“McKnight’s 40 for 40: Bill Thomas,” by John O’Connor, McKnight’s LTC News     Quote: “Editor’s note: As part of the 40th anniversary of McKnight’s, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Senior Living are recognizing 40 notable newsmakers. Each week, the brands will highlight a high-profile leader from the past four decades. Published installments of the series can be found here. “Dr. Bill Thomas defies easy description. His multifaceted career has included stints as a physician, professor, playwright, performer, businessman – and more. But to most in this sector, he’s simply a guy redefining the meaning and shape of eldercare in America.”<   LTC Comment
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“2020 Alzheimer’s Webinar Series,” Administration on Community Living     Quote: “The Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline is hosting a 3-part webinar series in partnership with ACL, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), the Eldercare Locator, AARP, SAGE, and National Asian Pacific Center on Aging. The goal of these webinars is to ensure professionals understand the impact of Alzheimer’s disease and brain health on American families, and how critical it is to connect them to information, community resources, and support. REGISTER HERE.”     LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Yeah, and
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“CMS waives three-day stay requirement, MDS deadlines as dining struggles emerge amid COVID-19 response,” by Danielle Brown, McKnight’s LTC News     Quote: “The federal government is waiving its three-day stay requirement for Medicare skilled nursing facility coverage as it works to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak across the United States. The waiver of the rule comes after President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national state of emergency for the 2019 novel coronavirus disease.”     LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Private LTC insurance dropped the 3-day hospitalization requirement many years ago. Only
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“Study links 3 key risk factors to coronavirus deaths among older adults,” by Alicia Lasek, McKnight’s LTC News   Quote: “Three key factors are tied to mortality in adults with coronavirus, a study of hospitalized patients has found. The findings could help clinicians better identify high-risk individuals, say investigators. The researchers followed 191 cases in Wuhan, China, facilities. Two-thirds had severe or critical illness, and 54 died in the hospital. Compared to survivors, patients who died were more likely to be older (average age 69 vs. 52), and to have confirmed signs of sepsis and blood clotting problems on admission. Other
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“CMS to ‘Immediately’ Refocus Nursing Home Inspections on Infection Control Amid Coronavirus,” by Maggie Flynn, Skilled Nursing News   Quote: “In the wake of an outbreak of the novel coronavirus at a Washington nursing home, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will immediately refocus inspections of skilled nursing facilities on compliance with the agency’s infection control policies — and suspend all non-emergency survey work, the agency announced on Wednesday.”     LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Virus concerns induce CMS to change survey focus from Medicaid-induced quality problems to survival itself.
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