Most nursing home operators know their Five-Star rating matters. Fewer know exactly why — or how deeply it shapes their financial reality. According to experts at Zimmet Healthcare Services Group, the difference between a three-star and a five-star facility often comes down to one thing: whether a team is managing quality proactively or scrambling to fix problems after they’ve already happened. They call it “upstream” management. And industry reports suggest it’s one of the most underutilized levers in long-term care operations. Stop Reacting. Start Anticipating. “Swimming upstream feels a little bit harder because you’ve got to do all the work…
Author: Sarah K
Albuquerque, New Mexico — A federal judge has signed off on a $75,000 settlement against a New Mexico nursing home that allowed a supervisor to bully two older employees for years — telling them they were “too old to get new jobs” and that no one would hire women their age. The settlement, approved by a US District Court judge on February 24, resolves a case brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against South Valley Care Center in Albuquerque. The facility, which holds a 5-star rating, will also issue a formal written apology to the two former workers and…
A new study published in JAMA Network Open paints a troubling picture for stroke survivors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans — they’re significantly more likely to wind up in low-rated skilled nursing facilities than patients on traditional Medicare. The findings add fresh fuel to a long-running debate over whether cost-cutting incentives baked into MA plans come at the expense of patient outcomes, particularly during the critical early stages of stroke recovery. The Numbers Tell the Story Researchers analyzed data from more than 44,000 Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older who were hospitalized for a stroke between January 2021 and September…
The 2026 NIC Spring Conference lands in Nashville March 30 to April 1, bringing together SNF operators, capital providers, and CMS leadership to address staffing, value-based care, and the growing demand for long-term care services.
Indianapolis, Ind. — A two-year-old skilled nursing company has quietly become one of the industry’s fastest-growing operators, and it’s not slowing down. Journey, an Indiana-based provider, completed a dramatic 15-month run that nearly doubled its footprint — finishing February with 13 new nursing home acquisitions in Georgia and bringing its total to 39 facilities. The company launched with a single building and hit 22 by the end of 2024. From Zero to Thirty-Nine The latest Georgia sweep came after Journey had already established a strong beachhead there. Nine existing buildings in the state were running at 95% occupancy and had…
