Author: Jordan Maverick

Pennsylvania’s nursing home industry is bracing for a potential funding crisis after Governor Josh Shapiro’s (D) proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year failed to include an increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates. This omission comes despite years of advocacy from industry leaders who argue that increased funding is crucial for maintaining quality care and preventing further facility closures. The lack of a Medicaid reimbursement increase is a significant setback for nursing homes, which have been grappling with rising operating costs, a persistent workforce shortage, and declining occupancy rates. “Despite recent investments and reimbursement increases, Pennsylvania’s long-term care continuum remains in…

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz implemented a policy that has since sparked intense controversy and criticism. Despite warnings from health experts and a growing death toll in nursing homes, Walz’s administration allowed COVID-positive patients to be discharged from hospitals and sent back into long-term care facilities. The result? A staggering 81% of Minnesota’s COVID-19 deaths occurred in these settings, giving the state the highest percentage of nursing home-related deaths in the nation during that time. A Policy with Deadly Consequences As COVID-19 spread across the globe in 2020, nursing homes became epicenters of the…

Queens, NY — Authorities have charged Charles Gonder, a former director at two Queens nursing homes, with stealing more than 1,500 oxycodone pills that were meant for disposal. The Queens District Attorney’s Office uncovered this theft after an extensive investigation into Gonder’s employment at Regal Heights Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Jackson Heights and the Sapphire Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing of Central Queens in Flushing. Charles Gonder, 52, of Astoria, was arraigned on August 14, 2024, in Queens Criminal Court. The charges against him include criminal possession of a controlled substance, 26 counts of falsifying business records, fraud, deceit,…