In an attempt to get a handle on the persistent Covid-19 pandemic, President Biden yesterday issued a broad executive order mandating vaccines for a large segment of the US economy, including most of the medical and long-term care industries. His order should give families comfort that most licensed providers, from doctors to home health aides, will be vaccinated. But it [...]
It is time to change the rules: If you want to work around vulnerable older adults. You must be vaccinated. For their safety. For yours. And for the safety of your own family. Eight months after the vaccine was made widely available to health care workers, only about 60 percent of nursing home staff has been vaccinated against COVID-19. We [...]
Every conversation I have with operators of senior living facilities and home care agencies quickly pivots to one issue: A desperate shortage of care workers. The problem isn’t new. Low pay, low status, and physically and emotionally demanding work has plagued the long-term care industry’s ability to hire for years. Highly restrictive Trump-era immigration policies further shrunk the supply of [...]
How bad was the covid-19 pandemic for nursing homes residents? A new government study finds that 40 percent had the virus, or probably did. About 169,000 more Medicare residents died in the pandemic year of 2020 than in 2019, an increase in the overall death rate of about 32 percent. And in April 2020, about 1,000 more Medicare residents were [...]
A new public opinion survey shows broad bipartisan backing for more public support for long-term care, especially at home, even as congressional Republicans appear to be lining up against the idea. According a new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 63 percent of respondents say government should support programs to help low income people receive supports [...]
For months, families and operators of long-term care facilities have been telling me about the indirect toll the covid-19 pandemic has taken on residents. Not on those who have sickened or died from the virus, but on those whose quality of life has been severely harmed by the social isolation it caused. Now, we are beginning to learn more about [...]
In the wake of the devastating effects of covid-19 on nursing home residents and their staffs, pressure is building on long-term care facilities from congressional Democrats who are exploring ways to accelerate the shift of Medicaid long-term services and supports from nursing facilities to home and community based services (HCBS). Some states are demanding tougher health and safety rules. And [...]
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a catastrophe for frail older adults. More than 170,000 residents and staff of long-term care facilities have died from the virus, and adults over age 65 living in all settings have accounted for about 80 percent of the nation’s deaths, or about 400,000 fatalities. But what lessons have we learned? And how can we build [...]
In a bombshell announcement, the real estate investment trust (REIT) Welltower—the biggest owner of nursing homes in the US-- is divorcing from Genesis Healthcare—the nation’s biggest operator of nursing facilities. At same the same, Genesis, whose share price has plummeted in recent years, announced it is delisting from the New York Stock Exchange. It is common for REITs to own [...]
The massive pandemic relief bill that the House is likely to approve by the end of this week includes billions of dollars in new funding for government long-term services and supports (LTSS) for frail older adults and young people with disabilities. But, paradoxically, the most far-reaching change may be from a temporary funding increase for Medicaid home and community-based services [...]