In 2023, the District of Columbia had the lowest hospice care index score among states while Maryland had the highest, according to CMS data released Nov. 26. 

San Clemente, Calif.-based CareTrust REIT has acquired 46 skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in the Midwest for approximately $97 million. 

The average hours of nursing care received inside U.S. nursing homes has continued to decline as the average number of deficiencies continues to grow, according to a Dec. 6 KFF report. 

The Delaware Court of Chancery ruled in favor of Birmingham, Ala.-based Encompass Health and its former home health and hospice division, Enhabit, in a lawsuit against two private equity firms and three former Encompass officers who now run home health and hospice business VitalCaring Group.

By 2034, the number of adults over 65 will — for the first time in history — outnumber the number of children under 18.

Medicaid payment rates given to the average nursing home covered about 82 cents per dollar of care costs for Medicaid residents, according to a recent federal government report. 

Nursing home officials said they are counting on the Trump administration to reverse an impending Biden-era staffing level mandate, KFF Health News reported Dec. 3.

Private equity-owned hospices performed below not-for-profit hospices across all Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems hospice survey measures, according to a study published Nov. 18 in JAMA.

CMS has released "significant revisions" to its nursing home surveyor guidance, including requirements for COVID-19 vaccine education, opioid and psychotropic prescribing, and medical director responsibilities. 

Hospice in the Hospital, a collaboration between Winchester, Va.-based Valley Health and Winchester-based Blue Ridge Hospice, has expanded to Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal, Va.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation has signed an agreement with an Ukrainian organization to provide training and education to Ukraine's rehabilitation workforce.

A hospice company donated $400,000 to Jacksonville, N.C.-based Onslow Memorial Hospital to support hospice services. 

Temple Terrace, Fla.-based Florida Rehabilitation Hospital at Tampa has appointed Jeffrey Harrison as CEO. 

California has the most highly rated nursing homes in the U.S., followed by Florida, according to U.S. News & World Report's "2025 Best Nursing Homes" ratings, published Nov. 12. 

The National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against Cincinnati-based CommuniCare, a post-acute care network, for allegedly attempting to enforce stay-or-pay employment agreements.

The U.S. national rate of successful observed discharges to a patient's community or home from a long-term care facility between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 9, 2023, was 18.05, according to CMS data published Sept. 25. 

Effective May 1, 2025, CMS will require requires nursing homes to disclose more detailed ownership information as part of an Affordable Care Act final rule issued Nov. 15, 2023.

Birmingham, Ala.-based Encompass Health, the largest owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals in the U.S., recently appointed new CEOs at two of its facilities. 

As part of its bankruptcy restructuring, Brockway, Pa.-based Guardian Health has sold eight of the system's skilled nursing facilities to GBK Eight. 

Temple Terrace, Fla.-based Chapters Health System, a nonprofit hospice care network, is expanding into the Western U.S. with the launch of Chapters Health West.