Max Blau is a freelance journalist in Atlanta. NPR, VOX, Kaiser Health News and Georgia Health News feature his work. He wrote a great article for Georgia Public Broadcasting. It is an incredible story of corruption, greed, and ignorance. Ronnie Rollins Ronnie Rollins thought of a loophole to exploit a federal program. Rollins discovered the

Poor Design As a nursing home lawyer, I have seen dozens of cases involving avoidable infections that lead to fatal sepsis. Poor design. Inadequate training. Insufficient staff. Poor infection prevention and control has been a problem in the industry for decades. It has gotten worse in the last couple of years. The COVID-19 pandemic has

Medically Necessary “Quality of life is medically necessary.” Skilled Nursing News had a conversation with Melody Taylor Stark. They discussed how nursing homes can increase quality as well as quantity of life. Stark believes that any changes need to place the residents’ autonomy and dignity at their center. “Mental wellness is huge. That’s just a

Safety Recommendations The Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes laid out 27 recommendations for CMS. The 186-page report was released by the independent research firm MITRE Corporation. The recommendations list seven areas that need improvement to protect residents: Supply and affordability related to testing, screening, and personal protective equipment (PPE) Urgent need to

UNI Global Union, based in Switzerland, represents more than 20 million workers from over 150 different countries. They represent and support the fastest growing sectors in the world – skills and services. Caregivers have perpetually precarious working conditions. Burn-out, low pay, and lack of benefits makes the job difficult. Understaffing is unsafe forcing nursing homes

Excess Deaths Health researchers confirmed that the pandemic caused 300,000 deaths in the United States. The new total includes confirmed deaths directly caused by the coronavirus and fatalities indirectly related. These would not have occurred but for the virus. “Excess deaths” are from all causes that statistically exceed those normally occurring in a certain time