Month: August 2016

Study: Invest in heart health now or pay later

A 14-year study indicates that as the number of older adults continues to climb over the next 44 years, the heart failure rate could triple. Read More »

Brookdale resident found dead on bus

A resident boarded a bus for a weekly ride around town. She was found dead on the bus more than 29 hours later.  Read More »

Building for medical care and amenities

In the eternal battle to win over move-ins, senior housing relies on design to support both quality medical care and hospitality amenities. Read More »

New certification body launches for assisted living executives

There’s a new certification body in town and its goal is to create standards for the knowledge and skills needed by an assisted living executive director. Read More »

LeadingAge CAST expands medication management matrix

The portfolio of free resources helps providers explore various technology for supporting medication management. Read More »

WoundRounds launches mobile charting app

Documenting wound care just got easier, as a leading application gets mobile. Read More »

How you walk could indicate falls risk

An analysis of embedded sensor data that measured gait speed and stride found that cumulative declines could predict a fall up to three weeks in advances, suggesting opportunities for proactive interventions. Read More »

What senior communities need to know about Zika

The Zika virus is not expected to spread rampantly throughout the United States, but senior living communities in southern states or high-risk areas like Miami can take proactive precautions to reduce risk to residents, staff and visiting families. Read More »

An app to help persons with dementia remember

Twelve-year-old Emma Yang is developing an app that will help families stay in touch with loved ones with dementia. It will also help those with dementia remember who their loved ones are through facial recognition detection.  Read More »

History of stroke associated with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease

An analysis of two longitudinal studies has found a history of stroke was associated with a two-fold risk for both familial and sporadic forms of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD).  Read More »

Brookdale makes space for early Alzheimer’s residents

The nation’s largest long-term care provider is expanding the continuum of care to offer a transitional space for residents with mild dementia who need more than assisted living but aren’t ready for memory care.  Read More »

LTC organizations secure discount for movie night licenses

The old reel-to-reel movies may have given way to DVDs and streaming videos, but keeping your “movie night” legal still requires public performance license. Luckily, there's a sale on licenses for the rest of 2016. Read More »

When voice recognition software doesn’t listen

Resident blogger Kathleen Mears uses voice recognition software to navigate the Internet. Her software isn’t working, so she’s been forced to use a workaround to navigate—and communicate.  Read More »

Defuse disputes with arbitration clauses

Properly drafted arbitration clauses can help reduce resident disputes, but families may still need help understanding the terms. Read More »

Flu season: An opportunity for training

Despite sunshine and warm temperatures, influenza season is right around the corner. Are your staffers trained in the policies and protocols concerning vaccinations? Read More »

NOTICE Act takes effect

Advocacy groups are urging Congress to pass additional legislation on the NOTICE Act to allow observation time to count toward the required three-day inpatient stay for Medicare. Federal officials are also considering arbitration agreement provisions. Read More »

How living at a CCRC changed my tune

Senior music major Haley Jenkins reflects on how spending her final year of college living at retirement community has taught her about life—and changed her plans for the future.  Read More »

Affording the household model

“Household model” senior living environments are attractive to residents for their person-centered care and resident quality of life, but are they financially viable?  Read More »

Judge: CMS fails to educate on maintenance therapy coverage changes

Too many beneficiaries—and their doctors—still don’t realize that maintenance therapies are now covered by Medicare, ruled a U.S. District Court judge. Read More »

Shortage of female urologists met with growing need

A recent study has found women prefer to see female urologists, but that can be a challenge because female urologists are a small minority.  Read More »

CCRC, arts nonprofit partner to bring music to the bedside

A Long Island, New York-based life care retirement community and arts organization have taken music therapy to a higher octave. They’ve partnered to bring one-on-one live musical performances to the bedside of residents receiving palliative care. Read More »

Illinois passes family caregiver leave law

The prairie state joins 4 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing employees to use their accrued paid sick days for a family member’s care instead of their own. Read More »

UpToDate adds sleep medicine

The addition formalizes sleep medicine as a specialty and makes its diagnostic information and treatment guidelines accessible to clinicians, including those in geriatrics. Read More »

CMS releases more cost data for Part D drugs

The latest data is a follow-on to the agency’s March report and provides additional cost data on the most-used drugs, the highest-cost drugs and other metrics for trend analyses. Read More »

Lamenting a new cell phone

When older technology gives up the ghost or is no longer supported, cell phone companies aren't always helpful when it comes to setting up a new cell phone. Read More »

Illinois signs bill for dementia care regulations

The state is the latest to mandate certification for facilities that provide care services for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Read More »

Maintaining resident sexual freedom with safety in assisted living

New research has found a majority of assisted living facilities lack formal policies for managing sexual behavior among residents. That means residents rights’ can be restricted by administrators and staff who are weighing concerns on an individual basis.  Read More »

Medalogix launches data analytics for home health

The software uses care planning tools and prescriptive analytics that experts say rival CMS’ risk adjustment models. Read More »