During this critical time, Home Health Care News remains committed to bringing you all the essential news related to home-based care operations. At the same time, we also recognize the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to our regular content, we’ll continue to highlight industry-related developments and mitigation strategies in this rolling bulletin.

What you need to know from Monday (March 23):

— CMS announced Monday that it will not authorize standard surveys for home health agencies, nursing homes and other care sites; the suspended surveys also include life safety code and emergency preparedness inspections, as well as any revisits not associated with an immediate jeopardy claim.

— Also on Monday, CMS announced preliminary results of a recent inspection of the Life Care Center nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, which is the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in that state.

— Despite concerns with COVID-19, the majority of senior housing properties continue to maintain their occupancy rates, according to new data from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC).

— In a White House briefing Sunday night, Vice President Mike Pence urged all labs developing coronavirus testing kits to prioritize in-patient testing.

— As of Monday, doctors, nurses and ambulance drivers reportedly made up about 12% of Spain’s nearly 33,000 coronavirus cases, a statistic that underscores just how dangers the virus is for frontline health care workers who don’t have proper personal protective equipment (PPE).

— As of 5 p.m. CT Monday, the Senate had once again failed to move forward with another major economic stimulus package, one that would also have implications for the health care  sector.

CMS sheds light on surveys

CMS is further shifting its oversight and enforcement activities to specifically focus on infection control and prevention.

“The plain fact is that, with Coronavirus spreading and personal protective equipment at a premium, some of our state inspectors can be pulled away by their governors to help with other aspects of the Coronavirus response,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said during a Monday press conference.

Moving forward, standard surveys for home health agencies will not be authorized.

Additionally, the imposition of suspension of payments (SPNA) for new admissions following the last day of the survey when termination is imposed will be lifted to allow for new admissions during this time.

CMS is also suspending per day civil money penalty accumulation, in addition to the imposition of termination for facilities that are not in substantial compliance at six months.

Residents not moving out of senior housing

Early on in COVID-19’s spread throughout the U.S., some speculated more older adults would turn to in-home care over senior housing communities. A new survey commissioned by NIC suggests that trend isn’t happening.

About 79% of senior housing operators saw no significant changes in move-outs last week and no significant changes in occupancy, according to the survey, which included private-pay senior housing operators representing 1,078 buildings and 100,899 units.

Still, several U.S. operators noted that sales and marketing activities including all move-ins have been halted completely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other operators continued to allow pre-scheduled move-ins to occur, though with extra steps and screening.

For daily updates from the week of March 16, click here.

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