The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for change within our nursing home system. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 200,000 residents and staff have died from coronavirus in long-term care facilities during the pandemic.

Now, the federal government is rolling out new changes to help improve nursing homes and the quality of life of the staff and residents in assisted living.

What Are The New Changes?

In October, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced they are providing more oversight to the poorest-performing nursing homes in the country. This program, the Special Focus Facilities Program (SFF), finds problems within a long-term care facility and fixes them.

A recent report by the CMS found that within their routine health inspections, they see an average of six to seven problems that are not up to federal standards in most long-term care facilities.

Under the new reforms launched by the government, nursing homes will face harsher penalties when violations are found. These can include shutting down a nursing home’s Medicare/Medicaid funding. The CMS will keep a close eye on long-term care facilities for three years after graduating from their program. This helps make sure they are performing their best.

The CMS will increase how much they reach out to the long-term facilities in their program to ensure they are meeting standards. Also, they will offer more resources when necessary.

Increasing Resources to Nursing Homes

The biggest hurdle in long-term care is resources. Funding is key when making improvements around the building and attracting high-quality nurses. It’s no secret that the best care residents receive is directly impacted by how good the team is at a nursing home.

To help improve staffing, the federal government is opening hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding to nursing homes. This money will be used in a lot of different ways.

It will help provide better training and education to create more qualified nurses and staff, especially in marginalized communities. In addition, the funding will make it easier for people who want to pursue a career in elderly care to get the licenses they need. The grants will also help create more nursing instructor jobs nationwide.

Holding Nursing Homes Accountable

The SFF was created to make sure nursing homes are offering the best possible care to residents. Once they display that they are consistently capable of that, they graduate from the program. To ensure that long-term care facilities operate at their best, the federal government has imposed a few new guidelines for nursing homes to meet.

In Spring 2023, the federal government will release a minimum staffing requirement for nursing homes. This will help make sure there is always the appropriate number of staff needed at any given time to assist their residents.

The CMS will also be a bigger watchdog of crime. Some nursing homes have taken advantage of residents and their families by making them illegally pay nursing home debts. The CMS is working to make sure anyone that has a loved one in long-term care never pays more than they need to. They are also increasing background checks for nursing home owners to avoid fraud.

If you are thinking about assisted living or want to switch your provider, the CMS is helping to make it easier. They are compiling data to help enhance their rating system. Like online reviews of restaurants, the federal government has created a five-star rating system for nursing homes. You and your loved ones can access these ratings to help show you the best nursing homes in your area.