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April 26, 2022
In this Issue:
- 2022 Consumer Voice In-Person & Virtual Conference
- California Superior Court Issues Ruling on "Patient Dumping"
- CMS Releases New Data on Nursing Home Ownership
- Survey from the National Paralysis Resource Center
- Materials Available from NORC's Webinar on Recognizing Volunteers
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2022 Consumer Voice In-Person & Virtual Conference
We are excited to announce both in-person and virtual options for the 2022 Consumer Voice Conference!
Join us in Baltimore, Maryland November 14-16, 2022 at the Lord Baltimore Hotel to reconnect in person. Over the pandemic, we've learned how important it is to connect face-to-face, build relationships, learn from each other, and create connections. With COVID-19 safety measures in mind, we are ready to come together again as a community of advocates.
For those unable to join us in person, virtual conference programming will be December 8-9, 2022. New live sessions, as well as select recorded programs from the in-person conference will be available. (Note: Registration to the in-person conference also gives you access to the virtual programming.)
Stay tuned for registration information for the in-person and virtual components of the 2022 Consumer Voice Conference. Hope to see you there!
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California Superior Court Issues Ruling on "Patient Dumping"
The Superior Court of California issued a declaratory judgment that under federal law, a nursing facility cannot refuse to readmit a resident who has been cleared by the hospital to return to their facility. According to the court, such a refusal on the part of the facility constitutes an involuntary transfer under state and federal law, and triggers the facility's obligation to comply with the transfer and discharge requirements in 42 CFR 483.15.
In this case, brought by resident Gloria Single and the California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association, Ms. Single was refused reentry to Pioneer House, a long-term care facility in which she had been residing with her husband, after she had been cleared to return from a hospital stay. The complaint alleges that by failing to allow Ms. Single to return, Pioneer House circumvented the legal process for evicting nursing home residents.
Read our summary and the Court's order.
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CMS Releases New Data on Nursing Home Ownership
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has for the first time publicly released data on mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, and changes of ownership from 2016-2022 for hospitals and nursing homes enrolled in Medicare. This data provides a new tool for researchers, state and federal enforcement agencies, and the public to better understand the impacts of consolidation on health care prices and quality of care. The data is available on data.cms.gov, and CMS plans to update the data on a quarterly basis. The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) stated that this data "will enhance transparency for hospitals and nursing homes patients, potential patients and their loved ones, as well as for policymakers and the communities where these facilities are located. This new data release is just one of many steps HHS is taking to increase transparency and accountability, and to boost competition in the health care industry."
HHS Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation's Office of Health Policy released an analysis of the CMS data. Their analysis indicated that changes of provider ownership are fairly common, even more so for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) than hospitals. More than 3,000 SNFs experienced a change in ownership between 2016 and 2021, with wide variation across states.
For more information, read the press release from HHS.
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Survey from the National Paralysis Resource Center
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation's National Paralysis Resource Center (NPRC) is conducting a national survey to better understand the wants and needs of people impacted by paralysis and how they interact with the resource center. The feedback will be used to identify current needs and trends, improve NPRC's current services, and identify gaps where improvements can be made.
This is a voluntary survey, you will not be identified in any way, and no personal identifying information will be collected. The survey is open through May 11th.
Take the Survey
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Materials Available from NORC's Webinar on Recognizing Volunteers
Materials are available from last week's webinar from the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) on Recognizing the Importance of Volunteers. This webinar focused on volunteer representative recruitment and retention. Volunteer representatives discussed why they stay with the program and Ombudsman programs shared state and local level examples of successful recruitment and retention activities. This information may assist Ombudsman programs in shaping their recruitment messages. NORC reviewed highlights from the Process Evaluation and Special Studies Related to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program about working with volunteers (NORC Chicago Research Brief).
Watch the Recording and Get the Materials
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