This year’s winner of the Long-Term Living OPTIMA Award, Benchmark Senior Living, has taken dementia care programming far beyond reminiscing, brain-games and once-a-day-activities. Here's the story of how its award-winning programming got started, and how the lives of residents can be changed when engagement happens all day long instead of just during "activity hour." Read More »
Organizations serving older adults say they are pleased with Congress’ passing last week of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014, which is designed to standardize data used across post-acute care settings. Read More »
The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities has awarded its first accreditation to an independent living community after implementing standards for such environments in July. Read More »
The majority of the professional associations representing long-term care say they support the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care’s goal of continuing to reduce the off-label use of antipsychotic medications in long-stay nursing home residents, although some say more action is needed. Read More »
Flu vaccination among healthcare personnel is lowest among those working in long-term care settings, but employers can take two actions to encourage it, according to new data from the CDC. Read More »
Prioritizing comfort in the care of residents with advanced dementia enabled one nursing home to reap many rewards for residents and their families, the community and staff members. Its innovative model was detailed in a Sept. 8 workshop convened by the Institute of Medicine. Read More »
One assisted living community supplemented existing communication efforts by using a web platform to relay everyday interactions to residents' family members. In this way, the community strengthened ties and also improved marketing efforts. Read More »
The final chapter in the series “12 Steps to QAPI” shows how preparation, organization, data and action can correct and improve processes to enhance the quality of care your residents receive. Read More »
Medicare’s five-star rating system for skilled nursing facilities is being called out again—this time on the front page of the New York Times. Read More »
Do you know what nursing facilities' obligations are when it comes to reporting and investigating claims of abuse or neglect? The Office of Inspector General has new recommendations to help ensure that you do. Read More »
An updated portfolio of tools from LeadingAge’s Center for Aging Services Technologies is designed to assist long-term care and post-acute providers in the market for electronic health record systems. Read More »
Providing 24/7 RN coverage in nursing homes is the goal of a new bill introduced July 31. Having the most highly qualified professionals available ensures that residents receive optimal care at any hour of the day. Read More »
What’s for dinner? Are you planning and serving residents meals that are in line with the new dining standards? A new toolkit helps to implement these requirements. Read More »
Making use of newer guidance and data from the government, as well as improving communication with other entities and perfecting a person-centered approach to care, should be priorities for clinical and operational leaders in long-term care, according to the executive director of an educational foundation and consultancy. Read More »
Consumer demands and the promise of millions of incoming baby boomers have triggered expansions and new construction in senior living communities. But how many of them will go bankrupt before the boomers get there? Read More »
The quality of a long-term care facility is enhanced by administrators educated in the operations and best practices necessary to run a person-focused organization. Administrator-in-training programs offer specialized training and field experience. Read More »
Abandoning an open Internet and prioritizing the transmission of some online content over other content would hurt older adults who rely on their computers for medical monitoring and other services, the AARP has told the Federal Communications Commission. Read More »
QAPI expert Nell Griffin, LPN, EdM, offers valuable resources and advice on establishing performance improvement projects to remedy problems in care practices. Read More »
Insurance coverage and healthcare professional awareness could increase the frequency of senior driving evaluations, leading to improved safety on the roads, researchers say. Read More »
Administering CPR can be a life-saver or a violation of a resident's rights, explains Long-Term Living legal expert Alan C. Horowitz, JD, RN. Does your staff know what to do if an emergency occurs? Read More »
Fifteen skilled nursing facilities or nursing facilities have joined the latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services list of poor survey performers. Read More »
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics highlights bladder and bowel control issues among nursing home residents and others, as well as how demographics figure into the picture. Read More »
Physicians can be valuable allies when adult children or others think it’s time for seniors to stop driving, according to a new survey of older adults. Read More »
Recent research reveals that executive directors of assisted living communities may not be aware of all of the cases of elder abuse—especially sexual incidents—occurring in their communities. A gerontology expert shares four ways to recognize and combat abuse in long-term care settings. Read More »
A new standard proposes the implementation of stronger safeguards against Legionnaires' disease, the incidence of which is increasing. The elderly are particularly vulnerable, and long-term care facilities that don't take precautions might find themselves at risk for mitigation and litigation expenses. Read More »
Assisted living communities need health information technology tools more than ever thanks to increasing acuity levels. One provider of senior housing and care has successfully used electronic health record software to save nurses time and improve documentation. Read More »
Now that your facility's QAPI plan has been developed and leadership and staff are on board, it's time to put the plan into practice in the constant mission to improve and enhance quality care. Read More »
