I. FOLLOWING THE NARRATIVE: A quick summary of national media trends last week.
(* indicates that LeadingAge is featured in the story.)
Nursing homes remained a focus of both national and trade media focus last week following President Biden’s initiative, announced with the State of the Union, aimed at improving quality care. Coverage included both “reaction” pieces as well as news stories describing CMS’ next steps related to the plan. The March 10 two-year anniversary of the global pandemic as well as long-term care workforce challenges got attention as well.
Coronavirus, Workforce
- Kaiser Family Foundation: Medicaid Home & Community-Based Services: People Served and Spending During COVID-19
- USA Today: When does a nursing home COVID-19 death count? It’s complicated.
- The Atlantic: HOW DID THIS MANY DEATHS BECOME NORMAL?
- *Roll Call: Protecting the vulnerable comes with added nuance in new COVID-19 phase
- *McKnight’s Senior Living: Lingering pandemic-related costs slow operating margin growth: NIC
- Skilled Nursing News: Nursing Homes Add 1,600 Jobs in February as Occupancy Recovery Crawls
- The Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY): At Niagara Falls nursing home, troops are ‘doing things we never thought the National Guard would do’
- McKnight’s Senior Living: CNAs cite staffing shortage as biggest on-the-job challenge: survey
- The Washington Post: Opinion: How to solve the worker shortage? Improve pay and other conditions.
- McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Most operators expect staffing challenges to ease in 2022, new NIC survey shows
- Healthcare Finance News: CMS to set standards for nursing home staffing
- Skilled Nursing News: Nursing Home Staffing Shortage is a ‘Crisis on Top of a Crisis’
- Skilled Nursing News: ‘Price Gouging’ Leads More Nursing Homes to Launch In-House Staffing Agencies
Biden Administration and Congress
- *Skilled Nursing News: CMS in ‘Full Court Sprint’ to Carry Out Biden’s Nursing Home Reforms
- McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: ‘Adequate’ funding part of nursing home staffing minimum strategy, CMS chief says
- *McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Spending package promises 5-month extension of telehealth flexibilities
- *McKnight’s Senior Living: Affordable senior housing program could see 21 percent funding increase under appropriations bill
- Home Health Care News: $1.5 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill Leaves Out Home Health Telehealth Reimbursement
- McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Reform policies ‘double down’ on decades-long failures, LTC physicians warn
- McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Medicaid continues shift away from SNF care
- *Becker’s Hospital Review: Nursing home lobbyists request sit-down with Biden about reforms
II. Other Clips that Influenced the Week: LeadingAge is a sought-out, reliable source for multiple trade and national media outlets (see that coverage posted in our LeadingAge Press Room). Other key clips that shaped the narrative last week:
- New York Times: Meet the Underdog of Senior Care
- *McKnight’s Senior Living: Affordable senior housing providers expected to ‘jump’ at ‘innovative’ mental health initiative
- The Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT): Lower income older adults at greater risk for health issues following intensive care stays, Yale study finds
- Skilled Nursing News: Competing Incentives: How Improving the Transition to Home Can Pay Off for Nursing Homes
- Home Health Care News: Key Barriers Could Limit Adoption of Home-Based Care Models
- U.S. News and World Report: Good End-of-Life Care Out of Reach for Many Black Nursing Home Residents
- McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: DOJ finds state violated ADA, Olmstead by segregating people with disabilities in nursing homes
III. What’s On Our Radar — this week’s likely priorities:
- Continued response to POTUS Quality of Care in Nursing Homes Initiative
- Workforce focused media outreach
IV. National Statements & Products (all posted on the Press Room page):
- LeadingAge CEO: Bold, All-of-Government Approach Needed to Ensure Access to Consistently High-quality Nursing Home Care for Older Americans and Families (3/11/22)
- Statement by LeadingAge CEO Katie Smith Sloan on 2nd Anniversary of Covid Pandemic Declaration (3/10/22)
- LeadingAge Statement on Omnibus Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations Bill (3/9/22)
