Literature Review

Hospital nurse turnover, vacancy rates by year Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Mackenzie Bean; 9/24/24 Nurse turnover and vacancy rates have declined since their pandemic-era peaks but remain elevated, according to data from the "2024 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report." The report, released in April, includes survey findings from 400 hospitals in 36 states on registered nurse turnover, retention, vacancy rates, recruitment metrics and staffing strategies. Survey data covers more than 194,000 nurses and was collected in 2023. ... Below are the average rates of registered nurse turnover and vacancy in hospitals between 2019 and 2024, according to the report. The data suggests hospitals have made progress in reducing nurse turnover and vacancy rates since their peak during the pandemic. However, sustained efforts to stabilize the workforce, improve working conditions and address burnout are needed to fully recover.

Why hospital-at-home, other providers are pressing worker safety Modern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook; 9/24/24 At-home care providers are testing strategies to better protect workers who are raising the alarm on workplace safety. A new survey of more than 400 home healthcare workers found more than half said they experienced or witnessed at least one act of violence or harassment in the workplace, according to Transcend Strategy Group, which conducted the poll on behalf of home care providers. The report, which echoes similar findings from a National Nurses United survey, comes as hospital-at-home programs expand and more care moves to where patients live. ... Home-based care providers are trying to address the issue because concerns about personal safety could make it harder to recruit and retain workers in a competitive job market. The concerns are also coming up in contract negotiations between unions and providers.

Why CenterWell is moving into Walmart Becker's Payer Issues; by Rylee Wilson; 9/17/24 Primary care clinics focusing mainly on older adults are more likely to serve Black patients and those dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, a study from Humana found.  The study, published in Health Affairs in September, studied the outcomes of older adult-focused primary care organizations and found the organizations tend to enter and serve historically more disadvantaged communities. The authors defined such organizations as reimbursed predominantly through population-based payment arrangements and serving mostly older adults with Medicare. Humana's CenterWell is one such organization, alongside Oak Street Health and One Medical Seniors. CenterWell is expanding, with plans to enter three new markets in 2024. The company aims to add 30 to 50 new centers per year through 2025 and will also open clinics at 23 former Walmart Health sites.

Survey: Older adults unsatisfied with current healthcare system McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Kristen Fischer; 9/17/24 Older adults aren’t too happy with the healthcare system and many think it doesn’t meet their needs and preferences, according to a new survey. The results of the survey, conducted by The Harris Poll, were published Tuesday, and were released by Age Wave and The John A. Hartford Foundation.  Four in five adults aged 65 and older said that the system isn’t prepared to handle the changing needs of Americans in their age group. In total, only 11% said the US healthcare system deserved a grade of “A.” Results show that older adults want solutions such as affordable care interventions, developments to prevent or reduce cognitive decline, and healthcare professionals who understand what matters to them when they discuss care options.

The ROI of interoperability in home health Home Health Care News; by Elizabeth Ecker; 9/16/24 Today’s home-based care organizations know there is value in interoperability among their technology vendors. Allowing for seamless data integration as well as ease-of-use for staff and clinical professionals, interoperability is an important consideration for technology decisions in today’s operating environment. But what is the true value of interoperability, and how can home-based care agencies measure their return on investment? Several leading professionals share their perspectives on how they approach ROI calculations in their organizations.

Could this ‘beautiful story’ be the story of the year?McKnight's Senior Living; by Lois A. Bowers; 9/16/24When we look back on 2024, we might just call the story of Casey’s Pond the feel-good story of the year in senior living. Or if not the story, certainly one of them. Casey’s Pond, a continuing care retirement community in Steamboat Springs, CO, entered receivership in July, after not being able to pay off millions of dollars in bonds that had been used to construct the community in 2013 and not being able to find a buyer... But along the way, the city of Steamboat Springs made an emergency authorization of $2.5 million to try to save the CCRC, and a local community foundation started a “quiet fundraising campaign” that resulted in millions of dollars in commitments from dozens of donors so that bondholder requirements could be met... Now, the ink is dry on that purchase agreement, which as of Sept. 3 was expected to close within 30 days.

Bayada Home Health Care settled nurses’ wages class action lawsuit for $13.5 million Head Topics - Daily Botique; 9/13/24 The settlement, if approved by a judge, will cover nearly 11,000 Bayada nurses in Pennsylvania. Bayada Home Health Care Inc., one of the nation’s largest home care providers, agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit in Philadelphia alleging the company failed to pay nurses for time spent updating the incoming nurse or caregiver on a patient’s condition and for time spent in mandatory training sessions the $13.5 million Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas settlement.Editor's note: Additional information is behind a paywall at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Hospitals target Medicare Advantage in DSH payment lawsuitModern Healthcare; by Alex Kacik; 9/11/24Hospitals allege in a new lawsuit that the federal government unlawfully changed Medicare disproportionate share hospital payment calculations to include care provided to Medicare Advantage patients, and facilities lost billions of dollars in the process. Eighty hospitals on Monday sued the Health and Human Services Department over how the agency factors inpatient care for Medicare Advantage patients into DSH payments, which are meant to bolster providers that treat many low-income patients. Hospitals from states including California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas allege HHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not following the typical rulemaking process when it finalized a rule in June 2023 on how Medicare Advantage influences DSH calculations.

Habitat Health gets $50 million in funding, names CEO Modern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook; 9/10/24Habitat Health announced Tuesday it has tapped former Cigna executive Matthew Bennett as CEO and raised $50 million in capital as the company prepares to open its first Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly in Sacramento, California early next year. Bennett previously held several executive positions at Cigna, including senior vice president of care delivery at Evernorth, the company’s pharmacy and healthcare provider services business. He said he plans to use the new capital to launch Habitat Health's PACE programs throughout California. 

House call: Hospital care at home is about to explode in New Jersey mycentraljersey; by Scott Fallon; 9/11/24 Delia Halpin was being treated for a lung infection at Hackensack University Medical Center over three days in July when doctors came to her room with a suggestion: You can go home if you’d like. Halpin, 80, wasn’t being discharged. She was returning to her Maywood house with a load of medical equipment, a tablet to let her keep in touch with doctors, and a team of nurses who would visit every day until she recovered. “No one wants to be in the hospital,” she said. “It was great to be home, be around family, be around the things you’re comfortable with.” Halpin is among the first wave of patients who received care under Hackensack’s new “Hospital from Home” program — but she is far from the last. ...

10 ways to improve cancer patients' transition to skilled nursing facilities: Viewpoint Becker's Hospital Review; by Elizabeth Gregerson; 9/5/24Physicians from the New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have shared insights on how to better manage care when an oncology patient transfers from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility setting. ... The authors are oncologist Daniel Lage, MD, palliative care physician Craig Blinderman, MD, and emergency medicine physician Corita Grudzen, MD. ... [Among the] 10 recommendations from the editorial: ... Documentation should be provided to the skilled nursing facility team if an oncologist believes harm from future cancer treatment outweighs potential benefits or believes the patient has a poor prognosis. This will allow palliative care or hospice conversations to occur more urgently. Oncologists and palliative care clinicians can schedule, with hopeful reimbursement for,  telehealth visits for patients in skilled nursing facilities.

Changes in nursing home ownership may depress care and staffing, report findsMcKnight's Long-Term Care News; by John Roszkowski; 9/4/24Changes in nursing home ownership may have a small, but statistically significant, negative impact on staffing levels and the overall quality of patient care at nursing homes, according to new research. Investigators from the University of Pennsylvania and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia conducted a retrospective study of changes in nursing home ownership between 2016-2022 and how they impacted nursing home quality of care. Findings appeared in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The researchers used data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from 2016-2022 of nearly 3,600 nursing homes that changed ownership to determine if there were noticeable shifts in quality ratings after the properties changed hands.Publisher's note: This study might have interesting implications in the hospice field.