McKnight's Podcast

Starting a PACE program is not for the faint of heart, Donna Wilhelm, vice president of advocacy for Trinity Health PACE, said. On top of steep capital expenditures and requirements from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies, potential PACE providers can apply to start services only four times a year. People who want PACE services also face barriers such as being able to enroll only on the...

A relentless focus on process improvement and culture change has catapulted Clarkston Health and Rehabilitation Center into elite territory, making it one of only two nursing homes nationwide to earn the American Health Care Association’s prestigious Gold Quality Award this year. In this episode of the McKnight’s Newsmakers podcast, leaders from the Washington facility and parent company Cascadia...

One of the biggest pain points for TheKey, which serves private-pay clients primarily, is affordability, CEO Chris Gerard told McKnight’s Home Care. Also, the population that can pay for the firm’s services is even smaller given that the company specializes in longer-term, higher-utilization clients. One of the secrets of the firm’s success is matching the caregiver’s capabilities and  person...

The conversation highlights three primary themes surrounding initial implementation: Targeted infrastructure vs. comprehensive care: Initial grants focus heavily on expanding physical capacity, such as ventilator and in-house dialysis service lines at specific facilities, rather than broader operational supports needed to address an increasingly complex patient population. Workforce access bottlen...

A short-term home health and moratorium was a necessary action because of rampant fraud in the hospice sector, said Tom Koutsoumpas, founder and CEO of the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI). Still, the moratorium, which is designed to contain and address egregious activities, is meant to be a short-term solution, said Koutsoumpas, who was involved when the benefit w...

Out of thousands of skilled nursing facilities nationwide, only two earned the prestigious Gold - Excellence in Quality Award from the American Health Care Association this year. One of those top honors belongs to Todd-Dickey Nursing and Rehabilitation, a 62-bed facility in southern Indiana that proves size is no barrier to achieving high-level operational excellence. In this episode, Executive Di...

As a house call firm, Ennoble Care brings the most skilled clinicians to a patient’s house to provide essentially a doctor's office inside, CEO Kush Das explained. That slowly progresses to more longitudinal care with nurses and social workers and care managers supporting patients. The company serves both Medicare and Medicare Advantage patients, depending on the market. About 1 of every 2 Medicar...

he International Home Care Nurses Organization is a gathering of international nurses — ranging from RNs to clergy, aides and therapists — who come together to share what they know about home healthcare nursing. Susan Hinck, PhD, president of organization, and Marilyn Harris, RN, a board member, recently returned from a three-day global conference in London at which nurses represented 33 countries...

The Kendal Corporation spent two years on a system-wide rebranding that recently was unveiled. The process involved engaging residents, employees and others to build a brand that better aligned with their perceptions while honoring the system's heritage. In this Newsmakers podcast episode, McKnight's Senior Living Editor Lois Bowers speaks with Morgan Lamphere, Kendal's senior director of communic...

As the skilled nursing sector continues its march toward recovery, providers need a more comprehensive plan for long-term workforce and payment stability. That’s why Michael Bassett, senior vice president of government relations for the American Health Care Association, wants an all-of-Congress approach that takes into account the ground-level realities nursing homes are facing as Americans get ol...

The medical complexity driving significant change in skilled nursing care approaches doesn’t stop at the door to therapy. With demand for speech-language pathology greater than ever, one North Carolina-based provider organization is looking to expand its therapists’ knowledge and encourage the use of advanced staff training to help patients regain function. Michele Hass, regional therapy consultan...

In this McKnight’s Senior Living Newsmakers podcast, Front Porch CEO Sean Kelly and Editor Lois Bowers discuss the gap between public perception and the reality of modern senior living and how senior living providers can counter the view that aging is synonymous with decline. Kelly shares how Front Porch is cultivating a culture of transparency and partnership, meeting the high expectations of the...

Most senior living operators have a rigorous clinical admissions process — but almost no financial one. In this conversation, Sunbound CEO Manny Cominsky makes the case that the admission is the single most financially dangerous moment in senior living, and that operators are absorbing months of lost margin on residents who couldn’t afford care from day one. He shares how leading operators are now...

The CareWorks Project provides technical expertise on issues such as workforce, caregiving, aging, and long-term services and supports financing. It also supports leaders around issues related to narrative change and strategic communications. And it helps design programs and initiatives related to long-term care, and assists with leadership and organizational development. While wages and benefits...

In addition to facing the Medicare home health and hospice moratorium, New York home care providers have been grappling with the federal government’s scrutiny of its Medicaid personal care program. The state defended the program appropriately, including pointing out that some of its data was off the mark, noted Al Cardillo, president and CEO of the Home Care Association of New York State. It’s imp...

As care organizations face rising expectations for more personalized experiences and outcomes, they’re also under pressure to standardize operations, improve consistency, and do more with limited staff. In this episode, we explore the growing tension between personalization and scalability, where standardization helps, where it can hinder, and how smarter use of data and technology can help organi...

Amid a backdrop of relentless operational challenges and high leadership turnover, there’s a new professional standard for nursing home administrators.  The American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing has officially launched its first certification designed for nursing home administrators to ensure facility CEOs have the specialized tools and credentials necessary to foster stable, high-qualit...

In a regulatory environment increasingly characterized by administrative overreach, long-term care providers are teaming up to challenge practices that appear to bypass constitutional protections. Membership in newly formed state and national litigation groups is taking the onus off of individual skilled nursing facilities and helping attorneys find the right cases to elevate as providers target a...

The healthcare system relies too heavily on personal care for dual-eligible Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries living at home, said Romanos Fessas, CEO and co-founder of Jukebox Health. Often, when an older adult at home is struggling with a functional challenge, the answer may not lie with more care but rather with addressing a structural problem in the home, such as placing grab bars in the sho...

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Recently retired Sen. Debbie Stabenow, and Dave Totaro, former BAYADA chief government affairs officer, are excited to bring their healthcare expertise and talents to the bipartisan Liberty Partners Group. Reimbursement challenges for the field are nothing new, they said. What keeps Totaro up at night is the dwindling number of home health agencies. There are 10% fewer agencies today than in 2013,...

The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) has become a high-stakes mandate that could determine the financial survival of modern practices and the physicians who care for long-term care residents. While the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services quality program has existed for years, a "perfect storm" of increasing penalties and a national push toward value-based care is forcing post-acute...

​In this Newsmaker’s podcast, McKnight’s editors bring you highlights of the 2026 McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards​ + Summit​ in New York City — as well as thought leadership from senior living and care experts, recorded live at the event. Learn: The single most important thing you can do to transform your workforce strategy immediately. What providers need to do to make senior living and care more attr...

Financial distress in senior care rarely happens overnight. Subtle breakdowns in cash conversion, labor alignment, and sales momentum often appear long before a census decline makes the crisis visible. Yet, many owners and lenders remain focused on occupancy rather than the execution metrics that actually drive it. In the latest episode of the McKnight’s Market Leaders podcast, Executive Editor Ji...

Flournoy Health Systems, which evolved from Primecare Home Care Services, grew out of his mother’s living room in Milledgeville, GA, in 2007. Today, the family-owned private business offers Medicaid personal care, hospice and pediatric services, along with Structured Family Caregiving training and assistance. Faris Flournoy, an Air Force veteran, wants to prove to hospitals that home care can prov...