Nursing Home News 2026Mar5

Nursing Home Salary and Benefits Study

Participation is now open for the salary and benefits study conducted by Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS) in cooperation with LeadingAge. The national study provides essential data on compensation and benefits in long-term care facilities. The Nursing Home Salary & Benefits study questionnaire must be completed by May 11^th. There is no cost to participate and participation allows you to purchase the study when published at a lower rate. 

For any questions or deadline extension requests, please contact Rich Cioffe at rjcioffe@hhcsinc.com, (201) 405-0075, ext. 10.

Study Overview:

• Deadline for data submission: May 11^th
• Report published July 2026
• LeadingAge member participant discount--pre-paid rate $190; billed rate $210
• To participate, download the questionnaire at www.hhcsinc.com.

A separate CCRC Salary & Benefits study is also underway, deadline April 20^th, with publication in June.

Analysis: Updates to Chapters 5 and 7 of State Operations Manual

As previously reported, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released updates to the State Operations Manual at the end of January. These updates, made to Chapter 5 Complaint Procedures and Chapter 7 Survey and Enforcement Process for Skilled Nursing Facilities and Nursing Facilities, do not include any new policies but rather reflect existing policies that previously were not included in the State Operations Manual. LeadingAge provides an overview of some key updates here based on questions or concerns frequently identified by our members. 

New SNF Reports Now Available in LeadingAge Report Portal

New Five Star Reports are now available for nursing home members in the LeadingAge Report Portal. These reports are based on the February 25 update to Nursing Home Care Compare data. Being a monthly update, only the Health Inspection domain data was updated. A small number of providers may notice a change in their Health Inspection domain ratings or overall Five Star ratings based on these updates but for most providers, no changes will be noted. The next quarterly refresh updating all three domains and the overall Five Star rating will take place in April.

New Sepsis Tool from CDC

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has released the Sepsis Prevention Assessment Tool for Nursing Homes (SPAT). This tool was developed with feedback from LeadingAge member nursing homes and helps identify gaps in sepsis policies, training, and practices. It can be used to improve infection prevention, sepsis recognition, and health outcomes among nursing home residents and as part of an effective Infection Prevention and Control Program. The SPAT is free and includes several supplemental tools such a deployment packet to assist with implementation, an implementation guide, a gap prioritization worksheet, and a Deep Dive to further assess viewpoints and practices related to sepsis prevention. Access the suite of tools here. 

Here is your NATIONAL Nursing Home Weekly Recap