Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday signed an executive order creating the Ohio Governor’s Nursing Home Quality and Accountability Task Force. Ohio has almost 960 nursing homes in the state, DeWine said in his executive order. While this ranks Ohio third in the list of states with the most nursing homes, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has ranked Ohio 39th in terms of quality. According to DeWine, 40% of Ohio nursing homes have had a decline in their Overall Nursing Facility CMS Star Rating since 2018.
Nebraska's long-term care facilities face staffing shortages and other factors that could lead to more closures if state funding isn't increased. An estimated 400,000 people nationwide have left this facet of the health-care industry since the pandemic began. In Nebraska, the long-term care crisis has already led to closure of 44 nursing homes and 35 assisted-living facilities since 2015, the majority in rural communities. Jalene Carpenter, president and CEO of the Nebraska Health Care Association, said others remain at risk of closing their doors. "We have people needing services, wanting services," said Carpenter, "but the facility is struggling with staffing and is not able to accept additional residents, because they're having to care for the ones that they already have living with them." Carpenter explained that when facilities can't serve new residents, they struggle to remain financially sound.
A skilled nursing facility in Michiana will soon close its doors. The Catherine Kasper Life Center in Marshall County will shut down at the end of March. The facility has informed the state that 60 employees will lose their jobs. The center offered independent living and nursing care options. The closure is expected to be permanent.
Today a group of advocates met at the State House to discuss the need for more in-home care for people living with disabilities. Today representatives from Bayada Home Health Care met with lawmakers. They say they are concerned that the state’s low Medicaid reimbursement makes it difficult to recruit and retain nurses and in-home care givers. Bayada says they treat more than 38,000 patients a week with 29,000 employees.
The Senate Health and Provider Services Committee passed two bills Wednesday, which aim to increase access to in-home health services and lower drug costs for consumers. Senate Bill 8 would require pharmacy benefit managers, who serve as the middlemen between pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies and health insurance companies, to pass on the discounts they receive from drug makers to the patients at the point of sale. And Senate Bill 438 would raise the reimbursement rate for home health aides and take other steps to addressing a critical labor shortage. Both bills are headed to the Senate floor for a second reading before the full chamber.
North Texas-based Ardent Healthcare has given a $100,000 gift to support the College of Nursing at Texas Woman’s University. “One of our essential goals is to be a part of the community, and we want the community to be a part of us,” CEO Jimmie Stapleton said, adding: “Without nurses to staff our clinical program, we wouldn’t be able to do our jobs.” The gift will create an endowment to support scholarships for undergraduate nursing students and to fund salary enhancements for full-time faculty who demonstrate inspired teaching and a commitment to clinical practice and safety in hospice, palliative and home health care. Ardent, which specializes in home healthcare and is based in Flower Mound, has served the North Texas region since 2007.