Literature Review

Orlando Health boosts operating performance by $734M in FY 2023Becker’s Hospital CFO ReviewDecember 15, 2023Orlando (FL) Health transformed a $422.7 million operating loss (-8% margin) in fiscal year 2022 into a $310.8 million gain (5.1% margin) in FY 2023, according to financial documents published Dec. 13. The results equate to a $733.5 million swing from the black to the red. Revenue increased 15.9% year over year to $6.1 billion while expenses rose 16.1% to $5.6 billion.

In study ranking ‘best’ states for elder care, providers might be surprised to learn the winnerMcKnights Long-Term Care News, 12/15/23By Josh HenrecksonA new study judging quality and access to elder care ranked all 50 states and named Iowa the top state in the country. ... California was the bottom-ranked state ... The top 10, in order, were: Iowa, Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana, South Dakota, Kansas, Montana, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Nebraska.

Iowa nursing homes wait up to 41 months for an ‘annual’ inspectionIowa Capital DispatchDecember 15, 2023The state of Iowa isn’t meeting the federally mandated standards for nursing home oversight, with some care facilities waiting up to 41 months for an annual inspection. Federal regulations require that no more than 15.9 months elapse between annual inspections at individual Medicaid-certified nursing homes. The regulations also require that, collectively, the state inspect all nursing homes on an average of 12.9 months, if not sooner.

SEARHC defends Home Health closure at Sitka Assembly meetingKCAW-FM (Sitka, AK)December 15, 2023Sitka, AK—What will home health look like in Sitka without a home health department at the local hospital? The top doctor at the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium or SEARHC gave an update on the future of home health services at the Sitka Assembly meeting on Tuesday.

Rural hospitals embrace ‘grow your own’ approach to staffingModern HealthcareDecember 15, 2023Always on the hunt for staff, some rural hospitals have been trying a less common recruitment setting: K-12 classrooms. The hospitals hope that by interesting local children in healthcare careers and investing in their education, the students will one day return to work as full-fledged providers. It’s a long game, but one that could help rural hospitals better compete for clinicians with urban health systems that have the budgets for higher salaries and bigger sign-on bonuses.

Iowa Democrats, advocates call for hearings on nursing home care and oversightIowa Capital DispatchDecember 14, 2023Iowa Senate Democrats on Thursday called on the GOP-controlled Senate Oversight Committee to launch a bipartisan investigation into Iowa’s nursing homes. Calling it “a matter of life and death,” Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, the ranking member on the committee, formally requested the investigation in a Dec. 14 letter to committee chair Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton.

Sutter Health, senior care firm, team up for elderly care San Jose siteMercury News (San Jose, CA)December 14, 2023San Jose, CA—Sutter Health and a firm that specializes in health care for seniors have teamed up to launch a San Jose site that will offer an array of services to elderly people who have low-income levels. ... Sutter Health, a medical services titan, is joining forces with WelbeHealth, a physician-led public benefit firm that provides care to seniors, intend to launch the new medical site starting on New Year’s Day of 2024. ... The San Jose building will accommodate a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly center, the healthcare firms stated.

Lawmakers bring PACE expansion bill back into playMcKnight’s Home Care DailyDecember 15, 2023Two members of Congress reintroduced a bill that would strengthen and expand the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and John Moolenaar (R-MI) introduced the PACE Expanded Act on Dec. 5. The sweeping legislation, if passed, would promote the expansion of existing PACE programs, make it easier to establish new programs, make PACE more affordable for Medicare beneficiaries and create a pilot program for testing the PACE model within new populations. 

Falling short—99% of Mississippi nursing homes don’t meet new staffing regsMississippi TodayDecember 13, 2023... In Mississippi, all but two of the 200 skilled nursing facilities—those licensed to provide medical care from registered nurses—would need to increase staffing levels under federal regulations the Biden administration proposed in September, according to data analyzed by Mississippi Today, USA TODAY and Big Local News at Stanford University. That’s in line with the national trend: Over the first quarter of 2023—from January to March—less than 1% of skilled nursing facilities in the U.S. met the draft rule’s two core standards of provider care. 

Baptist Health Baptist Hospital Launches Inspirational Space for Patients and VisitorsSouth Florida Hospital NewsDecember 14, 2023Baptist Health Baptist Hospital launched the Inspiration Hall, powered by national leader in hospice and palliative care services, VITAS Healthcare. Located on the first floor near the hospital’s imaging center waiting room, the Inspiration Hall is an immersive experience where patients, visitors and hospital team members can submit, read or watch messages of comfort and support that will inspire others in their health journey. 

Home Health Spending Begins To Climb Again Post-PandemicHome Health Care NewsDecember 13, 2023After stalling in 2021, spending on home health care returned to a more normalized growth rate in 2022, according to a new analysis from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Specifically, national health expenditures on home health care increased by 6% to $132.9 billion in 2022. 

Nursing Home and CCRC Spending Grew 5.6% to $191.3B in 2022—After Dropping 7.8% in 2021Skilled Nursing NewsDecember 13, 2023Nursing homes and continuing care retirement communities made up $191.3 billion of national health expenditures in 2022, an increase from $181.1 billion in 2021, reaching levels close to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Pre-pandemic, such expenditures sat between $162 billion and $174.1 billion between 2016 and 2019, according to a survey published by Health Affairs. 

Report spots care planning gaps for nursing home residentsMcKnight’s Long Term Care NewsDecember 12, 2023A new report looks at what’s working to help residents in long-term care communities prioritize care planning and advanced care planning, or ACP. The study was published on Dec. 6 in The Journal of Long-Term Care. Researchers set out to look at studies and surveys on care planning interventions for older adults in long-term care communities. The team wanted to understand what types of programs are being used to drive better care planning overall