Category: Nursing Homes

Mental Health Care by Video Fills Gaps in Rural Nursing Homes

In-person mental health care is hard to arrange in rural nursing homes, so video chats with faraway professionals are filling the gap.

Readers and Tweeters Urgently Plea for a Proper ‘Role’ Call in the ER

KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Montana Seeks to Insulate Nursing Homes From Future Financial Crises

Lawmakers are considering creating standards to set Medicaid reimbursement rates. But industry observers wonder whether the move would be too little, too late to bolster a beleaguered industry.

California Dangles Bonuses for Nursing Homes That Add Staff

Rather than simply reward top-performing facilities, the state’s Medicaid program will hand bonuses to nursing homes — even low-rated ones — for hiring more workers and reducing staff turnover.

As Long-Term Care Staffing Crisis Worsens, Immigrants Can Bridge the Gaps

The industry has long relied on immigrants to bolster its ranks, and they’ll be critical to meeting future staffing needs, experts say. But as the baby boom generation fills beds, policymakers are slow to open new pathways for foreign workers.

Nursing Home Owners Drained Cash During Pandemic While Residents Deteriorated

As the federal government debates whether to require higher staffing levels at nursing homes, financial records show owners routinely push profits to sister companies while residents are neglected. “A dog would get better care than he did,” one resident’s wife said.

Wave of Rural Nursing Home Closures Grows Amid Staffing Crunch

Many small-town care facilities that remain open are limiting admissions, citing a lack of staff, while a wave of others shutter. That means more patients are marooned in hospitals or placed far away from their families.

A Family Death During the Holidays Prompts Questions and Reflection

The death of a sharp but frail patriarch just days before Thanksgiving casts a shadow on a family’s holiday season.

Assisted Living Facilities Pressed to Address Growing Needs of Older, Sicker Residents

Assisted living was meant to be a home-like setting where older adults could interact with other residents while receiving help with daily tasks such as bathing and dressing. But as the concept has become more popular, residents are now older and sicker than in the past, and a panel of experts is calling for more focus on their medical and mental health needs.

Rural Colorado Tries to Fill Health Worker Gaps With Apprenticeships

A Grand Junction program is training and retaining nurse and personal care aides in areas where the aging population is creating a need for them. But challenges remain for these workers.