Nursing Facilites

On February 21, Justice in Aging released an updated and expanded version of its “20 Common Nursing Home Problems–and How to Resolve Them” issue brief, which was written with financial support from the Commonwealth Fund. This revision, like the original edition, introduces each common problem by identifying a false statement commonly made by nursing home staff, along with a clear statement of the relevant law. This updated edition addresses additional problems, discusses issues in more detail, and includes recent revisions to federal regulations and guidance. This guide gives residents, family members, friends, and other advocates the tools they need to identify and solve the problems residents most frequently face.

On January 5, KFF released a brief examining the characteristics of nursing facilities and the people living in them between 2015 and 2023. This brief utilizes data from Nursing Home Compare, a publicly available dataset that provides a snapshot of information on quality of care in each nursing facility, and CASPER (Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports), a dataset that includes detailed metrics collected by surveyors during nursing facility inspections. This analysis is relevant to aging and disability networks as it coincides with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule that would create new requirements for staffing levels in nursing facilities.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted an analysis examining the complexities of using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to identify ownership structures within nursing homes, with a particular focus on private equity ownership. The study highlights complexities in nursing home ownership structures and the limitations of CMS data, emphasizing the difficulty in accurately identifying private equity ownership. The report also discusses the implications of these limitations on transparency and oversight within the nursing home industry. To perform this analysis, GAO adopted a comprehensive approach, including reviewing nursing home ownership data from CMS and other sources, examining...

The Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities (COE-NF) is offering six training opportunities in October. These trainings are targeted to nursing facility staff and are available free of charge. Tools for Creating Calm in Times of Distress - Part 1: Thursday, October 5 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Addressing Co-occurring Disorders in Nursing Facilities: Wednesday, October 11 at 2:00 p.m. ET. An Overview of Bipolar Disorder for Nursing Facility Staff: Thursday, October 17 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention Training: Wednesday, October 18 at 2:00 p.m. ET Tools for Creating Calm in Times of Distress - Part 2: Thursday, October 19 at 2:00 p.m. ET. ...

As part of the continuing efforts under President Biden’s initiative to improve nursing home transparency, safety and quality, and accountability, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced new actions to reduce the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications and to bring greater transparency about nursing home citations to families. Beginning this month, CMS will conduct targeted, off-site audits to determine whether nursing homes are accurately assessing and coding individuals with a schizophrenia diagnosis.