LEGAL

Nursing homes sue over minimum staffing ratios

80 nonprofit and public nursing homes sue to challenge minimum staffing law and spending mandate.

“The combination of poor policies, lack of funding, and a workforce that is in short supply have resulted in a perfect storm of circumstances that leaves us with no other remedy than to seek the intercession of the courts,” James Clyne Jr., president and CEO of LeadingAge New York, said.

LeadingAge NY alleged that the staffing law creates an arbitrary, one-size-fits-all standard that’s impossible to satisfy in the context of a declared staffing emergency and is inconsistent with previous state legislation on staffing ratios.

The state’s new spending mandate for nursing homes would cost them more than $500 million.

TECHNOLOGY

Technology in long-term care settings increased due to issues related to COVID-19

Quarantines and elective social distancing necessitated telemedicine for doctor visits and providers have increasingly turned to remote patient monitoring devices.

Studies show a high level of patient and provider satisfaction, and telehealth visits are currently covered by Medicare.  Several bills have been introduced in congress to make telehealth coverage permanent after the public health emergency ends, most recently the Telehealth Extension Act.

Excelas’ robust Comprehensive Integrated Timeline Tool (CITT pronounced “kit”) allows for efficient layering of a chronological summary and hyperlinks to source documents/images. For example, in a state where hidden cameras are permitted in residents’ rooms, the video obtained by a surveillance camera can be imbedded in the CITT along with the documentation in the medical records, staffing logs, incident reports, and other discovery documents to allow for ease of reference.  The CITT allows for customized report generation based on date, source document type, or provider of care.

DEFENSE-BUILDING TOOLS

An illustration of care given during a critical period of time

Excelas’ Care Calendar provides a powerful visualization of all medical and nursing interactions documented across thousands of pages of records. Each instance of patient contact is categorized and quantified on a simple, interactive calendar. Users can click on any day to instantly see a complete, detailed breakdown of the care the patient received, including hyperlinks to the page of the medical record where the care is documented.

METRICS

Through May 31, 2022, Excelas, LLC has delivered customized solutions to our healthcare clients:

13,646   Records/Cases Reviewed
17,548,503   Pages reviewed
371  Nationwide Clients & Firms Supported

Team Metrics
4.71%   Average Voluntary Turnover 2012 – 2020
26%      Advanced Degrees
48%      Certifications

Excelas’ PREP Act Updates list summaries of relevant articles and selected court decisions, as well as additional recent court decisions, with hyperlinks for reference. The attached update is the most recent, including listings through April 2022.