Each week we will highlight three trending news articles shared from the long-term care industry. From nursing homes to skilled nursing facilities, this weekly post will catch you up to speed on what's new.

CMS in ‘Full Court Sprint’ to Carry Out Biden’s Nursing Home Reforms

The Biden administration is moving to fulfill its proposed nursing home reforms, a move that has long-term care stakeholders optimistic about the future of the industry. During a stakeholder call on Thursday, CMS Principal Deputy Administrator Jonathan Blum said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services was in "full court sprint" mode to realize the goals of the nursing home reforms.

With the support of Congress and President Biden, AHCA President Mark Parkinson said he felt optimistic about this latest effort to improve long-term care and workforce sustainability.

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OSHA vows more infection control monitoring at SNFs

Nursing homes and hospitals treating COVID-19 patients need to make sure they are ready to protect workers with the latest mitigation measures.

OSHA has just launched new highly focused inspections for SNFs and hospitals with COVID-19 patients, a push to ensure continued mitigation measures help control the spread of COVID-19 amid any future variants. The agency said it also wants to protect healthcare workers who are at heightened risk for contracting the virus.

The focused inspections will target high-hazard healthcare facilities over a three-month period starting March 9.

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CMS updates COVID-19 testing guidance for nursing homes

Residents and employees of long-term care facilities must be tested for COVID-19 if they are showing symptoms or signs of the disease, according to updated guidelines from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The testing is required regardless of vaccination status, says the memo, which was revised Thursday. It also calls for testing if a resident or staff member has had close contact or exposure to someone in the facility that has tested positive for the disease.

Routine testing of staff who are not up-to-date on their vaccinations should be based on the extent of the virus in the community, CMS states. In other words, if there's a lot of COVID going around, you might want to step up your testing protocol for staff who are unvaccinated against it.

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Thank you for reading this week's edition of Weekly Long-Term Care News and Updates, from BASE10. We hope you enjoyed learning about the industry's latest news and findings. To be notified for next week's post, please subscribe to our email newsletter down below.

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About BASE10 Genetics, Inc.
Located in Chicago, BASE10 is a healthcare software technology company whose platform creates turnkey disease management programs that can be deployed at scale for nursing home operators, pharmacies, payors, and self-funded employers.