McKnight's Podcast

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...

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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...

In this episode, McKnight’s Senior Living Editor Lois Bowers sits down with Amy Schectman, outgoing CEO of 2Life Communities, and Lizbeth Heyer, the current president who will succeed her as CEO. They discuss Schectman’s 15-year tenure and upcoming retirement with the organization, the shared leadership model Schectman and Heyer have used for the past two years, advice on succession planning and l...

Kendal at Home was one of the first “CCRC with no walls” programs of its kind. Now there are about 40 programs like it, Giacobbe said. The model is designed to serve the older adult who wants the connection and assurances of a retirement community but is adamant about staying at home. A key staff role is the care coordinator who serves as a liaison between the family of the client and the CCRC, an...

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Despite continued political volatility, macroeconomic fundamentals, lower interest rates, and increasing market stability led to a record-setting 2025 for seniors housing M&A transactions, and that active pace continues in 2026. Pipelines are robust, portfolios are coming to market, and deal activity is accelerating. Owners/operators are also recapitalizing under-levered assets and using the capit...

Robin Heffernan, PhD, started Empassion during the COVID-19 pandemic to help support people with hospice and palliative care in their last year of life. During this time, she had a personal brush with the benefit as her dad needed it. The company’s new hospice certification, launched earlier this month, aims to separate the high-quality hospices from the rest. The certification has generated a lot...

While we may think of housing and senior care dwelling in distinct silos, a long-term care researcher says those should be torn down given compelling evidence on the influence of residential stability on long-term care needs. Nurse and researcher Marissa Bergh sat down with McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Senior Editor Kimberly Marselas to discuss her team’s findings, which underscore how the built...

Glee McAnanly, president and CEO of FirstLight Home Care, is no stranger to franchise businesses. Prior to coming to FIrstLight five years ago, she worked her way up at ServiceMaster, a home service business. Working for a home care franchise is not so different, she said, as instead of taking care of the home, she is helping take care of the person inside the home. She also is not a stranger pers...