Long-term care workers must be vaccinated by Jan. 4 under OSHA, CMS rules
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Nov 05, 2021
Jan. 4 is the COVID-19 vaccination deadline for employees in companies that have 100 or more workers, as well as for employees of long-term care facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid, according...
HRSA clarifies Provider Relief Fund payments, processes
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Aug 20, 2021
The federal Health Resources & Services Administration on Wednesday offered additional information to clarify reporting requirements for Provider Relief Fund payments.
$1.3 million project aims to strengthen direct care workforce
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
May 05, 2022
A $1.3 million federal project, with funding spread out over five years, will establish a new center to help strengthen the direct care workforce providing home- and community-based services to older...
Worker shortage hits long-term care more than other healthcare sectors, report shows
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
May 16, 2022
Every sector in healthcare has felt the sting of the current worker shortage, but none more so than long-term care, according to a report issued this month by the Department of Health and Human Services...
Minnesota governor activates National Guard to support skilled nursing facilities
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Nov 24, 2021
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) is activating the state’s National Guard to form skilled nursing “response teams” that will provide support to facilities experiencing worker shortages. He also is proposing...
Long-term care industry brings workforce shortage issue to Senate committee
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Feb 17, 2023
“A shortage of healthcare personnel was a problem before the pandemic, and now it has gotten worse,” Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said Thursday...
Bill seeks to fund 350 new service coordinators for affordable housing, more
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Sep 19, 2022
The Expanding Service Coordinators Act, introduced Thursday by Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) would authorize funding for at least 350 new service coordinators, provide funding for training, require a Government...
Long-term care leaders urge White House to intervene in anticompetitive staffing agency practices
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jan 27, 2022
Leaders from the country’s largest long-term care associations on Tuesday asked White House COVID-19 Response Team Coordinator Jeffrey Zients for “assistance with an anticompetitive practice with certain...
Decades-old CNA training lockout would change under re-introduced bill
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
May 16, 2023
A two-year lockout on certified nursing assistant training programs in skilled nursing facilities with deficiencies would be lifted under certain conditions if the bipartisan Ensuring Seniors’ Access...
Long-term care, other business groups find exclusion from federal vaccine mandate process ‘disappointing’
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Sep 30, 2021
As the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration works to develop and issue a rule for a vaccine and testing mandate announced earlier this month by President Biden, some business...