Literature Review

Largest nursing home in St. Louis closes suddenly, forcing out 170 residentsAssociated PressDecember 18, 2023St. Louis, MO—The largest skilled nursing facility in St. Louis has closed suddenly, forcing about 170 residents to be bused to other care centers. Many left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. The abrupt shutdown of Northview Village Nursing Home on Friday came after workers learned they might not be paid and walked out, confusing residents and their relatives. Many family members gathered through the day Saturday outside the facility on the city’s north side. Some didn’t immediately know where their loved ones were taken. 

Senior homes left dangerously understaffed amid assisted-living boomWashington PostDecember 17, 2023Louisville, CO—Lavender Farms, an upscale assisted-living facility in the Boulder suburbs, promised “24/7 on-site care” in its marketing materials. But managers at its operating company, Balfour Senior Living, worried deeply about their ability to care for the elderly residents who roamed the farmhouse-chic corridors at odd hours and sometimes wandered outside unnoticed, documents and interviews show. ... Failures at Balfour facilities are symptoms of deeper problems in the $34 billion market for assisted living and memory care, a growing industry that now provides care and housing for more than a million Americans, according to industry estimates.

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.

The (Surprisingly) Good News on Life Expectancy—It’s Still Going UpWall Street JournalDecember 15, 2023Over the past decade a number of alarming stories have chronicled the decline of U.S. life expectancy in the midst of rising overdose deaths, Covid-19, alcohol-related deaths and suicides. It turns out there are two ways to measure mortality and life expectancy, and the one you hear about the most paints a misleadingly pessimistic picture of the future. Last month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said life expectancy, which hit a 25-year low in 2021, climbed to 74.8 years for men and 80.2 for women in 2022, but those were still well below prepandemic levels.

Nursing home COVID deaths climb, but vaccinations move slowly upward tooMcKnights Long-Term Care News, 12/15/23By Kimberly MarselasDeaths of nursing home patients from COVID-19 climbed as vaccination rates hit new lows last month, according to an updated analysis by the AARP Public Policy Institute and the Scripps Gerontology Center. ... But vaccinations, at first widely embraced by residents and later mandated for healthcare workers, drove infection and deaths rates down dramatically starting in 2021.

‘Stop the bleeding’—A year after Safe Staffing law, nurses report high patient loadsTimes Union (Albany, NY)December 15, 2023One year after New York’s minimum staffing law for hospitals went into effect, nurses continue to report exceptionally high patient loads as hospital leaders struggle to keep up with turnover rates. ... Implementation of the new regulations—from the establishment of committees to negotiate those institution-specific staffing standards to the mandate for hospitals to report departments’ actual staffing ratios to the state Department of Health annually—has been rocky across the state’s 222 hospitals.

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.

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.

State says nursing home’s residents in ‘immediate jeopardy’Salem News (Beverly, MA)December 14, 2023Danvers, MA—State health inspectors have determined that conditions in the Hathorne Hill nursing home constitute “immediate jeopardy” to the health and safety of residents. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said Tuesday it is investigating the facility and has imposed a freeze on new admissions to Hathorne Hill until the investigation is completed.

More rural hospitals mulling clinically integrated networksModern HealthcareDecember 14, 2023In October, 23 rural hospitals in North Dakota announced the formation of the Rough Rider High-Value Network. Such clinically integrated alliances are designed to reduce hospitals’ costs through shared services and provide the infrastructure for hospitals to invest in alternative payment models. Rough Rider CEO Nathan White discussed his outlook for the rural hospital sector, his goals for the Rough Rider network and the advantages of clinically integrated networks compared to mergers or acquisitions.

Senior living posts negative total returnMcKnight’s Senior LivingDecember 15, 2023The senior living sector posted a total return of -1.15% in the third quarter, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care. That’s after posting a positive total return of 0.48% in the second quarter and a positive return of 0.11% in the first quarter. 

Panel approves $6.3M in pandemic relief for rural Arkansas hospitals, totaling 13 aided facilitiesArkansas AdvocateDecember 12, 2023Three more rural Arkansas hospitals are set to receive a total of more than $6.3 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds after state lawmakers gave preliminary approval Tuesday. The full Arkansas Legislative Council on Friday will vote on whether to disburse the funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, aimed at covering costs incurred during the pandemic. 

Plains hospital ends home health servicesClark Fork Valley Press (Plains, MT)December 13, 2023Plains, MT—Clark Fork Valley Hospital will close its Medicare certified home health agency at the end of the year. According to a press release from the hospital, hospice services will not be affected and will continue unchanged. Hospital officials cited ongoing labor shortages, financial losses and regulatory burdens of operating Home Health organizations as reasons for the closure.