent and other payments to their companies. (Barker and Merrilees, 2/29)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare:
CMS Quality Measures Report Sees Performance Drop In 2021
Health systems saw deepened racial disparities and worse care outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic as their performance on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' quality measures steeply declined, according to a recent report. Hospitals and post-acute care providers were showing improvement—or at least stability—on almost 90% of CMS' quality measures from 2016 through 2019, according to the agency's 2024 national impact assessment, published Wednesday. (Devereaux, 2/29)
Axios:
Why Medicare Is Adding Pre-Treatment Approval Requirements
Medicare is taking the rare step of adding pre-treatment approval requirements before patients can get care at certain outpatient surgical facilities that have seen a sharp uptick in billings. Medicare's decision shows that it still sees prior authorization as a useful tool for controlling costs, even as the Biden administration cracks down on misuse of a practice detested by health care providers and patients. (Goldman, 3/1)
Bloomberg:
American Academy Of Dermatology Pushes To Pull DEI Programs, Citing Antisemitism
America’s largest association of dermatologists is considering scrapping its diversity and inclusion initiatives, threatening to end programs designed to improve representation in one of the least diverse specialties in medicine. A group of doctors raised a resolution to end the American Academy of Dermatology’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The proposal, to be debated at the organization’s upcoming annual meeting, cited unease around the politicization of DEI and raised antisemitism as a concern. (Butler and Rutherford, 2/29)
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Camden's Cooper Health Gets An 'A' Credit Rating From From Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor’s gave Cooper Health an ‘A’ credit rating this week, citing the sustained strength of the South Jersey nonprofit’s financial results while it expands market share in the region, in part by hiring more doctors and other clinical staff. The new rating assess the Cooper’s overall creditworthiness. S&P’s previous ‘A-’ rating for Cooper, from 2022, applied only to a specific issue of municipal bonds. (Brubaker, 3/1)
