Columbia-based University of Missouri researchers are using a $1 million federal grant to help nursing home staffers use texting for patient care instead of fax machines and voicemail, The Center Square reported Oct. 6.

Defiance (Ohio) Healthcare and Rehabilitation is relocating all 48 residents and closing its doors, The Crescent-News reported Oct. 7.

Only 74 percent of nursing home residents in the U.S. and 51 percent of all staff had received one or more COVID-19 booster shots as of Sept. 18, data published Oct. 6 from the Kaiser Family Foundation found.

Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health opened its first long-term acute care hospital Oct. 5. 

One person died and several were injured in a fire caused by an explosion at an Oregon nursing home Oct. 5, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

Boston-based Landmark at Longwood, a low-income assisted living facility, is closing soon, forcing some of its residents into nursing homes, CBS News reported Oct. 5.

Roanoke, Va.-based Universal Health Corp. is opening an outpatient facility aimed at addressing the gap in healthcare after acute stays, the Digital Journal reported Sept. 28.

The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living urged CMS Oct. 3 to reinstate a blanket waiver allowing nursing homes to employ temporary nurse aides. 

One of Anchorage, Alaska's largest nursing homes was fined more than $310,000 by CMS after investigators discovered multiple instances of extended isolation of and chronic bedsores on residents, the Anchorage Daily News reported Oct. 2.

Here are five nursing home policy updates Becker's has covered since Aug. 23:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Sept. 27 aimed at closing a loophole that allows nursing home operators to run a facility without receiving a license, KPBS reported Sept. 28.

Here are six nursing homes closures covered by Becker's since Sept. 1:

Bigfork, Mont.-based Lake View Care in Bigfork is closing by the end of the year, displacing 37 residents, the Billings Gazette reported Sept. 27.

A Turtle Creek, Pa.-based nursing home closed suddenly Sept. 25 as firefighters, paramedics and a post authority bus were seen evacuating the building of 47 residents around 8:30 p.m., Pittsburgh Action News reported Sept. 26.

For the first time, officials, researchers and the public can see data about who owns Medicare-certified nursing homes across nursing home locations. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is making more ownership data publicly available, according to a CMS release, Sept. 26.

Charges were dropped Sept. 22 against three nurses who were previously charged with aggravated manslaughter after 12 patients died in a Florida nursing home in 2017, Local10 reported.

Chicago-based MPAC Healthcare named Hailey Paley as the new COO, according to a Sept. 22 news release.

HHS released an inaugural national strategy to support family caregivers Sept. 21.

The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released a report Sept. 21 on for-profit nursing home chains during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding most were understaffed, leading to dangerous situations for patients.

Indiana-based nursing home, Wittenberg Village in Crown Point, will close its doors and lay off 71 workers in October, NWI Times reported Sept. 20.