Lessons from the pandemic can help ensure caregivers’ mental health and well-being
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jul 27, 2023
Healthcare organizations’ disaster preparedness plans must include “explicit plans for supporting mental health,” say the authors of a new piece in JAMA Psychiatry.
End of PHE a good time to review employee accommodations—carefully, EEOC says
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
May 17, 2023
The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency does not mean that employers can automatically terminate reasonable accommodations that were provided due to pandemic-related circumstances, the Equal Employment...
Few COVID-displaced direct care workers return: study
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Oct 14, 2021
Approximlately 4% of direct care workers were displaced during the second quarter of 2020. A year later, few had returned to direct care, according to a new study by PHI and the Health Workforce Research...
COVID-19 outbreaks could follow low employee vaccination rates
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jun 08, 2021
COVID-19 cases and mortality in long-term care facilities have decreased significantly in the months since residents and staff members were prioritized for vaccination. Nationwide, however, vaccination...
HIPAA privacy rule permits employer inquiries of vaccination status: HHS
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Oct 05, 2021
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act does not prohibit an individual or business from asking whether someone has received a particular vaccine, including a COVID-19 vaccine, nor does...
In absence of Supreme Court ruling, work toward compliance with OSHA rule, experts advise
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jan 11, 2022
With the Occupational Safety and Health Administration withdrawing part of its COVID-19 healthcare emergency temporary standard, the agency’s vaccination-and-testing mandate for employers with 100 or...
Provider, policy action can stabilize staffing levels during infectious disease outbreaks, researchers...
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jul 25, 2022
Provider and policy action are needed to counter the effects of staff absences and departures, particularly during infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19, that may put nursing home residents at...
50 National Guard members activated to help Utah LTC facilities, hospitals ease staffing shortages
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Feb 03, 2022
The Utah National Guard’s COVID-19 Joint Task Force has activated approximately 50 service members statewide, according to Tuesday’s official statement from the National Guard. The move is meant to...
Federal workers with natural COVID-19 immunity file class action suit
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Nov 09, 2021
Attorneys from the New Civil Liberties Alliance and Austin, TX-based Texas Public Policy Foundation are representing almost a dozen federal workers in a class action lawsuit against their employer, the...
Wisconsin commits $500M for reimbursements to nursing homes, also increases HCBS reimbursement
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jan 13, 2022
Wisconsin will commit more than $500 million for payments and incentives to nursing homes by increasing reimbursement rates, Gov. Tony Evers (D) said Tuesday.