E-News Updates

Residents are embracing the change in season with festive fall activities!

MassHealth today sent out a notice that the agency will be conducting its quarterly Nursing Facility Occupancy Survey for the October 1st census date. All licensed nursing facilities in the Commonwealth are required to complete the survey, including those that do not have MassHealth or Medicare residents. 

The Massachusetts Centers for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) will be updating its current nursing facility financial performance data dashboard.

The AHCA training module is intended to educate maintenance, physical plant, and/or facility services personnel on the various components of a fire door assembly and how to develop, conduct, and document a comprehensive fire door inspection and testing program.

The SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Measure Calculations and Reporting User's Manual v7.0 and the accompanying files are now available.

An updated .zip file for the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Quality Measures (QM) User's Manual v17.0 is now available.

The Department of Public Health (DPH) was receiving COVID-19 at-home test kits from the federal government through ASPR’s program (HPOP). Unfortunately, that program ended on June 3, 2025, and ASPR is no longer shipping COVID-19 tests. DPH now has only a small supply of test kits that may be requested by long-term care facilities only during an outbreak and are intended as a short-term bridge if a facility cannot get tests right away from your medical supply vendor.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that its much-anticipated nursing home staffing incentive program will not be operational until at least the spring of 2026. The program, part of CMS’s nursing home staffing campaign, is designed to recruit and retain registered nurses (RNs) for work in long-term care facilities and state survey agencies.

Register now for upcoming education programs!

Mass Senior Care's Annual Meeting and Trade Show will be held on Thursday, November 13, 2025 at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. Registration information will be announced next week. Please save the date and plan to join us for our annual Fall conference!